PhD Program

University Award: All incoming doctoral students will receive funding to cover standard in-state tuition and fees for up to four years, as long as they are not already supported by another fellowship. Students are required to disclose any other awards or sponsorships received.

Eugene Cota Robles Award: This award offers an annual award of $30,000 for four years, along with full tuition coverage. Entering doctoral students who meet diversity criteria are encouraged to apply. Diversity includes a range of personal experiences, values, and worldviews stemming from differences such as race, ethnicity, gender, age, religion, abilities/disabilities, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and geographic region, among others.

• Year 1: Division of Graduate Education $30,000 award + fees/tuition + non-resident supplemental tuition (if applicable)
• Year 2: Department funding (at same level as highest Division of Graduate Education award) via teaching assistant or graduate student researcher (GSR) position+ fees/tuition
• Year 3: Department funding (at same level as highest Division of Graduate Education award) via teaching assistant or GSR position+ fees/tuition
• Year 4: Division of Graduate Education $30,000 award + fees/tuition (Cota-Robles 2)

Graduate Research Mentorship Program: This program is designed to assist doctoral students in acquiring and developing advanced research skills under faculty mentorship. Students that are in year one, two or three of UCLA doctoral study at the time of application and have not yet advanced to candidacy are eligible to apply. Program participants will receive a $20,000 stipend plus standard tuition and fees (excluding nonresident supplemental tuition and professional degree supplemental tuition). Stipends will be paid out on a monthly basis.

Dissertation Year Award: This program is intended to support doctoral students who are advanced to candidacy at the time of nomination by their department to the Division of Graduate Education.  Applicants should be within one year of completing and filing the dissertation and planning to start teaching or research appointments soon after the end of their dissertation award year. Program participants will receive a $20,000 in student financial support plus standard tuition and fees (excluding nonresident supplemental tuition and professional degree supplemental tuition).

NIOSH Training Grant: Students awarded a traineeship through the Southern California NIOSH Education and Research Center (SCERC) OEHN Program to pursue a PhD in Nursing will receive standard tuition coverage (excluding nonresident supplemental tuition and professional degree supplemental tuition) along with the possibility of a quarterly student support award. Additionally, partial funding for presenting OSH research at conferences may be available upon request. The traineeship can extend for up to 5 years.

Special Fellowships: Various special fellowships are described on www.grad.ucla.edu. Applicants from across the campus compete for these awards.

A Teaching Assistantship (TA) is a meaningful way for graduate students to obtain teaching experience. Teaching assistants are selected on the basis of scholarship and promise as teachers. A Graduate Student Researchers (GSR) assists faculty with scholarly research under the direction and supervision of a faculty member. GSRs are selected on the basis of scholastic achievement and promise as creative scholars. Students who are placed in a TA or GSR position will be awarded fee remissions to pay that quarter's tuition plus a stipend starting fall quarter of their second year.

Fee remissions are benefits paid for by the hiring department to cover partial graduate tuition and fees. Graduate students who meet AAP eligibility requirements can expect to see credits in their BruinBill account. 

The following fee categories are covered by fee remissions benefits:

• Health Insurance - 100%
• Tuition - 100%
• Student Services Fee - 100%
• Campus Fee - 100% (ASE only)
• Nonresident Supplemental Tuition - 100% (GSR only)

Learn more about working at UCLA.

Qualifying career employees at UC may be eligible to receive a two-thirds (66%) reduction in the Tuition and Student Services fees. Enrollment for nursing students is limited to twelve (12) units or four (4) courses, whichever is greater. More information on Employee Reduced Fee Enrollment may be found here.

Applications must be submitted quarterly once term fees are assessed. UCLA employees may access the Employee Experience Center to submit the Employee Reduced Fee Enrollment Application. Employees at other UCs must complete a paper application. 

Direct Unsubsidized Loans are federally guaranteed loans that all students, regardless or need, are eligible to receive. Interest begins accruing after the first initial disbursement. Students are not required to start making payments on this loan until six (6) months after they graduate or drop below half time.

For more information please see our Loan Guides on the Publications page.

The Direct PLUS Loan is a loan option for Graduate/Professional students to help pay for their educational costs. Students can borrow up to the cost of attendance minus any other financial aid that the student is receiving. Interest begins accruing upon first disbursements. Students are not required to start making payments on this loan until sixty (60) days after the loan is fully disbursed. Students may also defer payment if the student is enrolled at least half-time, or during the six (6) month period after graduation, or after the student drops below half-time enrollment.

For more information please see our Graduate Loan Guide on our forms and publications page, or our PLUS vs Private Loan fact sheet, for a quick comparison of the two types of loan.

Choosing how to finance your education is one of the most important decisions you will make - and the impact of that decision will follow you well beyond graduation. Once you have exhausted your eligibility for Federal, State, and University financial aid and loans, you may need to consider applying for a private educational loan, also called an alternative loan. These loans are not federal student loans. They are offered by private lenders and are used to supplement other types of financial aid. The interest rates and repayment terms on these loans may vary.

Students may refer to the UC Preferred Lender List which includes lenders that have been extensively evaluated by the University of California Office of the President and found to provide competitive rates and loan terms to students.

UC Code of Conduct for Preferred Lender Arrangements