Fees and Financial Support
Fee Structure
Tuition in the Graduate School will be charged at the rate of $1,504 per semester hour for the 2008/2009 academic year and is subject to change in the future.
Fees are as follows for 2008 - 2009:
- $356 - Activities and recreation fee
- $1,958 - Medical insurance
- $30 - One time transcript fee
Awards and Assistantships
Vanderbilt University expends its awards and assistantship funds for the twin purposes of attracting superior students and providing assistance to the faculty in instruction and research.
Financial awards are available in several forms, with considerable variation from one program to another. Students wishing to be considered for financial awards administered by the Graduate School should check the appropriate box under "Financial Information" on page 2 of the online application and make certain that a complete application is received by January 15.
All fellowships and assistantships described below are awarded on the basis of academic merit and potential for scholarship.
University Tuition Scholarships
Service-free awards that pay all or part of tuition costs. Maximum award value is currently $30,792 for the nine-month academic year.
The following four awards are normally supplemented by a full University Tuition Scholarship:
- University Fellowships
Service-free awards that provide stipends of up to $21,000 for the academic year. - Graduate Teaching Assistantships
Awards that provide stipends of up to $21,000 for the academic or calendar year to students who assist in supervised teaching of undergraduates. - Graduate Research Assistantships
Awards that provide stipends of up to $22,000 for the academic or calendar year. Students carry out thesis or dissertation research with support from a research grant. - Traineeships
Service-free awards that provide stipends of up to $23,000 for the calendar year to students who study full-time in certain areas of the sciences or engineering. - Teacher Training Awards.
A number of half-tuition, service-free University Tuition Scholarships are available to students pursuing the Master of Arts in Teaching degree. M.A.T. students may receive support as teaching assistants in certain programs.
Honor Fellowships
Several honor fellowships are awarded by the Graduate School to highly qualified students entering study for the Ph.D. or the master's degree, if that is the highest degree offered by the program. In order to be considered for these awards, an applicant's file must be complete by January 15.
Individual departments nominate applicants for these highly competitive awards, which are announced in early March. The honor fellowships listed below are in addition to a fellowship, assistantship, traineeship, or tuition award and are made for a period of five years for the Ph.D., two years for the master's.
- Harold Stirling Vanderbilt Graduate Scholarships: $6,000
- University Graduate Fellowships: $10,000
Provost's Graduate Fellowships
The Graduate School offers these fellowships to under-represented minority graduate students who intend to pursue the Ph.D. degree in preparation for an academic teaching career. Each award provides a $10,000 stipend awarded as a supplement to any other funding that is offered to the applicant and are made for a period of up to five years
Other Sources of Support
Vanderbilt cannot offer financial awards to all qualified applicants. Prospective applicants are urged to apply for fellowships or grants from national, international, industrial or foundation sources. Information on such fellowships may be obtained through undergraduate financial aid or career counseling offices or from directories of funding sources, such as the Annual Register of Grant Support and The Grants Register, in university libraries.
Listed below are some of the major non-University fellowships for which U.S. citizens or permanent residents may apply. These fellowships pay annual stipends in addition to a tuition allowance. Students who receive an award from Vanderbilt and from a non-University source may be permitted to hold both concurrently, although Vanderbilt may adjust its award accordingly.
- Fannie and John Hertz Fellowships in the Applied Physical Sciences. Hertz Foundation, P.O. Box 5032, Livermore, CA 94551-5032. Deadline: October
www.hertzfndn.org
- Ford Foundation Predoctoral and Dissertation Fellowships for Minorities. Fellowship Office, National Research Council, 2101 Constitution Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20418. Deadline: November
Telephone: (202) 334-2872
www.fordfound.org
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute Doctoral Fellowships in Biological Science. (also open to foreign nationals.) Fellowship Office, National Research Council, 2101 Constitution Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20418. Deadline: December
Telephone: (202) 334-3419
www.hhmi.org
- Andrew W. Mellon Fellowships in the Humanistic Studies. Andrew W. Mellon Fellowships in Humanistic Studies, Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, CN 5329, Princeton, NJ 08543-5329. Deadline: December
Telephone: (609) 452-7007
www.woodrow.org
- Jacob K. Javits Fellowships for Graduate Study in the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences. Office of Higher Education Programs, U.S. Department of Education, 600 Independence Ave, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20202. Deadline: January
Telephone: (202) 260-3574
www.ed.gov/offices/OPE/OHEP/iegps/javits.html
- National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowships and NSF Minority Graduate Fellowships. NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program, Oak Ridge Associated Universities, P.O. Box 3010, Oak Ridge, TN 37831-3010. Deadline: November
Telephone: (615) 241-4300
www.nsf.gov
- Department of National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship Program. NDSEG Fellowship Program, 200 Park Drive, Suite 211, P.O. Box 13444, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-3444. ATTN: Dr. George Outterson. Deadline: January
Telephone: (919) 549-8505
- Spencer Foundation Dissertation Fellowships for Research Related to Education: no citizenship requirement, but doctorate must be sought at a U.S. university; $17,000 over a period of one-two years; October 22; (applications must be requested by October 10).
www.spencer.org
- AAUW Educational Foundation Dissertation Fellowships: female U.S. citizens or permanent residents; $14,500; 1 year; November 17; (applications must be requested by November 1).
www.aauw.org
- Charlotte W. Newcombe Doctoral Dissertation Fellowships: ethical or religious values in all areas of human endeavor; $14,000; 1 year; December 12; (applications must be requested by November 14).
www.woodrow.org/newcomber
- Woodrow Wilson Dissertation Grants in Women's Studies and Women's Health: research about women in society, history, the psychology of women, and women as seen in literature and art. A separate grant promotes research on issues relating to women's health; $1,500-2,000; 1 year; November 1; (applications must be requested by October 17).
www.woodrow.org/womens-studies
- Brookings Institution Research Fellowships in Economic Studies, Foreign Policy Studies, or Governmental Studies: $15,000; 1 year; nominations by a graduate department must be received by December 15 and completed applications are due by February 15.
www.brook.edu/admin/fellowships.htm
- Harry Frank Guggenheim Dissertation Fellowships: human dominance, aggression, and violence (applications especially encouraged from students in biological and social sciences); $10,000; 1 year for dissertation write-up; February 1.
www.hfg.org
- National Science Foundation Grants for Improving Doctoral Dissertation Research: in the Directorate for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences and in the Directorate for Biological Sciences; Ph.D. students enrolled at U.S. institutions; up to 24 months; open, allow up to 6 months for normal processing.
www.nsf.gov
- Council of American Overseas Research Centers: The Council of American Overseas Research Centers (CAORC) offers Ph.D. candidates who are in the dissertation writing stage of their doctoral work and Post-doctoral scholars/researchers an opportunity to fund regional and trans-regional research. The fellowship is sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. State Department and is in its ninth year. The fellowship is only open to U.S. citizens.
Deadline: December 31, 2002.
www.caorc.org
- Luce Scholars Program: Vanderbilt students who are not Asian specialists; eleven months in East or Southeast Asia; applications available beginning of fall semester. Contact John Robinson, International Student Services, 322-2753.
- U.S. Student Fulbright Grants for Graduate Study Abroad(Institute for International Education): any field; and Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Program (U.S. Department of Education): modern foreign languages and area studies; U.S. citizens. Contact Professor Joel Harrington, Campus Fulbright Program Advisor, Department of History, 322-2575.
- Marshall Scholarships for Study in Great Britain: any field; Rhodes Scholarships: any field of study at Oxford University: And Churchill Scholarships: engineering, science, and mathematics at Churchill College, Cambridge University. Contact Professor Paul Elledge, Department of English, 322-2541.
- German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD): Annual Grant for Study and Research in Germany: any field;graduate students or graduating seniors; Graduate School can nominate up to 3 candidates. Campus advisor, Professor John McCarthy, Department of Germanic and Slavic Languages, 322-2611.
www.daad.org
- DAAD Research Grants for Recent Ph.Ds and Ph.D Candidates in Germany: dissertation or postdoctoral research at libraries, archives, institutes, or laboratories in Germany; U.S. citizens; 2-6 months during calendar year; November 1.
www.daad.org
- Social Science Research Council Dissertation Fellowships for Area Research: social sciences, humanities; graduate students must be enrolled in U. S. institutions; November 1-February 1.
www.ssrc.org
Financial Aid Online
A number of internet sites provide important information about financial support. Mark Kantrowitz's FinAid website is perhaps the most comprehensive resource available in any format. It provides easy access to FastWeb, a searchable database of over 180,000 private sector scholarships, fellowships, grants, and loans in addition to links to a number of important resources. The Indiana College Aid Network links to scholarship and financial aid information sources, including Peterson's and Princeton Review sources, a minority fellowship database compiled at the University of Chicago, and a number of searchable databases that allow individuals to match fellowships, scholarships, and internships to their personal qualifications and needs. The Foundation Center Online offers extensive information ranging from assistance in locating possible funding, to copies of applications, to pointers in proposal writing.
In addition to these helpful links, Vanderbilt's Division of Sponsored Research provides links to possible funding sources. An important site for graduate students and recent graduates is COS, a searchable database of detailed information about thousands of federal and non-federal funding opportunities. The The Vanderbilt Library also provides links to information on financial aid and funding.
Loan Assistance
Loan assistance is available for graduate students in the form of subsidized and unsubsidized loans through the Federal Stafford Loan program, the Federal Perkins Loan program, and certain alternative/private loan programs. Eligibility for the Federal Subsidized Stafford Loan and the Federal Perkins Loan is based on financial need, but the Federal Unsubsidized Stafford Loan is available regardless of need. (However, students are required to complete the need-based application process before a Federal Unsubsidized Stafford Loan may be awarded.) Alternative/private loans are available from private sources that are not based on financial need. We recommend that students apply for federal loans first and then pursue additional sources of funding if necessary.
In order to be considered for the Federal Loan programs, students must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and the Vanderbilt Graduate and Professional Financial Aid Application. This may be done online.
Detailed information on eligibility criteria and application procedures may be obtained from the Office of Student Financial Aid, 2309 West End Avenue, Nashville, TN 37203-1725.
The Office of Financial AidVanderbilt University is committed to principles of equal opportunity and affirmative action.
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