Expert: Daniel Mazur - 7/5/2010

Question
Hi Daniel,

Almost all US universities offer financial assistance to graduate students in the form of an assistantship which covers all the expenses.

Is the same true for European universities as well? What kind of funding options do they offer?

Thanks

Shikhin

Answer
Yes Shikhin,

this is true for the European institutions as well. The most common funding comes in the form of an assistantship, where the graduate student performs some work for the group or department, where one pursues the degree and is paid for it to cover the life expenses. If you are an excellent student and/or have published some significant results already (i.e. as a result of your undergrad project), you may be granted a fellowship, which is just a gift money given to you without an obligation on your part. The difference from assistantship is that while in both cases you do scientific research and related work in your group, assistants are usually obliged to help professors with the teaching load - grading homework, exams, teaching lab courses... Fellowship students are usually exempt from such duty. The last funding option I know of is a government grant from your country. It pays for your studies etc., but you have an obligation to return to your homeland after the studies and spend many years teaching at state universities so that you "pay your debt". This option is available only occasionally and not every country (under one government or another) offers this to their intelligent citizens. Naturally, this last funding option has nothing to do with the European institutions themselves, they just have to agree that you use their equipment and non-financial resources.

Does this help?

Cheers!
Daniel