Where research funding comes from
Research assistantships (RA)
A professor pays your tuition and a monthly stipend from their research grant. You work on their project, which often becomes your thesis.
Teaching assistantships (TA)
The department funds you to help teach courses, grade and run lab sessions.
Fellowships and university scholarships
Merit awards from the university or graduate school, often given to the strongest applicants automatically.
Government and foundation scholarships
Named programmes such as Fulbright, DAAD, Commonwealth and MEXT that fund you to study at a university you choose or are placed at.
Industry and lab funding
Some projects are funded by companies or research centres, especially in engineering and computer science.
What gets you funded
A professor who is paying you from a grant needs to know you can do the work from your first month. The strongest signals are research experience in their area, a paper or preprint that shows you can finish a project, technical skills they need, and a recommendation from someone who has supervised your research.
This is why students with a published paper and a matching research interest get funding offers even when their grades are not the highest in the pool.
A funding plan in four steps
Do research that matches your target field
Join a lab in the area you want to study abroad, so your paper and your application tell the same story.
Publish and get a strong letter
A paper with a DOI and a recommendation from your supervisor show you can deliver.
Contact the right professors
Write to professors with active grants in your area. Ask about funded positions in their group.
Apply for funding with admission
Tick the box for assistantships and fellowships when you apply, and apply for external scholarships in parallel.
Frequently asked questions
What is a fully funded PhD?
A PhD where the university or a grant pays your tuition and a monthly stipend for living costs, usually in return for research or teaching work. Most PhDs in the USA, Canada and many European countries are funded this way.
Can I get funding for a master's degree?
Yes, especially for research master's (thesis based) degrees. Taught master's degrees are funded less often, mainly through scholarships such as Chevening, DAAD or Erasmus Mundus.
How do I get a research assistantship?
Find professors with active research in your area, show matching experience such as a paper or project, and email them before or while you apply. Our professor emailing service does this with you.
Does ScholarLabs AI give research grants?
No. ScholarLabs AI helps you build the research record that wins funding, through supervised labs and publications, and supports your applications for assistantships and scholarships.
Build the record that wins funding
Join a lab in your target field and publish with a supervisor.