Tuition and Funding

LBJ School graduates
Invest in your future and your career.
The LBJ School offers a world-class education, affordable tuition and a number of funding options to help students graduate with no debt.

The LBJ School, as part of a public state school, offers one of the most affordable graduate programs of its kind. In addition, many students are able to secure funding through graduate research and teaching assistantships, student employment, fellowships, internship stipends, awards and more. Find additional information about fellowships in our webinars for prospective students.

Tuition Costs

The University of Texas at Austin is annually recognized as one of the best values in higher educations by national publications that evaluate academic quality and cost. Learn more about graduate tuition costs, payment options and more.

Applying for a Dual Degree? Please note, tuition rates for dual degrees vary greatly. Be sure to review tuition costs for Dual Programs here.

Student Employment

Graduate Research Assistant (GRA), Teaching Assistant (TA) and Assistant Instructor (AI) positions are available at the LBJ School and across campus.

You can also explore campus employment opportunities:

Admissions Fellowships

LBJ School applicants are automatically considered for merit-based fellowships during the admissions review process as long as funding remains available. No additional application is required. If you receive an admissions fellowship, you will be notified with your admissions offer.

There are three (3) types of admissions fellowship awarded:

  1. stipends paid directly to the student;
  2. tuition paid directly to The University of Texas at Austin on behalf of the student awarded; and
  3. tuition waivers that waive the out-of-state portion of the tuition billed.

Students should not rely upon stipend fellowships to pay their tuition. Stipends are paid after the 12th class day of each semester after the eligibility check has been completed. The eligibility check consists of verifying the student's GPA minimum is 3.0 or above and the student is enrolled full-time (defined as a minimum of nine hours in long semesters or a minimum of three hours in the summer) in courses that credit toward their LBJ School degree.

If you need assistance to pay your tuition prior to receiving your award, please contact the Financial Aid Office. Among other types of financial aid, "the University offers two types of short-term loans — Emergency Cash loans and Tuition loans — to help students meet immediate needs." More information about these two short-term loans can be found at Financial Aid Cash & Tuition Loans.

Once a student has accepted a fellowship, it will be paid according to the fellowship agreement and general regulations. No action is required by the student to activate the fellowship payments.

Every LBJ School student receiving an admissions fellowship from the LBJ School or The University of Texas at Austin is required to report all offers of university employment while enrolled at the LBJ School, even if the employment is to be performed for another college unit or department outside of the LBJ School. Please notify LBJFellowships@austin.utexas.edu to be approved to work prior to accepting employment.

Any student receiving a tuition waiver as part of their fellowship who accepts employment as a Teaching Assistant or Graduate Research Assistant/Graduate Assistant, or any combination of these positions for a total of 20 hours per work or more, must activate the online tuition waiver provided as part of their employment package, if eligible, instead of accepting the tuition waiver provided in their admissions fellowship package. If the tuition waiver for the admissions fellowship has already been applied to the students tuition bill, it is incumbent upon the student to notify LBJFellowships@austin.utexas.edu to remove the tuition waiver, in order for the employment tuition waiver to be activated by the student.

The LBJ School does not administer financial aid, does not have access to financial aid information, and cannot assist with financial aid questions. It is important to directly contact Financial Aid if you have any questions relative to how your fellowship will impact your financial aid amounts and timing of financial aid payments.

Please direct all questions regarding fellowships (admissions and current student fellowships) to LBJFellowships@austin.utexas.edu.

Additional information on fellowship funding is available through the Office of Graduate Studies.

Fellowships for Current Students

Internship Funding
The LBJ School has funds to help support students while they complete their required internships. Visit our Internship and Policy Apprenticeship Fellowship page to see current opportunities.

Other Funding Opportunities
In addition to admissions fellowships and internship funding, other forms of support include:

  • Elspeth D. Rostow Public Service Fellowship for superior commitment to public service
  • William & Judith Bollinger International Student Enrichment Fund to enable international students to pursue educational and cultural interests both at and away from The University of Texas at Austin.
  • Barbara Jordan Professional Development Funds to help support students as they make presentations at conferences, workshops, etc.
  • Dean's Graduate Fellowships for students who have demonstrated excellence in their first year of study.

Visit our Fellowships for Current Students page to see current opportunities.

Ph.D. Fellowships
The LBJ School typically guarantees four years of funding for doctoral students admitted to the program. This normally comes in the form of a combination of subsidized tuition, fellowship support, and employment as a Teaching Assistant or Graduate Research Assistant.

In addition to the school's own fellowship packages, students may be nominated to compete for prestigious University Awards (Harrington Fellowships, Named Continuing Fellowships, Preemptive Recruitment Fellowships and some others), as well as for external fellowship and research funding from the Social Science Research Council, the National Science Foundation, the Ford Foundation and other organizations.

The Admissions Committee treats international students no differently than domestic students, although international students often come fully or partially funded by their home countries or institutions. They are also eligible to serve as paid Teaching Assistants or Graduate Research Assistants, subject to any constraints imposed by their primary funding source.

Financial Aid

Graduate students at The University of Texas at Austin may apply for federal, state and institutional financial aid programs administered by the Office of Financial Aid by completing a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

International students can visit the International Office for additional information on financial aid resources.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program
Learn how working in the public or nonprofit sectors could lead to loan forgiveness.