Out-of-State Tuition Waivers (formerly called "top up awards")

There are a limited number of out-of-state tuition waivers awarded to graduate students who receive externally-funded fellowships to support their own research.  Fellowships must meet the 2017 minimum stipend rate of $24,000 annually. Students must be nominated by their colleges for available slots. For more information see Out-of-State Tuition Waiver for External Fellowships.

Institutionally Limited Application Procedure

Graduate students: Please contact the Graduate School office for more information or to receive approval to move forward with an application.

External Agencies

External agencies (for example, NSF, NIH, USDA) provide funding for graduate students. Here are a few links to external fellowships that many MSU graduate students have.

• Ford Foundation Fellowships Programs for Achieving Excellence in College and University Teaching
• Fulbright Programs
• Howard Hughes International Student Research Fellowships (available to international students in years 2 or 3 of their PhD)
• National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP)
  • Website with suggestions for developing strong NSF GRF recommendation letters: Vanderbilt website, Missouri website
  • The Graduate School GRFP Workshop Series
• Science, Mathematics, and Research for Transforming Defense (SMART) Fellowship
• Soros Foundation Fellowship for New Americans
• ACLS Fellowship and Grant Programs
• Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans
• Office of Science Graduate Student Research (SCGSR) Program