Grad School Funding

<p>What kind of funding is available for graduate study? Please explain the difference between a fellowship and an assistantship, etc. ~Thanks!</p>

<p>A lot has to do with the Professor who brings in the money from various sources.</p>

<p>It also depends on the field you are in -- sciences, humanities, etc. In the humanities, graduate funding is rarely dependent on grants, but entirely dependent upon the university. What is your projected field of study?</p>

<p>It really does depend on a) the field, b) the school within the field and c) whether you are talking about a professional graduate degree or an academic/research one and d) a terminal masters degree or a PhD. So really not possible to answer without more specific information.</p>

<p>Huge variability. Just to illustrate that variability I will give you an example. All PhD programs in my field, for example, provide full funding to all admitted students (tuition plus living stipend). but the amount depends on the school (and at some schools, might depend on the particular student- some students coming in with higher funding than others). And what you need to do for that funding depends on the school (some require a teaching assistanceship, which can mean anything from TAing to teaching your own classes and the quantity of classes varies dramatically; other schools it's a research assistanceship where you work with faculty on research but that could be X hours or it could be more like a fluid co-author relationship; other places just provide a fellowship with no requirements attached, but you would want to do lots of research anyway). Sometimes the funding is attached to a faculty member's grant, other times its coming from the graduate program or school in general (but in all cases its contractually guaranteed).</p>

<p>More info: S is going for MS in engineering with concurrent MBA. He has been nominated for some sort of "fellowship" ... what is that? All I am really familiar with are teaching assistantships.</p>

<p>Money is going to be a huge issue for us, so I am hoping for some kind of help.</p>

<p>Congratulations!! Hope the Diamonds align. </p>

<p>From our DS experience:
You probably know how the institutional scholarship works. The RA and TA programs should also be known, and is taxed. Fellowships is more unrestricted but generally awarded for a special purpose, ie MacArthur Fellowship, Fullbrights, Rhodes. The fellowship paid for DS books, computer, and living expenses and a careful student can do quite well compared to other students. </p>

<p>The numbers gets confusing as to what funds goes to what. Leave it to the kid to figure it out, as long as nothing comes from you.</p>