This post covers 5 places students can look to obtain financial aid to pay for graduate school outside of the U.S.

This post was written especially for College Essay Guy by

Going to graduate school is an exciting journey in one's life. But like it or not, the cost of education is one of the major deciding factors as to where you might end up going to school. When you are researching, it is important to keep in mind the cost that you will need to bear as an international student.

A note on PhD programs:

In most countries PhD’s tend to be a position in which you will be employed to be a PhD candidate. For example, if you plan to do your PhD in Norway, there will be no tuition fees and you will be given a stipend (AKA a lump sum of money per semester) to sustain your life there.

However, master’s programs tend to have costs attached to them and you will likely be expected to pay up to a certain amount for your master’s education.

Here are some options that are available for you when it comes to financing your graduate education:

1. Scholarship opportunities offered by the universities

While researching universities, you can see if the institution offers scholarships for their prospective masters’ candidates. Generally, there tend to be partial scholarships in which part or all of your tuition fees will be covered.

Keep an eye out for fully funded scholarships offered by your university or program as well. These scholarships are limited compared to the partial scholarships as they cover almost the total cost of attendance for your entire graduate program. You will be applying for these scholarships concurrently with your university applications; that being said, the deadlines for these scholarships might be slightly later than the deadline for your university applications.

Usually, these scholarships are merit-based and can be quite competitive. Certain schools have program-specific and country-specific scholarships, which would enable you to qualify for multiple scholarships. Feel free to explore the different scholarships offered by different graduate programs abroad.

Here is a sampling of wonderful incentives to continue your graduate level studies:

2. Intergovernmental organization, global institution, and international foundation scholarship opportunities

You can look for scholarship opportunities to pursue your graduate education through various platforms in your home country. Check with your local Ministry of Education, educational loan centers or the embassy for the country you are interested in studying to see if they have any scholarships that would pertain to you.

There are scholarships that are offered by various global institutions and international foundations as well. These scholarships tend to be competitive and are prioritized to specific programs. Scholarships offered by these organizations are generally fully funded and will require you to go through a more rigorous selection process. Generally, these scholarships require you to send in a separate application and have different deadlines.

Here are some global scholarship opportunities you can check out:

You can also explore if your home country would be able to offer any scholarships for students who have received an offer from universities abroad. For instance, in Malaysia, students who secure an offer from a foreign university can apply for multiple scholarships that are offered by the Malaysian government, private corporations or multinational companies in the country. These scholarship opportunities are typically fully funded and they might require you to work for them upon graduating.

3. Research schools that offer a lower cost of attendance or no cost

Another option you can look into when trying to figure out the cost of graduate education is exploring programs that are offered in countries that do not charge tuition fees or have a very low tuition fee.

As an EU resident, you can qualify for free tuition in other EU countries. You would only need to pay for your cost of living during your time there. Additionally, certain countries like Norway do not have any tuition fees attached to their graduate programs.

You can also research for schools that tend to offer a much lower or reduced total cost of attendance. You can choose to live in a smaller city as a way to cut down costs. Public universities in certain countries tend to offer much lower tuition fees compared to private institutions. French public universities charge around 3,500 Euros per year for master’s programs while private universities can charge up to 20,000 Euros.

4. Work alongside your studies

Check your visa/residence permit regulations to see if you can work on- and off-campus as an international student. You can work part-time whilst you are studying or work full-time during your summer breaks. You can apply to work as a teaching or research assistance if your graduate program offers it.

5. Loans and personal funding

You can work for a few years after completing your undergraduate degree and use your money saved up to cover your cost of education. You can also opt to take out private student loans either offered from your home country or the country of your graduate.

Typically, loans should be the final option to be considered. You can take up loans to cover any remaining cost that is not covered by the scholarships you have received.

For instance, as an EU resident, you can qualify for the Erasmus + Master’s Degree loan in which prospective Master’s students can receive a loan of up to 12,000 Euros for a 1-year Master or up to 18,000 Euros for a 2-year Master’s.

Next Steps

So you have an ocean of resources you can look through when it comes to securing funding for graduate school. What should you do next? You should add information you gained from this research process to your university research checklist.

Work alongside your university application and see how you can proceed with your scholarship applications. Certain scholarship applications can be as easy as checking a box in your university application while some of them require a whole other application process. So keep in mind what is needed from you and try to incorporate it into your application timeline.