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Graduate School Funding

For graduate school in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM), you can count on receiving funding to pay for your graduate education, specifically for a PhD.

Most graduate programs will give you:

  • Stipend
  • Tuition
  • Sometimes health insurance

Your PhD funding comes from:

  • Departmental support: teaching and research assistantships, scholarships, fellowships and grants.
  • University-wide fellowships funded by state and foundations

THE ABOVE FUNDING IS OFFERED TO YOU WITHOUT APPLYING AS PART OF YOUR FUNDING PACKAGE.

Extramural Funding

This type of funding is awarded directly to you and you have to apply directly to each program. The following sites have nationally competitive fellowships for 1-4 years of graduate studies.  Most of these provide a stipend plus cost of education.

NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP): To increase diversity in science and engineering.

Provides fellowships for early-career graduate students who pursue research-based master’s and doctoral degrees in NSF-supported disciplines.

GEM Fellowship

  • Awards about 125 fellowships annually
  • Full tuition and fees, plus a minimum $16k stipend
  • Masters or PhD programs – Requiring a research thesis or dissertation
  • GEM applicants, awarded or not, receive many opportunities, such as: graduate fee waivers and GRE registration fee reduction.
  • Application Deadline is in November

US Department of Energy Fellowships

  • 80 graduate fellowships
  • Tuition and fees, plus a $35k for living expenses
  • Masters or PhD programs - Requiring a research thesis or dissertation
  • Application opens in November
  • Visit their website for more details

National Defense Science & Engineering Graduate Fellowship

  • Awards about 200 fellowships
  • PhD program requiring a research thesis

National Research Service Award Predoctoral Fellowships for Minority Students

  • Support for research training leading to the PhD degree and/or MD-PhD degree in biomedical sciences for selected students from underrepresented minority groups.

NIGMS MARC Predoctoral Fellowships

  • Great funding during your doctoral work. Specifically for former MARC Scholars

Resources to help you search for extramural funding