Skip to Main Content
Research Guides

How to Search for Graduate School Funding: Undocumented Students

Helping current and admitted UW graduate students learn the skills and tools to find funding

Know Your Options

In-State Tuition Eligibility

Undocumented students may access in-state tuition if they meet certain requirements, including

  • Living in Washington state at least three years, and meeting one of the following:
    • Graduated from a Washington state high school and you completed your senior year of high school in Washington
    • Earned the equivalent of a high school diploma, such as a GED

 

Washington State Financial Aid

 

Assistantships

  • Available for DACA recipients
  • Quick turnaround compared with other funding options
  • Jobs across the university for UW graduate students in many disciplines
  • Teaching, research, and graduate staff assistantships
  • Some includes salary, tuition waiver, and medical insurance
  • Tuition waivers require full-time enrollment (10 credit hours+ per quarter)
  • More information on finding assistantships

 

Scholarships, Fellowships, & Grants

  • Include money for school, research, travel, or other educational activities that does not have to be paid back. These terms are interchangeable.
  • deally, begin searching for funding a year before you plan to begin school
  • Deadlines for fellowships, scholarships, and grants are usually 6-12 months before they pay out
  • Summer funding and some smaller awards will have quicker turnaround
  • Immigrants Rising keeps two pdfs of scholarships and fellowships that do not require U.S. citizenship or permanent residency
  • Several other search tools allow students to search by immigration status:

                     

                      UW Scholarships Search

                    UW Citizenship - Undocumented

 

                      Harvard Database for Grants and Fellowships

                      Citizen Requirement - Undocumented/DACA

 

                     UCLA Graduate and Postdoctoral Extramural Support (GRAPES) Database

                   UCLA database - US Citizenship Not Required

UW Resources

More Information