Funding Your Graduate Education

There are many different ways to fund your Lehigh graduate education, including fully funded assistantships, internal and external funding.

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Assistantships

Lehigh offers fully funded assistantships that come with tuition stipends, as well as partial funding that would provide a stipend or hourly wage. Most full-time doctoral and some master's students at Lehigh fund their education through multi-year Lehigh-based assistantships or external sources of tuition funding, such as a grant from a foreign government. Assistantship opportunities are available through and managed at the department and program levels. Though assigned responsibilities may vary, all assistantships at Lehigh share a common purpose of developing graduate students as scholars and teachers.

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Research Assistant

Research assistants work alongside Lehigh faculty in myriad ways as research projects unfold, working collaboratively to develop theories, to test ideas, to generate new knowledge.

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Teaching Assistant

Teaching assistantships are essential in educating future faculty members. Most typically, TAs supervise recitation sections and lab sections. Select doctoral candidates may have the opportunity to instruct their own courses.

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Graduate Assistant

Graduate assistants work in offices or units across campus. They are generally assigned to a program or an area rather than working with one specific faculty member. Specific responsibilities depend upon the department or office to which a GA is assigned.

Other Funding

Graduate students at Lehigh have a number of options for funding their education.

Lehigh-Awarded Funds

In addition to assistantships, Lehigh’s individual academic departments and deans’ offices offer a limited number of fellowships and scholarships, including the Pasteur PhD Partners Fellowship.

External Funding

Students can apply for a variety of private, external fellowships and scholarships. These funding opportunities may or may not be need-based.

Employer Sponsorship

Employers can invest in their employees through sponsorship of graduate education.

Loans

The Office of Financial Aid helps administer Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans, Federal Direct PLUS Loans and Private/Alternative Student Loans.

 

Funding Stories from Lehigh Students

There are many ways to approach funding your graduate education. Lehigh graduate students share how they did it.

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The Power of Research

Courtney Au-Yeung, Ph.D. Physics, funded her graduate education through a mix of fellowships from Lehigh and the National Science Foundation combined with a Research Assistantship. Au-Yeung’s dedication to her research and contributions to the science community helped fully fund her graduate experience.

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Take a Risk

Neiad Ammary, Ed.D Educational Leadership, chose to pay for his first three graduate courses out of pocket. While it was a financial challenge in the short term, he believed the long term investment in his graduate education was a worthwhile risk. The relationships, skills and knowledge he gained outweighed the immediate costs.

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Know Your Resources

Julissa Jimenez, M.Ed. Educational Leadership, was able to fund her education with the help of tuition reimbursement from her employer and special tuition rates in conjunction with Bethlehem Area School District. Jimenez recommends delving deep to discover the variety of scholarships available and also your employer’s reimbursement policies.

Frequently Asked Questions

Scholarship and Funding Questions

Yes, a limited number of scholarships and other types of financial assistance may be available through the individual colleges and programs. In many cases, students are evaluated for this type of assistance during the admissions process. In some cases, an additional application for scholarship or fellowship may be required. For an overview on financial aid please visit the Financial Aid for Graduate Students page.

Merit-based tuition scholarships are offered for many of the master’s programs. Fellowships and assistantships may be available in your college, but are limited in number and scope. Please review the individual college/program information for more information.

Lehigh University offers a variety of employer-sponsored tuition benefit opportunities. Eligible students may receive tuition discounts through Edcor, EdAssist, or employer partnerships administered by individual academic colleges. Availability and eligibility vary by employer and academic program.

Please see our Veteran’s Education Benefits page.

Lehigh University offers a limited number of wage-based campus jobs for graduate students who do not receive assistantships or other institutional funding. University employment opportunities are typically posted through Handshake, and new students entering in the summer or fall gain access to the system in late May.

Because the number of available positions is limited and demand is high, prospective students should not plan to rely on campus employment as a primary means of financing their education or living expenses. While some students are able to secure campus jobs, employment cannot be guaranteed.

Post-Admission Questions

Graduate students enrolled in a degree-seeking, campus-based program who are Full Time (registered for nine (9) or more credits), or Certified Full-Time are required to have health insurance and are eligible to enroll in the Lehigh University Student Health Insurance Plan.

More information and FAQs can be found on the Health Insurance Graduate Details page.

All students who matriculate at Lehigh are required to have received certain immunizations (vaccinations). To verify this, you must submit a health form to the Health and Wellness Center (HWC) before you arrive at Lehigh. Exemptions for certain vaccinations are available for religious or medical reasons. To learn more and to access the forms, visit the Student Affairs Incoming Student page (for both graduate and undergraduate students).

Prior to registration your first semester, you will need to be in contact with your advisor, department office or college office. They will provide you with course information and requirements. For more information on how to register, please visit the Registration and Academic Services website.

Your Lehigh credentials are created when you accept your offer of admission. Your Lehigh email will be made available to you after a certain date, typically end of March for students starting in Summer or Fall and end of October for students starting in Spring.

See our Housing FAQ page.

Contact Us

Office of the Provost & Vice President for Academic Affairs

Alumni Memorial Building, 27 Memorial Drive West, Bethlehem PA 18015

Email: provost@lehigh.edu

Our Colleges

College of Arts & Science: incasgrd@lehigh.edu

College of Business: business@lehigh.edu

College of Education: coe-admissions@lehigh.edu

College of Health: cohgrad@lehigh.edu

P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science: engineering@lehigh.edu

Office of the Registrar

To submit transcripts, please visit the Office of the Registrar website.

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Helpful Links

These websites will provide important information on academics, advising, research and support at Lehigh.