Financial Aid is awarded to student in 2 different forms.
- Assistantships
- Fellowships (or Scholarships)
Lets looks in detail about different types Assistantships and Fellowships available and how they are awarded.
Assistantships
Ph.D. and Master’s students are awarded assistantships, which fall into four general categories:
- Teaching Assistant (TA)
- Research Assistant (RA)
- Graduate Assistant (GA)
- Graduate Research Assistant (GRA)
These awards are typically administered by fields and departments.
To get assistantships, generally students will work as teaching assistant or take part in research.
Students with assistantships typically receive the following benefits
- Monthly Pay
- Tuition Fee Waiver (or Instate Fees)
- Health Insurance Coverage
Teaching Assistants (TA)
A teaching assistant is an academic appointment in support of the teaching of a course. Teaching assistants may assist in the teaching a section of a course, lead discussions, and/or lead laboratory sections.
For International Students High TOEFL Scores of TSE (or equivalent) scores is required to get apply for TA’s.
Graduate Research Assistantships (GRAs):
A GRA is an academic appointment focused on thesis or other degree-related research of a type that is required from all candidates for the degree. The research project for a GRA directly supports the student’s thesis or dissertation.
Because a student devotes considerable time to thesis or dissertation research, the time devoted to the graduate research assistantship is expected to be significant.
Research assistantships(RAs):
An RA is an academic appointment for research that is not directly thesis-related, 15 to 20 hours per week, averaging no more than 15 hours per week. For example, a RA appointment might include data analysis on a faculty research project not directly related to the student’s dissertation topic. As with other assistantships, there is no separate application. Students are appointed by departments, fields, or individual faculty.
Graduate Assistantships (GAs):
A GA also can be related to doing work in other departments not related to thesis or projects for your course work.
Example – Data analysis on a faculty research project not directly related to the student’s dissertation topic.
Working in Computer Labs of other departments.
Fellowships
Fellowships are generally merit-based awards intended to support a student in a full-time course of study.
This includes stipend and Tuition Waiver.
Students are not required to work like TA’s and GA’s in this case.
Students are not required to pay back the money.
Fellowships and Scholarships sometimes refers the same, but there could be fine distinctions between them.
Comparing this to student loan, where it has to to paid back with interest, with fellowships there are no obligation for students to pay back the money.
Fellowships vs Scholarships
Scholarships – Financial Aid given for Bachelors Degree students
Fellowships – Financial Aid given to Post Bachelors degree students.
Questions About Financial Aid?
Do you have any questions about Financial Aid? Post them in the comments below.
Hi..
I m a final year BE student under VTU university..I wish to pursue my M.S in computer Science..I can afford only upto 5 lakh!!I need scholarship for my tuitons and boarding over der..I m planning to take GRE at the end of my graduation..What earns me fellowship???i need a complete financial aid ..Pls tell me in detail..
Sir, This is venkatesh. I’m a student from NIPER.(National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research) right now i’m pursuing MS in Pharmacology. I’m intrested in doing PhD in US. I would like to know what is the basic tuition fee universities charge for PhD scholar. I came to know that for Phd generally tuition fee is waivered, is it true? and also for getting Phd what is the appreciable GRE and TOEFL scores to get PhD in my fields of interest like Pharmacology cancer biology & molecular biology.
hello sir
i wud like to ask about:
can one get full scholarshp like tution, boead lodge? if yes den please put some light onto how do we try n get, dats wat i guess every1 is tryin to ask.
waiting fr ur repl please do rep.
In order to get a good financial aid , what are the different parameters ? Which is more important : a good GRE+TOEFL score or a good academic record ? Do , mention if something else required .
Thank you !
How much money is needed for an undergraduate study in the top universities in US. I’m from India.
I’m a final yr student of electrical and electronics engineering. I’ve had 4 backologs in 2nd yr but i cleared all of them.My cgpa till date is 6.95. I got placed in a company but i would like to pursue my masters in the US . Which colleges would likely accept me?
Most queries and discussions are around graduate studies. Am interested in undergrad studies. Can u help.
Hi HSB
i have a question, please help me. i have finished master of civil (structural) engineering in iran. my GPA is 3.03 and i have 1 international conference paper(2012) and submitted 1 isi paper(2012). i will take the GRE and TOEFL exams during next 2 month. if i can get min. 1200 in gre exam and 100+ in toefl exam, is there any possibility for me to receive scholarship or financial aid for PHD? if so, it is better for me to take the exams first and then email to professors to find a supervisor or now it is the time to start emailing?
how do i apply for full fellowship on the bases of merit???
i am in third year of btech biotechnology and i wish to do my masters from abroad (most preferably canada or new zealand) but i have a little idea about the fee structure and cost of living in these countries . can you please suggest me cost and living expenses (approx idea) and also is there any scope and good universities for doing masters in biotech from new zealand