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Tuition costs in graduate school are similar to undergraduate courses.  However, most students will not have to pay these costs.  Students can often get the tuition waived through a variety of avenues.  Ph.D. programs usually provide complete tuition reimbursements, while the rest provide remuneration for services rendered such as teaching assistantships.  In programs where there is no tuition reimbursement, repayable loans like those offered to undergraduate are available.

The most desirable aid is usually called a fellowship. Awarded to the most promising students (without regard to financial need), fellowships typically pay for all or most tuition and provide a cash living allowance ranging from around $10,000 to over $20,000 per academic year.

Some fellowships are awarded through national competition and may be used at any university you are accepted. The best known of these is the National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowships, which provides about 900 students free tuition plus $30,000 per year (2004 figures). Only the very best students need apply, and only about 10% of applicants are winners each year. You can see the NSF graduate fellowship guidelines by <a href="http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=6201&org=DGE&from=home">clicking here</a>.  The Howard Hughes Medical Institute makes similar awards, for work specifically in biomedical research.  (Unfortunately, the HHMI pre-doctoral awards program is being phased out, ending in 2008.)

A much larger number of fellowships are awarded by individual universities to their own graduate students. Most of the money channeled this way can be traced back to grants made by NSF or the National Institutes of Health to departments or senior researchers. In some cases, you must be working for a particular professor or research group to be eligible. The number of these positions available in a particular department is dependent on the federal budget and the ability of the department's faculty in applying for these grants.

Most graduate students will work for their money.  There are various different positions available, such as research assistant, teaching assistant, teaching fellow, etc.  These jobs generally require around 15 hours a week, depending on what is involved.  The addition of a job to your schedule will probably reduce the amount of courses you can attend and increase the amount of time to complete a program.  An assistant is normally charged a decreased tuition amount, or no tuition at all in addition to some cash payment.  This amount will vary greatly, and is more dependant on the program than on your level of experience.  The benefit to holding this kind of position is in receiving teaching experience, which is a valuable part of becoming a scholar.

Most graduate departments will provide at least one type of financial aid described above for the majority of students accepted into their programs. The wealthiest departments are able to provide financial assistant to all the students in the department.

In certain programs or fields of study, admission is dependent on the financial aid that will support you.  This proves to be true in the “applied” biological sciences, such as agriculture, forestry, horticulture, and wildlife management, to name a few.  These programs do not have undergraduates, and therefore teaching jobs are not available.  The funding for these projects often comes from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and not from the university or program.  If you are interested in this type of program, early communication with the department is very important.

The next type of aid is also the last resort.  This type of aid would be though the various federal programs, such as Pell, Stafford, etc.  This is the same type of loan you may have applied in undergraduate school.  However, it would now be based on your income if you are considered independent of your parents (meaning if your parents pay less than half of all your expenses in a year that you attend graduate school).

Generally speaking, the odds are good that if you have what it takes to get into graduate school in terms of grades, GRE scores, and everything else needed, you will likely be able to have most if not all of the costs provided for without needing to find additional employment.  (In fact most programs that provide full support do not allow outside employment.)  It is still recommended that you apply for financial aid in case you need it.  If you wait until you need it there may not be much available.

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