Financial support for Ohio State graduate students is awarded in the form of associateships, fellowships, or traineeships. About 55 percent of graduate students (primarily doctoral students) receive some form of funding.
Funding decisions are made largely by each graduate program. Some programs fund all of their graduate students. Others fund only a few or provide only partial funding support. If you have a question about funding, contact your individual graduate program.
Graduate students are not limited to funding from their program. Students should feel to contact individual program offices, contact Buckeye Careers or use Handshake to search for open Graduate Assistantships posted by departments.
Fellowships and Awards Program
Financial support for the most sought-after graduate students.
Graduate fellowships are limited in number and are competitively awarded each year to applicants who show exceptional potential for graduate study. Your program decides whether or not to nominate you for a fellowship. You cannot apply directly. Your program will notify you if it decides to nominate you for a fellowship.
Most graduate fellowships provide full tuition and fee authorization covering all instructional and general fees (including non-resident fees), a stipend and subsidized health insurance.
The Graduate School runs the competition for these fellowships for incoming graduate students.
Associateships
Paid research, teaching and administrative roles for graduate students.
Graduate associateships are the primary source of financial assistance provided to graduate students at Ohio State. These take the form of graduate research associateships (GRA), graduate teaching associateships (GTA) and graduate administrative associateships (GAA).
Graduate associateships are awarded by graduate programs to support the research, teaching and administrative needs of each graduate program. Recipients are selected by the graduate program.
Most graduate associateships provide full tuition and fee authorization covering all instructional and general fees, including non-resident fees, a stipend and subsidized health insurance.
Graduate students are not limited to funding from their program. Students are encouraged contact individual program offices, contact Buckeye Careers or use Handshake to search for open Graduate Assistantships posted by departments. Programs and faculty are encouraged to contact Buckeye Careers to post any open general graduate assistantships using the universities career services platform, Handshake.
Ohio State Training Grants Program
Ohio State hosts training grant opportunities for undergraduate students, graduate students, postdoctoral scholars and clinical residents in diverse disciplines usually funded by both federal and non-federal sources.
Grants and External Funding
Multiple offices provide financial support for graduate students pursuing research, professional development, and career development opportunities. Graduate students should explore these resources and talk with their advisors about how to best seek funding.
Office of Financial Aid
Use this website to explore different forms of financial assistance at Ohio State. Search student job listings, learn about federal work-study programs, access financial aid forms and applications and more.
Financial Education
Debt and personal finances can be challenging for graduate students. Take a more active and informed role using resources on campus and from the Council of Graduate Schools.
Student Job Board
Student job listings including some jobs for graduate and professional students.
Student Emergency Fund
The Ohio State University provides emergency financial assistance to students who may otherwise be at risk of dropping out of the university due to an unexpected, unplanned financial emergency.
We are accepting applications and may award up to $1,000 to eligible students. Resources are limited and students may only receive funding once per academic year. We cannot assist with university expenses like tuition or student health insurance.
Graduate students should use the application linked below to apply for emergency assistance. In addition, they may contact the Student Advocacy Center directly to discuss their specific situation. The Student Advocacy Center can also help students identify other university and community resources which may be able to help or supplement other assistance.