We understand that tuition and other costs are important considerations when deciding which graduate school to attend. As one of the most affordable private universities in the United States, a significant portion of the cost of operating the university is paid from the tithes of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Therefore, students and families of students who are tithe-paying members of the LDS Church are charged a lower tuition rate than non LDS students. This practice is similar in principle to that of state universities that generally charge residents lower tuition rates than out of state residents. 

Many forms of financial aid are readily available to students. Many graduate students receive fellowships, awards, teaching and research assistantships, and department and national scholarships. Cost of living is also very reasonable in Provo and there are many student jobs available.

Many of our graduate departments offer additional scholarship or funding opportunities; contact your respective graduate program for more information.

The Graduate Studies office and Graduate Student Society (GSS) offers two scholarships:

HIDRA
The High Impact Doctoral Research Assistantship (HIDRA) award program is designed for faculty to recruit non-BYU originating PhD graduate students, and is therefore restricted to applicants whose undergraduate and master’s education was obtained at other institutions (current BYU students are ineligible for this award).  The applicant must agree to be supervised by a faculty member who has an active research program. Faculty members are encouraged to use the HIDRA program to recruit high-quality applicants. 

To be considered, the faculty member and the applicant must submit a joint proposal to Graduate Studies.

The faculty member's portion of the proposal must include:

• a) a current curriculum vitae,
• b) a description of the proposed research and the role of the graduate student, 
• c) an explanation of how the proposed research addresses the long-term goals of the graduate program,
• d) the expected results of the research
• e) Letters of recommendation from the dean and department chair that evaluate the qualifications of the faculty member, the significance of the proposed work, and the level of department/college support.

The applicant's portion of the proposal must include:

• a) a current curriculum vitae,
• b) GPA, GRE, and other scores relevant to the discipline,
• c) a description of  the proposed research,
• d) three letters of recommendation from qualified academic sources.

A total of five HIDRA awards will be granted each year, with no more than two coming from the same college.

The awards will be for $30,000 per academic year for a maximum of three years. Students and faculty will be required to submit annual written reports of progress in order for the awards to be continued.  Students who receive the HIDRA award must adhere to Brigham Young University's Honor Code while a student at BYU.  Please submit completed application (including supporting letters from the department/college) to denise_gibbons@byu.edu.  Deadline is January 15.

Graduate Mentoring Assistantship

This assistantship is a faculty-originated funding mechanism which gives graduate students an opportunity to mentor undergraduate students.

The goal of the GMA program is to enable students (both undergraduate and graduate) to participate in a scholarly project that is of extraordinary and potentially life-changing experiential significance that would not be possible without funding from Graduate Studies.

Funding is limited to a maximum of $15,000, depending on the resource needs of the proposed project, and must be restricted to direct support of the proposed project.  The application must include an itemized budget.

Proposals are initiated by faculty and submitted to the dean of their respective colleges.  The dean will evaluate the proposals and submit their rank-ordered proposals to Graduate Studies no later than the 15th of January.  Each college will establish its own deadlines for receiving proposals from the faculty.

The criteria for this award are as follows:

• Students must be engaged in scholarship that goes beyond what is considered normal or routine for a high quality graduate experience in the discipline.
• Students must be required to demonstrate a high degree of maturity, initiative, and independence.
• In addition to a clear, coherent, but concise description of the scholarly content of the proposed project, the application must explain how it will enable the students to significantly deepen their understanding of the principles and truths of their discipline.
• The application must provide a convincing argument that the proposed project will not be financially possible without funding from Graduate Studies.  If it is to be performed in conjunction with other scholarly projects, the distinctive features of this project must be clearly identified.

Research Presentation Award

This award is specific to Graduate Student Society (GSS), and is not directly affiliated with BYU Graduate Studies. Graduate students presenting original research at conferences or performing or displaying creative work are eligible to receive a Research Presentation Award (RPA) averaging $400. RPAs are intended to enable graduate students to travel to important conferences or events within their discipline in order to present their scholarly and creative work.