In addition to providing financial assistance, assistantships provide opportunities to gain experience in your field of interest. Both research and teaching assistantships are available. First-year graduate students usually serve as research assistants or assist in introductory courses in their major fields or in research. Advanced graduate students are often assigned classes of their own to teach. Fellowships, scholarships, and grants differ from assistantships in that assistantships require research or teaching activities by the student, while fellowships, scholarships, and grants do not.
Some students receive combinations of assistantships, fellowships, scholarships, and grants.
Below is a listing of fellowships, scholarships and grants you may apply for. Some are open to all graduate students, others to students in a specific area. Contact the advisor in your program of study for details. The Penn State Graduate School offers several awards through its Fellowships and Awards Office.