Financing Information for MA Students

The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences is not able to offer fellowship awards to students who are admitted to programs that culminate in the Master's Degree. Scholarship funding opportunities for MA students are very limited and are decided and awarded solely by the department.

MA students often finance their education through a combination of the following:

Applicants should carefully review the pages listed above, as well as the Cost of Attendance page, Guide to Requesting Loans and/or Federal Work-Study page, and MA Billing Calculator, before making a commitment to master's studies. 

Certain MA programs offer restricted fellowships upon admission. Students admitted to master's programs may be considered for a limited number of existing merit-based awards. For more information, contact your department or program.

Virtual Information Sessions

The Office of Financial Aid will host two virtual sessions for admitted MA students covering a variety of topics; including internal/external scholarship/fellowship opportunities, work opportunities, and the basics of loan options.

  • Session #1:  Thursday, March 20, 2025 (10:00 a.m. - 11:15 a.m. ET)
  • Session #2:  Tuesday, April 8, 2025 (1:00 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. ET)

Please RSVP to the session of your choice.

A recording of the 2025 session will be posted here the week following the second session.

If you would like to review last year's information, you may view the recording and review the presentation to learn more about how funding works as a graduate student at Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.