Funding and scholarships

The kinds of funding, how the big scholarships work, and the rules that come attached. Amounts and deadlines change every year, so confirm them on the funder's page.

Fully funded scholarship

What: An award that covers tuition, living costs and usually travel, typically from a government or foundation, with strict eligibility and a yearly cycle.
Why: It can make an otherwise unaffordable degree possible, but only a small share of applicants receive one.

Watch out

Making no plan for the likely case that you do not win it.

Partial scholarship and fee waiver

Also called partial scholarship, fee waiver

What: A university award that reduces tuition by a fixed amount or percentage, often given with the offer or through a short extra form.
Why: It changes the total cost and belongs in any comparison of offers.

Watch out

Choosing a programme for a small award when its total cost is still higher than an alternative.

Assistantship

Also called TA, RA, teaching assistant, research assistant, GTA, GRA

What: Paid work for the university, teaching or research, that often includes a tuition waiver, common for PhD students and some research masters students.
Why: It is the main way research degrees are funded in the United States and Canada, and it builds experience.

Watch out

Counting on finding one after arrival for a taught masters.

Stipend

What: A regular living allowance paid to a funded student, from a scholarship, assistantship or research grant.
Why: It decides whether you can live on the funding in your city, so compare it with the local cost of living.

Watch out

Comparing stipends across cities without adjusting for rent.

Education loan

What: Borrowed money for tuition and living costs, from a bank at home or a lender abroad, with interest, possible collateral and a repayment schedule.
Why: It can fill a funding gap, and banks often provide letters that count as proof of funds.

Watch out

Borrowing an amount you could repay only with a salary abroad.

Return commitment

Also called home residency requirement, bond

What: A scholarship rule requiring you to return to your home country for a set period after the award, such as two years.
Why: Breaking it can mean repaying the award or losing future visa options, so it shapes your plans after the degree.

Watch out

Accepting the award while planning to stay abroad straight after graduating.

Nominating agency

What: A national body in your home country that selects and nominates candidates for some scholarships, with its own earlier deadline.
Why: For schemes such as Commonwealth Masters Scholarships you cannot apply to the funder directly.

Watch out

Working to the funder's deadline and missing the agency's.

Fulbright Foreign Student Program

Also called Fulbright

What: A US government programme funding graduate study in the United States for students from more than 160 countries, run locally by Fulbright commissions or US embassies.
Why: It is one of the few large government scholarships for US masters study, and its rules vary by country.

Watch out

Following another country's Fulbright rules instead of your own country page.

Go deeper