GRAD ECHO

@Mukhtiar-Ahmad The availability and types of financial aid for graduate students can vary significantly by university and program. In my experience, PhD applicants often receive full funding through scholarships, assistantships, and fellowships, though the mix may change annually. Assistantships come in two types: Graduate Research Assistantships (GRAs), which involve research often related to the student's dissertation, and Graduate Teaching Assistantships (GTAs), which involve teaching duties.

Master's students typically do not receive funding upon admission but may secure scholarships or assistantships later by reaching out to their department or faculty members.

Again, these opportunities depend greatly on the specific university, program, and departmental resources. More detailed advice requires information on the targeted university, program, or field of study.

@Mukhtiar-Ahmad In general, most Master's programs are not funded. However, there are exceptions, such as Masters by Research programs. In addition, you can also fund your Master's via research assistantships or teaching assistantships but they come with their caveats. For example, for the former, you need some research experience. There are also various scholarships you can apply for that are typically geared towards specific regions or countries (e.g., Fulbright Scholarship, Commonwealth Scholarship). I hope this helps.

@Mukhtiar-Ahmad It is challenging to assess one's chances of admission solely based on the GPA. GPA is one important factor but your recommendation letters, experiences with independent projects, SOP, and test scores play an important role too. I've had students with less than 3.0 GPA who have been admitted to good universities in the US so there is certainly hope 🙂