Grants for Graduate Students
Graduate students should prefer grants and scholarships to help fund their studies--which usually do not have to be repaid, unlike graduate school loans. Graduate students can find financial assistance through various sources, including nonprofit and professional organizations as well as businesses. Some grants are school specific, while others allow students to pursue their work at different institutions. To receive grant awards through a school, students likely must complete a FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) application.
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Fulbright
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Graduate students can apply for a Fulbright Grant (iie.org/Fulbright) offered through the U.S. Department of State. The program annually awards about 1,500 students with funding to study or conduct research overseas in multiple fields, such as sociology, performing arts and science. Student who have earned a doctorate degree are ineligible--excluding juris doctorate (law school).
Modern Europe
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One grant offered by Cornell University is the Michele Sicca Pre-Dissertation Research Grant (einaudi.cornell.edu/europe/funding/sicca.asp), which is available to students interested in government, economics, sociology and history. Graduate students receive a maximum of $2,500 to complete research in one to two months. Students must focus on modern Europe and evaluate possible dissertation topics.
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New Americans
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The Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans (pdsoros.org) provides a $20,000 stipend plus a maximum of $16,000 to pay for 50 percent of graduate school tuition. The grant promotes research about accomplishments new Americans made--in any field. Students cannot be older than 30 and must hold legal status as a naturalized U.S. citizen or a lawful permanent resident (green card holder). Alternatively, students can be eligible if their parents are naturalized citizens (who were not born in the U.S. but became citizens).
Engineering & Science
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Minority students are eligible for funding through the National Consortium for Graduate Degrees for Minorities in Engineering and Science (gemfellowship.org). The MS Engineering Grant offers a $10,000 stipend for three semesters, at least two paid internships, along with tuition at an affiliated university (at 154 schools--such as UCLA, Boston University, Duke, Harvard, and University of Houston). Similar grants are offered to doctoral students studying engineering or science.
Music Education
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Penn State offers Beels Dunikoski Grants (music.psu.edu/musiced/beels.html) for graduate music education students there. The funding can be used to support research, obtain materials unavailable elsewhere, or cover conference costs--whether regional, national or international.
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