Grants for Graduate Students
Helping You Continue Your Education
You have completed your undergraduate degree and perhaps you are immediately matriculating into a graduate degree program or maybe you have been in the career world for a few years. You can still apply for many of the same federal student loans for which you applied during your undergrad years:
- Graduate Stafford Loan
- Perkins Loan
But now you have the option to apply for the Federal Graduate/Professional PLUS Loan. This credit-based student loan requires repayment with interest after you graduate.
You will find that grants for graduate students are more likely to originate with organizations, colleges and universities that are looking for students in a particular area of study. For instance, if you are interested in microbiology, you may find a very specific grant that funds graduate studies in related research:
- American Society of Microbiology Minority Fellowships
Grants for Graduate Minorities
Minority graduate students have an advantage over many other white, especially male, college counterparts. Minority graduate students, who are studying in areas traditionally underrepresented by minorities, will find a plethora of grant programs:
- American Indian Graduate Center Fellowships
- Cornell University Graduate School Fellowships for Minorities
- National Consortium for Graduate Degrees for Minorities in Engineering and Science, Inc.
- Black Collegian Organization- maintains a resource list for African American graduate and post-graduate students looking for program funding via fellowships, grants and internships.
Graduate students may face different challenges from their undergraduate cohorts. Increasing numbers of graduate and post-graduate students are returning to college in mid-career and raising families at the same time. Some are pursuing degrees in non-traditional formats, such as online programs.
The University of Phoenix, one of the leading universities in adult online degree programs offers a couple of grants, most notably their Project Reach which helps fund the Masters in Education. Graduate education students who are willing to commit to teaching in high-need areas may qualify.
Alternative Programs
Alternative organizations such as national sorority and fraternal organizations often extend valuable grants to their members at every degree level. See your school chapter for grant opportunities.
