Tuition and Funding

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 12^th 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.