Career Development Center

Financing Your Degree

If you are planning to attend graduate school right out of Oxy, ideally you should begin your research in your junior year.

Types of awards/assistance available:
  • Fellowships: Prestigious awards, often quite substantial. They are competitive and based on academic achievement. Do not usually require work
  • Assistantships: Paid, part-time employment that may include full or partial tuition waiver (often of the out-of-state portion of tuition). Those with this type of award often teach, conduct research, or work in student affairs
  • Loans: Low interest loans are available to most graduate students. Contact the institution's office of financial aid for more information
  • Grants/Scholarships: These are gifts of money. They may be "free money" scholarships with no obligation for work or repayment, or they may be for a specific purpose. Science organizations, for instance, may award a grant for completion of a student research project

Some financial aid websites include: FinAid, Peterson's Graduate School Guide, and the Financial Aid Office. For more information call the Federal Student Aid Information Center (1-800-288-0286).