Academia · 9 min read
Grants for Graduate Students: Funding a Master's or PhD
Assistantships, fellowships, and research grants: where graduate funding actually comes from and how to stack it.
Where graduate funding actually comes from
Graduate funding is a stack, not a single award. The layers: assistantships (teaching or research work for a stipend plus tuition waiver), fellowships (funding with no work obligation), research and dissertation grants (project costs like fieldwork, equipment, and data), and employer or government sponsorship. Most funded graduate students combine two or three of these.
Fellowships worth knowing
- NSF Graduate Research Fellowship (GRFP) - for US-based STEM and social science PhD students; multi-year stipend.
- Ford Foundation Fellowships - predoctoral, dissertation, and postdoctoral support.
- AAUW fellowships - for women in graduate study, including international awards.
- Disciplinary societies - nearly every field's professional association runs graduate awards and dissertation grants.
- University fellowships - many departments nominate their strongest admits automatically; ask.
Research and dissertation grants
Separate from living support, project grants pay for the work itself: fieldwork travel, participant payments, lab consumables, archival access. Amounts are smaller: often $1,000 to $20,000: but applications are shorter and odds are better. Winning two or three also builds the track record that wins the next fellowship.
Ask your department directly
A surprising amount of graduate funding never appears on public databases: department discretionary funds, endowed awards, emergency grants. Email the graduate coordinator with one question: "What internal awards should I be applying for, and when?" It's the highest-return email you'll send this year.
Know the terms before you stack
- Many fellowships cap outside income or require you to decline an assistantship.
- Stipends are usually taxable; tuition waivers usually aren't. Plan for the April bill.
- Some awards require service commitments or progress reports: diarize them on day one.
FAQ
Are graduate students eligible for Pell Grants?
No: Pell Grants are for undergraduates. Graduate students rely on assistantships, fellowships, research grants, and federal student loans instead.
What's the difference between an assistantship and a fellowship?
An assistantship pays a stipend and tuition waiver in exchange for teaching or research work. A fellowship funds you with no work obligation, which is why fellowships are more competitive and more prestigious.
Can I hold a fellowship and an assistantship at once?
Often yes, but many fellowships cap additional income or require you to decline the assistantship. Read the terms: stacking rules differ by funder.
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