If you are just beginning your funding search, here are answers to some basic questions:
How do students pay for graduate school?
Most students pay for graduate school through a combination of the following ten avenues.
- Private loans
- Federal student loans
- Tax incentives
- Savings
- Work
- Employee benefits (see information on the UA's educational benefits)
- Tuition waivers
- Teaching or research assistantships
- Fellowships from the university (internal funding)
- Fellowships from outside the university (external funding)
How do I find information about these resources?
The UA is a large and decentralized institution, so finding information can be tricky. People in your department are usually the best resource for information about funding, especially internal funding. Be sure to talk to your graduate coordinator and your advisor about funding.
Working for the UA as a Graduate Assistant or as an employee is often a good way to fund a graduate education. Talk to your department and to other departments about Graduate Assistant positions, remember that non-academic units also have GA positions. Find more information on working at the UA through Human Resources.
Be sure to be in contact with the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid for cost planning, information on loans, and more.
For more information on finding funding, see our article on the topic, our collection of resources, and our podcast episode on funding.
How do international students find funding?
Funding for international students can be a challenge. We have a helpful article with tips for international students.
Immigrants Rising maintains a list of opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students that don’t require proof of US citizenship or legal permanent residency.
Where can I find more information on fellowships for graduate school?
For basic information on fellowships, please refer to our article, Fellowships 101A.
Our resources for finding funding gathers best strategies for searching for funding.
We also have a monthly GradFunding advice column on applying to fellowships. You can sign up to receive the GradFunding newsletter via email.