Key Takeaways:
- Scholarships are available to undergraduate, graduate, and professional students.
- Fellowships are usually for graduate or professional students, with minimal commitment.
- Assistantships are typically for graduate or professional students and have a work requirement.
Although college can be expensive, you don’t have to manage the cost entirely on your own. There are financial aid options, grants and loans, but scholarships, fellowships, and assistantships can also help you with the cost of your degree.
These three programs can sound similar, but they have different eligibility criteria and work requirements.
Assistantships, Fellowships, and Scholarships: How They Work
Assistantships, fellowships, and scholarships all provide funding to talented students, but their availability and commitment required varies by program.
| Scholarship | Fellowship | Assistantship | |
| Eligibility | Undergraduate, Graduate, Professional, Doctoral | Graduate, Professional, or Doctoral | Graduate, Professional, or Doctoral |
| Awarded Based On | Academic, artistic, athletic, or other achievements | Potential for research or achievements in the future | Academic achievements |
| Work Required | Minimal | Minimal | Significant |
Assistantships
An assistantship is basically a highly-competitive job. Usually available to graduate or professional students, assistantships may cover the cost of tuition and provide a stipend. The program may even cover health insurance premiums. In exchange, the student commits to assisting faculty members or university personnel with their teaching or research tasks.
Depending on the graduate assistantship, students could be required to work between 10 and 30 hours per week, in addition to their own coursework.
For example, the University of Central Florida’s assistantship program in its literary, cultural, and textual studies department covers student tuition. The graduate assistant also receives a $10,000 stipend per academic year.
Teaching assistantships or research assistantships are highly competitive, with rigorous application and select processes. They may also require full-time enrollment.
Fellowships
Typically awarded to students enrolled in graduate programs, a fellowship is an investment in the student. Typically, schools or organizations will select someone for a fellowship based on their promise and potential to contribute to their field.
Fellowships give the student a lump sum or ongoing stipend to offset the cost of their education or living expenses to help them focus on their work or research. While some programs may ask the student to mentor other students or attend a conference to showcase their work, graduate fellowship programs usually have minimal work requirements.
For example, the Watson Fellowship program gives qualifying students a $40,000, one-year stipend. Recipients are required to live and work outside of the U.S. for 12 months, and attend a program conference after the end of the 12 months.
Fellowships are highly competitive awards, and the application and select process is more rigorous than the process of applying for a scholarship. Applicants usually have to submit a resume, transcripts, letters of recommendation, essays, and samples of work.
Fellowship funding is available through universities, but external fellowships are also issued by non-profit organizations, research institutions, government agencies, and private foundations.
Scholarships
Scholarships are available to students of all levels, from first-year undergraduate students to doctoral students. Scholarships are merit-based, meaning they’re awarded based on past achievements, such as your past grades, athletic performance, or musical skill.
Scholarships can be a one-time award or provide ongoing financial support, and the scholarship isn’t tied to a work commitment. For example, the Generation Google Scholarship provides eligible students with $10,000 to help them pursue degrees in computer science.
Scholarships can range in value from $500 to awards that cover the full cost of tuition. You can find scholarships through schools, non-profit organizations, or private companies.
Other Ways to Pay for College or Grad School
Although assistantships, fellowships, and scholarships can be excellent tools for financing your education, they aren’t your only options. These are some other ways to pay for school:
Grants
Grants are need-based awards, so they’re typically for low-income students with financial need. Grants can come from schools, states, non-profit organizations, or the federal government, and they’re available for undergraduate, graduate, and professional students.
Work-Study
There are federal and state work-study programs. These programs are a form of financial aid that require the student to work (either on-campus or off), and the money they earn can offset their education costs. They’re awarded to undergraduate, graduate, and professional students.
Student Loans
If you don’t qualify for enough gift aid, you can also borrow money to pay for college or graduate school through federal or private student loans.
With ELFI, you can borrow up to the total cost of attendance, and you can have up to 15 years to repay the loan.
FAQs
Are fellowships the same as scholarships?
No, fellowships are different from scholarships. Scholarships are available to undergraduate and graduate students and are awarded based on past achievements, while fellowships are only available to graduate or professional students. Fellowships are typically awarded based on potential.
What is the difference between an assistantship and fellowship?
A fellowship isn’t tied to a work requirement; instead, fellowships give the student the financial means to pursue research or further their studies. By contrast assistantships are jobs with intensive work requirements.
