Financial Support

The University Financial Aid Office handles federal and University loans. The Graduate School of Education's Academic Services office handles School tuition fellowships (offered at admission) and travel grants. Questions concerning student loans, loan deferments and other financial aid counseling can be addressed through the University's Graduate Financial Aid Office.

Eligibility to Receive Aid

All students receiving funding (loans, fellowships, etc.) must be registered full-time by the University's published quarterly deadlines in order for aid to be disbursed. This means all master's students should enroll in at least 8 units in Autumn, Winter and Spring quarters and 6 units in the Summer quarter in order to be eligible for aid in a given quarter (programs may require more units per quarter, see program requirements). If you intend to take a leave of absence, consult with your lender or the Financial Aid Office if you have loans, and with the Academic Services office to understand the implications of the leave on your financial award.

Outside Support

Students are encouraged to actively seek and apply for outside fellowships. Research and teaching assistantships in the Graduate School of Education are limited to doctoral students. However, students may arrange on their own for a research or teaching assistantship in another department at Stanford. Students should ensure that this outside work does not prevent them from keeping up with their program requirements. Students cannot reduce their full-time course load in order to work, except in the case of LDT students who enroll part-time through the Honors Co-op Program.

Paid Internships

Internships may be for pay or course credit, but not both for the same work. Programs that require students to complete an internship may provide additional possibilities for paid opportunities. See the section on Career Services for further details.

Additional Work

Graduate School of Education students may work for pay as "casual labor" at Stanford for up to eight hours a week, provided it does not adversely impact their academic program.

Travel Fellowships

The School provides travel fellowships to master's students for professional development opportunities. The fellowships are awarded for travel associated with paper presentations at conferences during the student's academic program at the Graduate School of Education. This program cannot support data-gathering expenses or travel expenses not associated with a conference presentation. The maximum award is $300 and students are limited to one travel fellowship per year. Students must provide proof of their participation in a conference and must be registered in the quarter in which funds are awarded. The Travel Fellowship Request Form is available here.

Funding Resources

The References Desk in Cubberley Library holds several guides and directories of fellowships and grants in Education. The Office of Academic Services also maintains an online page that lists funding resources for graduate studies in education.

Cardinal Care and Health Insurance Subsidy

Cardinal Care is an annual enrollment insurance plan which includes coverage in summer quarter, whether the student is enrolled that quarter or not. The annual cost of this coverage will be charged over three quarters of the academic year (Autumn, Winter and Spring). Students enrolled in Cardinal Care will be covered during leaves of absence, breaks, and quarters in which they are not registered. The insurance carrier, Health Net of California, will provide the medical benefits and Value Options will administer the mental health benefits.

Enrollment in Cardinal Care is a once-a-year event. In their first registered quarter of the academic year, students will decide whether or not to waive Cardinal Care coverage for that year. International students will be required to enroll in Cardinal Care, but may request an exception if they have an insurance plan with benefits that meet or exceed minimum standards set by the university.

The unsubsidized cost of the full Cardinal Care insurance premium for 2015-16, if enrollment begins in Autumn quarter, is $1,560 per quarter for single coverage. Stanford University will automatically pay a health insurance subsidy that covers part of the Cardinal Care premium for students who fall into one of categories below and who do not waive Cardinal Care coverage online via Axess.

Health insurance subsidy eligibility and amounts are determined by the criteria below:

• Enrolled students with assistantships or non-tuition fellowship stipends of at least $4,443 per quarter will receive a subsidy payment equal to one-half of the premium cost, i.e. a $780 per quarter subsidy.
• Enrolled students who do not qualify for the subsidy described above, but who have lower-level assistantships or non-tuition fellowship stipends of at least $1,777,20 per quarter will receive a payment equal to one-quarter of the premium cost, i.e. a $390 per quarter subsidy. Two of the smaller subsidies can be combined to total the amount of the larger subsidy.

For more information please visit the Vaden Health Center website.