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Tips for Entering Graduate Students Seeking Grants and Fellowships

Many agencies offer programs specifically designed to support students in their first year or two of graduate school. For individuals in the process of deciding whether to pursue these types of opportunities there are some important considerations to keep in mind.

• Students who acquire independent support often have greater leeway in choosing a school than students who are solely dependent on the financial support available from the graduate schools to which they've applied.

• Some programs are only open to graduating seniors or students who have not yet accrued any graduate credit hours. It is, therefore, important to begin researching funding opportunities at the same time that you are investigating graduate programs.

• Roughly 70% of the programs that support graduate students have deadlines between October and March. If you wait to explore funding until you are accepted into a graduate program you may miss some interesting funding opportunities.

• Most programs that support first year graduate students emphasize the merits of the applicants and their potential as future professionals in their field of study.

• Applications for these funding programs typically request the following information:
  • a completed application form including biographical information about the student and information about the graduate programs to which you have applied.
  • official transcripts
  • GRE scores
  • a curriculum vitae or resume
  • 2-4 letters of recommendation

• Most agencies will send you additional program information and application materials on request. Some agencies require that you include a self-addressed, stamped envelope with you letter of request. Increasingly, it is also possible to download information and application materials directly from the internet.

The reference librarians at the DuBois Library have compiled a bibliography of funding directories available in their collection, entitled Finding Out About Grants. You can pick up a copy of this bibliography at the library or in our office. In addition, students with UMass computer accounts can access the IRIS and Community of Science(COS) databases to search for funding opportunities.

Examples of grants and fellowships for entering or first year Graduate students

For more information contact the Graduate Student Grants Service, 517 Goodell Building, 545-5273 or 545-5279; gsgs@grad.umass.edu