Assistantships:
Many graduate students, especially after their first year, become
teaching or research assistants. Through this arrangement,
teaching assistants help professors by leading seminar sections,
reading papers, and meeting with undergraduates.
Research assistants, common in the sciences, oversee
laboratories and assist professors on projects. Both arrangements
allow students to earn money while gaining experience in their
field. Some universities also reduce tuition for students working
as assistants.
Assistantships provide stipends and/or tuition remission in
exchange. In some programs, assistantships are awarded to every
student; in others they are awarded competitively, based on
academic performance.
Employment:
Although employment is not a financial aid program in the
traditional sense, many graduate students help finance their
education with income from full- or part-time jobs. Some students
choose part-time programs, extending the amount of time it takes
to receive a degree, but allowing them to finance all or part of
their education through employment.
Student Loans:
Most grad students try to minimize the loan component of their
financing, but sometimes that just simply isn't possible.
