Finding grad school money is more challenging than finding it for college, but it is out there and its availability might well depend on your field of study and how advanced your degree pursuit is. Doctoral candidates stand out among the rest as those who are offered the most financial assistance.

Basically, there are three main sources to help you find money for graduate school. They fall under the categories of institutional, federal, or private funding. The monies are either need-based—due to your financial necessity—or merit-based, which is determined by academic excellence.

Just like with undergraduate education, you will have to apply for federal student aid by filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or the Renewal FAFSA. Both are available online at www.fafsa.ed.gov or at any college or university. The FAFSA calculates your financial need to figure out what portion you will have to pay.

Many graduate students are offered teaching or research assistantships by their academic department to help pay for their education. A typical assistantship requires a half-time commitment (20 hours per week) or and may offer additional benefits such as tuition discounts as well as invaluable experience in the field of study.

Paid internships are another option that can make students more employable after graduation by offering them practical work experience while also helping to defray costs of their graduate degree program.

Hundreds of thousands of scholarships and fellowships from several thousand sponsors are awarded each year to deserving graduate students with special qualifications.

Those graduate students must display exceptional academic, athletic or artistic talent. Awards are also available for students who are interested in particular fields of study, who are members of underrepresented groups, who live in certain areas of the country or who demonstrate financial need.

The most prestigious scholarships—household names such as Fulbright or Rhodes Fellowships—are not only well-known they are the richest scholarships and can also make for a very bright future.

That is why they are so competitive and are reserved for the best and brightest. Some of these awards are so exclusive that they require nomination by the student's school and do not accept applications directly from students.

Here is a sampling representing different fields of study.

Fulbright Fellowships for US citizens to study in other countries and for international students to study in the US. US students must apply through their campus Fulbright program advisor. International students should apply through the Fulbright Commission or US Information Service in their home country.

Gates Cambridge Scholarships are open to graduate students from outside the United Kingdom for study at the University of Cambridge. Approximately 230 scholarships are awarded each year for the full cost of study.

Mellon Fellowships in Humanistic Studies provide support for first-year doctoral students in the humanities.

The Rhodes Scholarship enables students from many countries to study at the University of Oxford. 32 American Rhodes Scholars are selected each year.

James Madison Junior Fellowships are open to college seniors and recent college graduates who intend to go to graduate school on a full-time basis. The fellowships provide funding for graduate study leading to a master's degree and who plan to become secondary school teachers of American.

Jacob K. Javits Graduate Fellowships are awarded by the US Department of Education to support graduate students in the arts, humanities and social sciences.

IBM PhD Fellowships are available to PhD students in business, chemistry, computer science, electrical engineering, materials science, mathematics, mechanical engineering and physics, as well as a variety of emerging technical fields.

Graduate Students Who Receive the Most Funding:
Master's students in the sciences and engineering
Full-time students versus part-timers
Research doctoral degree candidates working in a higher education academic community
"Special categories"—Racial/ethnic minority students who are U.S. citizens, or Disabled students.

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