Funding Your Graduate Degree

There are many options for funding your graduate degree ranging from graduate assistantships to scholarships and everything in between. Let’s breakdown three of the funding options that are available and how to go about applying for each one.

Graduate Assistantships (GAs)

A graduate assistantship provides financial assistance to degree-seeking graduate students through a mentored university employment experience. As a graduate assistant, you work for the university whether it is as a research assistant, teaching a class, or working in one of the offices on campus. GA positions include a salary, payment of your tuition, and coverage on the GA health insurance plan. If you are interested in applying for a graduate assistantship, contact your academic department to see what opportunities are available and how to apply.*

Scholarships

There are many scholarship opportunities available for funding your graduate degree, whether they are a Boise State scholarship or an outside scholarship.

Scholarships through departments or colleges require students to fill out the Boise State scholarship application, beginning in mid-November, with most opportunities closing on February 15, 2020. Graduate students with a 3.3 overall GPA may be eligible for the Boise State Gem Scholarship, which waives non-resident fees for out of state and international students. Applications for this scholarship for the Fall 2020 semester are due by February 15, 2020.

Fellowships

Fellowships are internal or external awards that are intended to support a student in a full-time program. They can be extremely competitive as some fellowships provide financial support without the teaching or research requirements like graduate assistantships do.

Boise State was awarded the National Science Foundation (NSF) Bridge to the Doctorate Fellowship. The PNW Graduate Fellows Program will support 12 graduate student candidates from domestic underrepresented minority backgrounds, who are pursuing graduate studies in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).*

For more information on any of these funding opportunities, take a look at the Funding Graduate School website. 

*post edited on 11/1/19 with corrected language regarding GA positions.
*fellowship information updated on 6/26/20.