Scholarship for Graduate Students
Scholarship for Graduate Students
Scholarships to help graduate students pay and reduce the cost of obtaining a graduate degree do exist but are not as common as undergraduate scholarship. Scholarships for graduate students work the same way as scholarship for undergraduate. The biggest difference is that your financial status is no longer a factor in determining your eligibility for graduate scholarships. However, competition for graduate scholarships might be greater than undergraduate scholarships.
You will find that scholarship and grants for graduate school are most likely originated from companies, organization, colleges and universities.
The Availability of Scholarships
The cost to attend graduate school can be very high and finding money to help pay for graduate school can be challenging. However, money does exist in different forms to help you pay for your study.
Unlike the availability of scholarships for undergraduate studies, scholarships for graduate study are not usually found through the usually channels. Do not be discouraged by the amount of time and effort required to find them because the rewords of finding and obtaining a graduate scholarship can be great. It can help you reduce the cost of your total tuition for your graduate studies and thereby lesson your financial burden in obtaining your graduate degree.
Search and Apply Early
Applying for graduate scholarship can be competitive and it is to the students’ advantage to research and apply early. It might take you some time before you can obtain some leads that you might qualify for. If you are diligent enough, you might actually be able to find lesser known scholarship and sometimes competition is much less for these kinds of scholarship and thus you have a better chance of obtaining these scholarships.
Remember to research and apply early. Doing so increase your chance of obtaining a scholarship and decrease the amount of money you have to pay for your graduate studies. Below are sources providing scholarship opportunities for graduate students.
Area of Study
Scholarships for graduate school are usually geared toward specific area of study. For example, scholarship for graduate study in nursing is specifically for nursing students only but scholarships for other area of studies are available as well. (Insert here – specific scholarship for specific area of major and list example) So you might want to begin your research with the area of study you are interested in pursuing.
You’re Employer tuition program
Employers are the fastest growing sources for free money for school. Many workers are eligible for tuition benefits from Employers. By offering the employee free money for school, the employer can get tax benefit by writing it off as a business expense. Employees who take advantage of their company’s tuition program can not only get free money to go to graduate school but also can become a top worker with salary increase and also have a better chance of getting a promotion after the completion of their graduate schooling.
Colleges and Universities
Colleges and universities often offer some form of aid to students pursuing their graduate studies. Some colleges offer tuition discounts to their alumni who continues to graduate studies and additional certification and training. While other colleges and university might give alumni tuition discount if they are unable to find a job within six month of graduation.
If you have excellent undergraduate academic achievements, then you might be eligible for tuition discount from your graduate school. However, the availability of money might be limited from school to school, so you might to inquire early in your graduate school selection.
Call the financial office to find out if the college you are planning to attend offer tuition discount.
Teacher Assistant and Research Assistant
Teacher Assistant and Research Assistant are paid positions and can help reduce your tuitions and at times it might even cover all of your tuitions.
Teacher assistant (TA) is one of the most popular way used to help pay for graduate school. There might be a good number of teacher assistant positions that are open in your graduate school. You might have taken a class during your undergraduate studies where a teacher assistant lecture and graded your paper. Lecturing entry level class and grading paper are just two of the many duties that teacher assistant are responsible for. TA does a lot of basic for professors.
Research Assistant is similar to Teacher Assistant. Their duties are usually in the library and laboratory conducting research and experiments.
Research Fellowship
Research fellowship are funding given by the government, private companies, interesting groups, and colleges and universities. These fellowship funds can be used for research on a particular area of subject and it can also be used toward your tuitions, books and living expense. Fellows who obtain research fellowship are expected to become expert and contributor in the area of their research and study. Competition for research fellowship can be intense but once obtain, your graduate studies can be completely paid for.
Below are some research fellowships:
Winterthur Research Fellowships, one to three month short term fellowships for academic, museum, and independent scholars, including graduate students. Fellows receive a stipend of $1500 per month.
Microsoft Research Fellowships – provides financial support for students and early-career faculty, allowing them to focus on their research. Fellowships build lasting relationships between Microsoft Research and academic institutions.
The Gilder Lehrman Institute awards short-term research fellowships - Given to scholars working in American history at every level from doctoral candidates to senior faculty, including independent scholars. Ten fellowships are awarded each year.
The Sloan Research Fellowships seek to stimulate fundamental research by early-career scientists and scholars of outstanding promise. These two-year fellowships are awarded yearly to 118 researchers in recognition of distinguished performance and a unique potential to make substantial contributions to their field.
The National Science Foundation’s Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) helps ensure the vitality of the human resource base of science and engineering in the United States and reinforces its diversity. The program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines who are pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees in the U.S. and abroad. The NSF welcomes applications from all qualified students and strongly encourages under-represented populations, including women, under-represented racial and ethnic minorities, and persons with disabilities, to apply for this fellowship.