Funding Graduate Study

Graduate students at Stanford may receive funding from a variety of sources. University fellowships, research assistantships, and teaching assistantships are offered primarily to doctoral students. In some cases, master's students also may receive fellowships and assistantships. In addition, outside agencies provide fellowships to many Stanford graduate students. Students without fellowships or assistantships, and those whose funding does not cover all of their costs, may need to use student loans, savings, other personal assets, a spouse's earnings, or parental support to meet their educational expenses. 

Financial assistance can be divided into three broad categories:

• Grants, Scholarships and Fellowships - Generally called "fellowships" at the graduate level, these are a form of support that may include a stipend to pay living expenses and/or tuition support. No employment is expected in return for a fellowship; it is awarded on a merit basis to assist a student in the pursuit of a degree.
• Assistantships - A form of graduate student support that includes a compensation package with support for both living expenses and tuition, for the performance of research or teaching services to the University as part of the student's academic and professional training and development.
• Loans - Funds advanced to you by a governmental or private lender, to be repaid (or possibly forgiven) after graduation. Only US Citizens and Permanent Residents are eligible for US federal loan programs through the Department of Education.

We strongly recommend that you investigate all possible funding options in order to maximize your grants and scholarships and minimize loan obligations.

Explore the links to the left for more information, including tuition costs and other estimated expenses.