Students who are admitted to graduate degree programs may be offered scholarly fellowships, teaching assistantships, research assistantships,(see below for details) or combinations of these options. These forms of assistance almost always provide graduate students with a nominal stipend or salary and tuition remission. Funding options vary depending on the institution, department, or program. Find out how funding assignments are determined in the programs for which you are applying: whether they are merit-based, targeted at students with certain backgrounds or credentials, or guaranteed for all students who have been accepted to the program. Find out also whether you need to make special applications for funding beyond your application for admission.
Many MA programs (including Pitt’s MA program in English) do not offer funding; some offer partial funding (funding for second-year MA students in two-year programs, for instance); and some offer full funding.
PhD programs usually provide some kind of financial assistance to students they admit. However, if you are offered a funding package, be sure to find out how many years of funding are guaranteed and in what forms—such as stipends or assistantships, for example. Do not assume that you will receive funding for as long as it takes you to complete the degree. Also, keep in mind that even if you receive funding, it might not meet all of your living expenses. Weigh the amount of the stipend against the local cost of living. Find out about funding in summers, since many degree programs expect that students will be able to make progress toward their degrees in summers but may not provide funding. Some schools discourage their funded graduate students from taking on other jobs, since the graduate funding is supposed to enable students to spend time on their scholarship. Try to find out how graduate students currently enrolled in the program manage financially.
Fellowships
A Non-Teaching Fellowship Offers Direct Funding To A Student, Usually In Addition To Tuition Remission.
Students receiving these fellowships usually do not have any other duties to perform beyond the coursework and requirements of the degree program. Programs make fellowships available in various ways. Some schools offer first-year fellowships so that students can get adjusted to graduate school and graduate-level work. Some schools offer special fellowships for students in the last year of the dissertation writing process so that they can complete their work with no other distractions. Some programs offer only competitive fellowships for which students must make separate application.
Teaching Assistantships And Teaching Fellowships
Students Who Receive Teaching Assistantships And Teaching Fellowships Are Expected To Teach Courses Within The Department.
Teaching duties can take the form of assisting a professor with a large lecture class (grading and leading discussion sections), working as a tutor in a Writing Center, or teaching your own class. The kinds of courses TAs and TFs teach are determined by departmental needs. Usually, TAs and TFs in English departments teach introductory composition classes; however, in some departments, TAs and TFs teach literature courses.
Research Assistantships
Students Awarded Research Assistantships Are Usually Assigned To Work For One Or More Professors For A Fixed Number Of Hours Each Week.
RAs provide whatever forms of research assistance the professors require, such as checking out library books and photocopying articles.
Student Loans And Other Financial Assistance
The Financial Aid Office Of Any Institution Will Offer Information About Loans Available Through The University, Through The Government, And Through Private Lenders.
Even graduate students who receive fellowships or positions as TAs or RAs may need to borrow money for living expenses. Sometimes graduate students can apply for federal work-study jobs. A useful website describing loans and other assistance programs for graduate students.
Health Insurance And Other Benefits
Many Graduate Programs Do Not Offer Health Insurance For Students, Although This Benefit Is Slowly Becoming More Common.
Check and see what health benefits are provided in programs you are considering. Bear in mind that providing you with health insurance is different from providing you with Student Health services at little or no cost (a benefit much more common). Remember that you may receive benefits through a spouse or partner, and you may be covered by insurance policies of parents or guardians if you are a full-time student under the age of 25.
If the graduate program you plan to enter does not offer health insurance and if you do not have health benefits from another source, you may wish to purchase your own health insurance (perhaps taking advantage of plans aimed specifically at students). Remember also that most universities do not provide graduate students with a full benefits package including retirement, life insurance, and the other components typically provided for full-time university employees.
Outside Fellowships And Grants
Some Fellowships And Grants Available To Graduate Students Are Not Offered Or Administered By Universities.
A college financial aid office is likely to have books and listings of some of these opportunities, if you are willing to do some research. The “Smart Student Guide to Financial Aid answers FAQs and offers a list of books about graduate student funding possibilities.
Visit http://www.finaid.org/questions/fellowship.phtml for more information.