Graduate Funding

Determining how to pay for a Master’s degree is one of the more daunting tasks when deciding whether to pursue graduate education. That’s why the School of Policy and International Affairs is committed to assisting prospective and current students with finding ways to fund their education and reduce the need for student loans.

Group of professionally dressed students posing for a photo in the lobby of the US Institute of Peace in Washington, DC

Funding awards are available each year for SPIA students. The assistantships, fellowships, scholarships, and other funding sources listed below are offered through SPIA, the Graduate School, and other departments on campus. All funding opportunities are highly competitive and deadlines, where applicable, are firm.

SPIA does not have its own department-funded assistantships to offer. However, each year many of our students attain assistantship positions posted by the Graduate School and other departments throughout campus. Most assistantships usually provide a full or partial tuition waiver, a generous monthly stipend, and coverage of half of the university health insurance benefit.

Visit the Graduate School’s website for more information on finding graduate assistantship opportunities.

Through generous philanthropic support and organizational partnerships, SPIA awards the following fellowships each year to exceptionally qualified individuals. All students admitted to the MA Global Policy program will be considered based on outstanding academic performance as demonstrated in their application package. No further documentation or application will be necessary.

  • SPIA Graduate Fellowship Fund
    This fund provides three to five renewable scholarships on a competitive basis to SPIA graduate students. Each scholarship covers full tuition for up to 15 credits per year in the Master of Arts in Global Policy program. Review of applications will begin in January and will continue until all available fellowships have been accepted for the fall semester.
  • Richardson Churchill Graduate Fellowship
    Established by Dickinson College alumna Betty Richardson Churchill ’58 and husband Daniel Churchill (UMaine ’63), the Richardson Churchill Graduate Fellowship provides financial support to outstanding graduates of Dickinson College pursuing SPIA’s Master of Arts in Global Policy. Each renewable scholarship covers full tuition for up to 15 credits per year in the Master of Arts in Global Policy program.
  • Paul D. Coverdell Fellows – Peace Corps Partnership
    In partnership with the Paul D. Coverdell Fellows Program, the School of Policy and International Affairs honors the service of Returned Peace Corps Volunteers by offering renewable scholarships covering full tuition and mandatory fees for up to 15 credits a year in the Master of Arts in Global Policy program. To learn more, visit the Graduate School and Coverdell Fellows Program websites.

The Graduate School awards the following scholarships through a highly competitive nomination process. All students admitted to the MA Global Policy program will be considered for nomination based on outstanding academic performance as demonstrated in their application package. No further documentation or additional application will be necessary. Those who wish to be reviewed for awards must submit and complete a graduate degree application by January 15.

  • Atlantic Provinces Graduate Scholarships
    Three scholarships, which pay a year’s tuition, are available on a competitive basis to graduates of the colleges and universities of the Atlantic Provinces and Quebec.
  • Graduate Trustee Tuition Scholarships
    Fifteen to eighteen scholarships, which pay a year’s tuition, are available on a competitive basis to students enrolled in graduate programs. Scholarship recipients are required to register for nine hours of credit each semester.
  • Thurgood Marshall Scholarships
    Two to five scholarships, which pay a year’s tuition, are available to graduate students whose socioeconomic background, prior academic or work experience, and/or graduate educational interests would bring a unique perspective to the University of Maine community. Preference for these scholarships is given to individuals from groups that have been traditionally underrepresented at the University of Maine. Scholarship recipients are required to register for nine hours of credit each semester.

APPLY TO SPIA TODAY!

“Without SPIA’s financial assistance and fellowship, I would not have been able to join the program as an international student. I would not have interned with the United Nations, nor become the international civil servant I am today at the UN World Food Programme. In short, I would not have lived the meaningful and fulfilling personal, academic, and professional life that I now cherish. Because of SPIA’s fellowship program, I have become the person I once only dreamed of being — and for that, I am profoundly thankful: then, today, and with every passing day.”
Man standing in front of the United Nations building in New York, NY
Hamdane Bordji ’15
Startegic Partnerships Officer at United Nations
World Food Programme, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire