Funding your Graduate Education

Estimating Costs of Attendance

A graduate degree is an investment in your future. You will need to determine how your education will be financed. You will first need to do some financial and personal planning. Graduate programs in America often cost in the tens of thousands of dollars and addressing the issue of funding prior to beginning your program is essential.

You should budget for:

  • Tuition
  • Fees
  • Housing and costs of living (food, utilities, etc.)
  • Books and academic materials
  • Lab costs
  • Transportation

Assistantships: Research, Teaching and Other

One of the most common means of funding graduate education in the U.S. is the graduate assistantship. Graduate assistants perform services for a university to reduce the out-of-pocket expenses of their education. A typical assistantship includes a financial stipend, tuition remission (waiver or reduction in tuition) and health benefits. There are several types of assistantships which are available at most institutions.

  • Research Assistants are prevalent in the science and engineering fields and in some social science fields. Students work in laboratories or in the field, assisting faculty with research projects. This option provides relevant experience and the field specialization will be useful after attaining your degree. There is no set way to become a research assistant, with parameters varying by institution and department. The first step should be to identify a professor or project that you would be interested in working with. Once a project is identified, investigate how research assistants are chosen and take the necessary action to apply.
  • Teaching Assistants (TA’s) teach undergraduates and may lead discussion sessions, administer exams, grade papers and hold office hours. TA’s usually work at least 20 hours per week. Ph.D. students with experience may often teach an undergraduate level course. Teaching assistantships are arranged through a university and particular departments.
  • Graduate Assistants work in a university’s administration or support service areas. This work does not always relate to a student’s field and can cover a wide range of duties, from computer repair to academic advising to office assistant. Administrative graduate assistants are arranged through the university and its academic departments.

Fellowships, Scholarships and Traineeships are cash awards given by departments, universities or outside organizations to candidates who fulfill specific qualifications. The amount of money awarded depends on the particular fellowship. Fellowships are unique as they do not require any additional work other than the maintenance of a grade point average and progress towards a degree.

Prestigious Scholarships

For Graduate Study
In the United Kingdom
Gates Cambridge
Marshall
Rhodes
Outside the United States
Fulbright
George J. Mitchell
NSEP David L. Boren
Inside the United States(mostly)
Jack Kent Cooke
Hertz
Jacob Javits
James Madison
Pickering
Soros Fellowship

Prestigious scholarships or fellowships are highly competitive, either nationally or internationally. They provide financial support and other benefits to a limited number of highly qualified candidates. Typically, these scholarships support one to three years of study after the bachelor’s degree at universities in the United States or abroad.  (Rhodes, Gates-Cambridge, Marshall and Jack Kent Cooke are well-known programs of this type.)

For information about UK-based prestigious scholarships and where to get started, contact April Householder, 410-455-5754 or aprilh@umbc.edu. UK-based scholarships include the Rhodes Scholarship, Gates-Cambridge Scholarship and Marshall Scholarships.

For information about non-UK post-graduate scholarships and where to get started, contact Brian Souders, associate director, Center for Global Engagement, 410‑455‑2624 or souders@umbc.edu. Non-UK-based post-graduate scholarships include the U.S. Student Fulbright Program, the Boren Fellowship, the Mitchell Scholarship for study in Ireland, the Soros Fellowship for New Americans and the Pickering Fellowship for graduate study for future US diplomats.

Student Loans are offered to individuals for the sole purpose of financing education. Most student loans can be arranged through a bank of choice. More information can be found at NASPAA Listing of Student Loans and Scholarships.

Federal and State Financial Aid
The government offers loan money to graduate students. Federal student loans are need-based. To determine if you qualify, contact UMBC’s Financial Aid Office.

Please note: To certify your eligibility for various types of financial aid and assistantships, you will be required, on an annual basis, to complete and submit a  Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) as a part of your application (if you are a U.S. citizen). You may submit the FAFSA form by mail or apply online at https://studentaid.gov/. Although graduate schools often use the FAFSA to determine your financial aid eligibility, parent income and assets are usually not relevant at the graduate level, so graduate students who are not dependent on their parents are often able to qualify for financial assistance.

Tuition Benefits for Military Personnel and Veterans

If you are a veteran, learn more about tuition benefits at the Veterans Administration Website.

Employer Tuition Benefits

As part of their fringe benefits package, many employers offer to pay or reimburse tuition costs if the degree or courses are related to your current position. Beware of the fine print, as some employers may require you to agree to work for them for a certain period of time based on the amount they have contributed to your education. Also, you may be required to maintain a certain GPA in order to receive tuition reimbursement. If you leave to work elsewhere, or don’t make the grade, you may have to repay the money. These are inquiries you would like to make before signing on the dotted line.

Internships/Cooperative Education

Most institutions offer internship and cooperative education programs. They offer an opportunity to gain hands-on experience in your graduate field of study. These types of professional practice programs are a major resource for employers in the region and an excellent training ground for students. By combining classroom study with on-the-job experience, you can grasp the link between theory and practice, and learn valuable job-related habits and skills.  In addition, at most institutions, most of these positions are paid.

Visit the Career Center to learn more about our Internship/Cooperative program (Math/Psych 201, 410-455-2216). All of our services are available to currently enrolled graduate students.

Additional Resources

Financial Aid: http://www.fastweb.com

Other on-campus as well as off-campus positions for graduate students can also be found in Handshake, the online system available to all UMBC students that allows you to search for various professional and part-time opportunities. Just log into Handshake and under Jobs use the all filters to search for “Graduate School” and “Fellowship” job types.

UMBC Departments & Programs Who Offer Graduate School Application Assistance

Key Service Providers:

  • Career Center: Providing services and programs to assist students and alumni with the graduate school application process, career exploration, career skill development, and internship, co-op, full- and part-time job searching – Math/Psych, Room 201, 410-455-2216, careers@umbc.edu.
  • Office of Academic Services and Pre-Professional Advisement: Offering academic advising and graduate/professional school planning – Academic Services, Room 102, 410-455-2500, arc@umbc.edu
  • The Shriver Center: Connecting students with service-learning opportunities. – Public Policy, 1st Floor, 410-455-2493, shrivercenter.umbc.edu

Other Campus Programs and Departments:

 

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