Graduate Students
Financial Aid
Graduate students are frequently supported through a variety of government and industrial fellowships and by research and teaching assistantships.
- Academic-year stipends for half-time research assistant (RA) or teaching assistant (TA) positions ranged from $12,915 to $13,905 for the 2003-4 academic year, plus tuition (approximately $5,232 (in-state) to $9,636 (out-of-state), per semester). RA positions usually include summer support, at a rate comparable to that of the academic year stipend ($4,230-4,539).
- A few add-on fellowships are available from Penn State's College of Engineering and Graduate School. These are highly competitive, and students must be nominated by departments.
- Academic year stipends for fellows averaged $16,000.
Financial stipends generally increase at an annual rate of 2-3 percent annually. Federal Perkins and Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency loans are available upon evidence of need.