Financial Assistance Overview

One of the main obstacles to graduate education is the expense.  At Emory Graduate School, we are committed to providing robust and lasting support for our students.

Tuition and Stipend Support

Our basic support includes tuition scholarships, generous stipends, and subsidized health insurance.

• Our tuition scholarships cover the full cost of tuition.  For 2009-10, that amounts to $32,800 for the academic year.
• 2009-10, the minimum stipend is $16,500 for nine months; many programs and fellowships provide twelve months of support and higher stipend amounts, some as high as $29,000.
• We subsidize health insurance by paying 75% of the premiums.  In 2009-10, that amounts to a $1,620 for the year, leaving students to pay $269 per semester.  Our insurance provides excellent terms and access to one of the top-rated health care systems in the nation, Emory Healthcare. 

We also offer three special fellowships -- the George W. Woodruff, the Emory Graduate Diversity, and the Arts & Sciences Fellowships.  All of them provide higher stipends and 12 months of support.

We know that our students’ primary task is to grow as committed and creative intellectual leaders, and our support is structured to permit our students to focus on their academic work.

• Our support is not conditional on teaching or research assistant services.  All students do some teaching, and many do some research assistance, but only through structured activities that are part of their training -- not as work in return for scholarships and stipends.
• Our support lasts.  As long as students make satisfactory academic progress, the level of support they are awarded on admission can be renewed for up to five years (four in some programs).

If you apply to Emory, you don't need to also apply for any of these fellowships.  Programs determine which of their applicants to nominate for support -- for regular fellowships as well as for special fellowships.  Faculty review committees make the final selections, and their decision will be reflected in an award letter that spells out the terms of support we offer.

Other Financial Support

In addition to scholarships and stipends, we offer two important sources of financial support -- Professional Development Support Funds and advanced student fellowships.

• Our Professional Development Support (PDS) Funds offer graduate students support for activities beyond their regular coursework and research that contribute to their development as scholars and professionals -- attending conferences, obtaining additional training, and conducting costly research.  These funds are available by application -- students can receive up to $2,500 in each category if their advisors believe their projects will further their progress to degree, and more if they go through a competitive review process.
• The Graduate School, sometimes in cooperation with other Emory entities, offer a number of advanced student fellowships.  These are one-year fellowships designed for students who have exhausted their "regular" fellowships but need one more year of support to complete their degrees.

Of course, as an Emory graduate student you would also be eligible for subsidized student loans, and would often be able to find part time teaching positions at colleges and universities in the Atlanta area.

Graduate School is an Investment

Without a doubt, pursuing a graduate education comes with a cost: though they can come close, fellowships are not likely to cover fully 100% of your living costs, and by going to graduate school you are delaying or interrupting your professional career and the climb up the salary ladder.

If you decide to make that sacrifice -- because you are committed to pursuing your curiosity, to develop your capacities, to contribute to the development of knowledge and the advancement of the public good, or for some other reason -- and if Emory Graduate School turns out to be the place for you, then we are committed to providing the financial assistance to make it a feasible and attractive option.