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Financial Aid for US Citizens and Permanent Resident Graduate Students

NOTE: Information for International Students is slightly different from that given below. If you are an International Student please click here)

Student support funds at UCLA are provided to graduate students in the form of grants, fellowships, teaching assistantships, and graduate student researcher appointments. Graduate students apply for Departmental/Graduate Division financial aid during the online application process.

Support based solely on need is also provided, in the form of work-study and loans, through the UCLA Financial Aid Office. To apply for this type of financial aid, submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) (or the FAFSA Renewal Application, if applicable) following the instructions provided at the FAFSA website. Completion of the FAFSA or the FAFSA Renewal Application is required for all financial aid programs (not including Departmental/Graduate Division support).

• Fellowships and Grants

Awards are competitive and open to all graduate students. Departmental fellowships and grants are awarded in varying amounts and may include registration fees and nonresident tuition.

Recipients of fellowships, traineeships, and grants must maintain satisfactory progress throughout their tenure. They must be registered and enrolled each quarter for a minimum of 12 units and are expected to devote fulltime to study and research.

• Nonresident Tuition Fellowships

A limited number of fellowships are awarded by departmental recommendation to cover either the nonresident tuition or the registration fees and living expenses of graduate students with distinguished academic records. Applicants must be enrolled in a full-time program of study and may not be recipients of awards from federal, state or private foundations that provide tuition coverage. Contact the Department's Office of Student Affairs for more details.

• Academic Apprenticeships

"Academic Apprentice Personnel" is the term applied to registered graduate students who have fulfilled the University's established criteria for appointment to teaching or research assistantships (no more than 50% time), and for which they are compensated at rates approved annually by the Regents of the University of California.

These apprenticeships are intended to provide qualified students with relevant training experience for academic and academic-related careers in teaching and research and to augment limited resources from within the University for graduate student support. As a matter of University policy, apprentice personnel in both the teaching and research series are considered primarily as students being professionally trained.

Graduate students who are recipients of teaching and research assistantships must meet all registration and enrollment criteria established by the Department. They must also maintain satisfactory progress throughout their appointments. Preference is usually given to doctorate students.

Teaching Assistantships

Teaching assistants are selected on the basis of scholarship and promise as teachers under the tutelage and supervision of regular faculty members who are responsible for curriculum and instruction in the University.

Contact the Office of Student Affairs for more details.

Graduate Student Researchers

This is the most common form of financial assistance. Faculty members obtain contracts from various government agencies and industry to carry out research in applied topics. A portion of these funds is meant to pay trained graduate students a salary to assist in research which will normally result in a thesis for the student and scientific progress in the topic. Research Assistantships are individually negotiated between each student and his/her thesis advisor. Students must convince their advisors that they have the necessary skills, background, and motivation to effectively participate in relevant areas of research. This will normally happen after the student has performed well in a number of advanced courses offered by the adviser.

Contact the Office of Student Affairs for more details.

• Recommended Web Resources

The UCLA Office of Financial Aid offers important information and online forms necessary for applying for need-based financial support.

For a list of extramural funding sources, explore the list of funding opportunities provided by the UCLA Graduate Division website.