Funding your graduate education can be done through a number of methods including scholarships, fellowships, Graduate Assistantships, student loans, employer sponsored education benefits, and use of the GI Bill, if you served in the military. We have compiled some basic information and links to get you started here at Mason.
Graduate Assistantships
Assistantships are university employment positions held by graduate students who have full-time enrollment, a minimum 3.0 GPA, and are in good academic standing. Assistantships are not available for all programs and programs make offers for these positions, not Graduate Admissions. If available, Assistantships fall into one of in the following three categories:
Graduate Teaching Assistantship (GTA) - These are students will participate in the instruction, advising, and evaluation of undergraduates under faculty supervision.
Graduate Research Assistantship (GRA)- These are students participate directly in research or research-support activities under faculty supervision
Graduate Professional Assistantship- This is a non-teaching, non-research assistantship. Students perform work in which they primarily gain experience, practice and guidance in relation to their academic program. This work must be strongly connected to their field of study and career preparation.
Graduate Fellowships
Graduate fellowships are awards that provide support to Master’s and Doctoral students for research, writing, fieldworks, language study, professional development, or independent projects undertaken in conjunction with a degree program. To learn more about Mason Graduate fellowships, please visit the Office of Graduate Fellowships.
Military Funding
If you have questions about using veterans benefits or resources here at Mason, please schedule a consultation with our Office of Military Services.
Financial Aid
To learn about types of aid, applying for loans, eligibility and important dates, please visit our Financial Aid section.