Graduate School Funding

May 21, 2006 5:20 PM

My girlfriend is starting a master's public health program next fall and she's looking for funding.

She's doing a Masters degree at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health's International Health Department and she's looking for funding. There doesn't seem to be any funding (scholarship or grant wise) available through the school for Masters students, so she's looking for outside sources. She's a 23 year old black female (fluent in French) with interests in health development, women's health, and West Africa. Any suggestions?

posted by stratastar to Education (3 answers total)

There are often fellowships and assistantships available in administrative and academic units throughout the university that are open to all grad students, regardless of discipline. For instance, at our school the College of Arts and Sciences has assistantships for students to help with office tasks. The deparment of English has more sections of English 101 to teach than they have grad students of their own to teach them, and the library and housing usually have extra cash as well. Moreover, there are ALWAYS professors who have soft money grants and need grad students to help with their projects. You should have your gf email the chairs and grad directors of related departments to see if they know of any faculty with open spots. (At our school the university matches the soft money faculty acquire for their RAs with tuition waivers. It may be that way at JHU as well.) Hopkins is swimming in money, so if she beats the bushes and is persistent, her chances of finding something are good.
posted by Crotalus at 7:06 PM on May 21, 2006

It is always hard to find master's funding. One collection of resources she might want to look into is the Michigan State funding guides. The ones that might be particularly useful are those for Medicine and Health Care and for minorities. She also should contact Johns Hopkins' financial aid office. Finally, she should review the fellowships and grants listed on the ASPH Internship and Fellowship programs website.
posted by JuliaKM at 8:52 PM on May 21, 2006

The number one thing that I wish I had known about funding was that it is almost impossible to find funding (on your own) after your first year is completed. The other number one thing I wish I had known was that my university had a person whose sole job was to help grad students secure funding.

Your GF's school may not have a person dedicated to helping grad students, but surely SOMEONE in the development office can help. If your GF make's it clear to the office that she is willing to do the paperwork /legwork necessary for applying for external funding, then she should be able to find people willing to help her. These people can be your best resources, since they do it for a living. Treat them well and they can (sometimes) work miracles for you.
posted by achmorrison at 3:27 PM on May 22, 2006