Funding Opportunities

At Auburn, we believe financial barriers should never hinder your pursuit of knowledge and personal growth. A graduate degree is a significant investment in your future, and the University Financial Aid office is dedicated to supporting you every step of the way.

Read more about the upcoming changes to the Grad Plus loan program. 

The majority of graduate assistantships are awarded through a student’s home academic department and are highly competitive for high-achieving students. An assistantship comes with a monthly stipend for campus employment in teaching, research or other areas, automatic enrollment in the graduate student health insurance plan at a reduced rate and may be eligible for a tuition fellowship. We recommend you read your department’s website carefully if you wish to be considered for an assistantship. Some departments offer assistantships based on the admissions application and other departments require additional steps. Please contact the Graduate Program Officer (GPO) for specific questions about a graduate assistantship in your area of study.

Graduate assistants play a critical role in the university’s research, teaching and outreach missions. An eligible student may be hired as a graduate assistant (GA), a graduate research assistant (GRA) or a graduate teaching assistant (GTA). The Auburn University Graduate School sets the criteria and eligibility guidelines, while the student’s hiring department determines appointment types and terms, hours worked, pay rate and more.

As demonstrated commitment to graduate education and to the critical role that graduate assistants play in supporting the university’s research, teaching and outreach missions, the Auburn University Graduate School provides graduate tuition fellowships to graduate assistants who meet or exceed specific requirements. There is no application process associated with this program. All contact and any questions concerning assistantships and qualifying tuition fellowships should be directed to the academic department for the student’s area of study. 

Auburn University individually mentors and supports interested students from all academic disciplines in the national prestigious scholarship application process. These awards will not only help fund your advanced undergraduate or graduate studies, but raise your visibility among academic peers and enhance your professional opportunities in graduate school and beyond.

The Auburn University Graduate School administers the Presidential Graduate Research Fellowship (PGRF), an internal competitive fellowship program for high-achieving doctoral students. This fellowship program is a part of a focused initiative to enhance the profiles of Auburn University’s doctoral and terminal (professional) degree graduates as academic and societal leaders. The program also aims to elevate Auburn University’s research and scholarly profile by attracting outstanding students for doctoral studies. This fellowship requires faculty nomination and has an early spring semester deadline for incoming students starting in the fall semester at the beginning of an academic year.

A limited number of non-academic assistantships may be offered through business and support units across campus, which require application through the student job postings listed through the Auburn University Human Resources department. Other student employment opportunities on campus may not provide a tuition fellowship, but offer valuable work experience and a weekly or monthly paycheck to help fund your graduate education.