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⇒ Student & Scholar Advising ⇒ Students ⇒ Prospective Graduate Students

Prospective Graduate Students

The best sources of aid for prospective graduate students are:

• Aid from home country
• US federal aid
• Non-governmental sources
• Departmental aid

About 77% of IU’s foreign master’s students and 23% of foreign doctoral students are funded by home-country sources, either from private funds or home-country scholarships.  While the majority of university departmental aid goes to students who have been enrolled at least one year, some is granted to outstanding first-year students.

Home country:

Your home country’s government may sponsor students for study in an institution abroad.

US Federal Aid:

Don’t be confused: you are not eligible for federal student loans, Pell grants, work study, or any of the taxpayer-funded aid programs that American students use.  And once you arrive in the US, very little federal funding is available to graduate students.  But some funding is available through US federal sources like the Institute of International Education, or through educational exchanges between US and foreign governments.  These awards, such as the Fulbright Fellowships are generally given to students when they are seeking admission to a US institution.

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and agencies:

Several NGOs grant full or partial funding to international students for study in the US

These three funding sources are lumped together here because you will start looking for all of them in the same places.

First, contact an overseas advising center.  Advisors in most centers provide information and meet with students free of charge; come prepared to talk about your educational goals.  You can locate your nearest advising center by calling the US Embassy, the United States Information Service, or the US bi-national commission in your country.

The application procedure varies for each aid source.  Some organizations take applications and then apply to universities for their students, which sometimes means that students have less choice in where they attend.  Others allow students to apply to any university, and then submit an application for aid once they are accepted.

Departmental Aid

Most departments at Indiana University have money to offer promising graduate students.  Departments decide to whom to give aid to after the student has already been admitted, so even if you are not sure you can cover your expenses, apply to the university anyway.  Try to demonstrate backup funding in case you do not get a departmental award.  Specify in the application that you are interested in being considered for scholarship help.  You should find out whether you have been granted funding a few weeks after you are admitted.  Often funding involves working for the department as a research or teaching assistant in exchange for a full or partial tuition waiver and a stipend.

If you are interested in a specific area within your field, find out if an IU professor specializes in that topic.  Contact that professor; faculty profiles and emails are available on most departmental websites.  Don’t feel shy about writing to a faculty member.  It’s considered perfectly appropriate in the US to approach a professor expressing interest in his or her work; you don’t need an introduction.  It is very common, and shows your interest in the department.  You could describe your credentials, and ask if he or she needs a research assistant.  Sometimes individual professors have research money they can use to fund assistants; you might get lucky.  And even if the professor cannot offer money, he or she may put a good word in for you when funding decisions are being made.

Other Employment

International students can usually work on campus.  During the regular school year, students may work up to 20 hours per week.  During the summers and vacation time, they may work up to 40 hours per week.  Although your job may help with educational expenses, the money you hope to earn from hourly work cannot be used to support your initial request for a student visa.  If you have a written offer of a graduate or research assistantship, that may be used as financial support for your student visa.  All international students must receive work authorization before beginning work.  For additional information on employment regulations, see F-1 Visa Status Employment or J-1 Visa Status Employment.