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If you’re a graduate student, you’ve likely heard about the significant changes to higher education funding, including caps on student loan borrowing and changes to eligibility requirements, due to the recently passed “Big Beautiful Bill.” However, you still have options for financing your graduate degree, including scholarships, grants, work-study programs, and assistantships.
Key Takeaways
- The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB), signed by President Trump on July 4, 2025, eliminates the grad PLUS loan program.
- The OBBB also reduces the amount of federal funding that grad students can receive, capping annual borrowing at $20,500 and imposing a lifetime limit of $100,000.
- Students facing these borrowing limitations should explore scholarships, grants, work-study programs, and assistantships.
How the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ Affects Graduate Borrowing
On July 4, 2025, President Donald Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) Act into law, significantly limiting the amount of money graduate students can borrow. The bill establishes an annual cap on student loan borrowing at $20,500 for federal unsubsidized loans, with a lifetime limit of $100,000. Additionally, the bill phases out the grad PLUS loan program. These changes will take effect beginning July 1, 2026.
Alternate Funding Options
Scholarships
As a graduate student, you may qualify for financial aid through scholarships, depending on your eligibility. You don’t need to repay scholarships, but they can be competitive, and you typically have to earn them academically. For instance, you might apply for:
- Fulbright Program
- Rhodes Scholarship
- Marshall Scholarship
- Gates Cambridge Scholarship
- Hertz Foundation Graduate Fellowship
- SMART Scholarship Program
Each scholarship has its own eligibility requirements, which can vary. Some of the qualifying factors that determine eligibility can include:
- Financial need
- Academic accomplishments
- Extra-curricular achievements
- Family background
- Professional plans and field of study
- Personal statement or essay
- Letters of recommendation
Grants
Similar to scholarships, you don’t need to repay grants, which represent a form of aid based on financial need. For example, you might qualify for a state grant based on your family’s income, or your school might provide grants to low-income or first-time college students pursuing graduate school. The TEACH Grant and Fulbright Graduate Grant are two of the most well-known grants available to graduate students.
Working While Studying
Contact your school’s financial aid department to explore any available federal work-study program jobs. This federally subsidized program employs grad students part-time, usually on campus, though some programs partner with off-campus employers.
Students must demonstrate financial need, but you can be attending grad school full-time or part-time and still qualify. Some work-study jobs place grad students with select companies in their respective fields, allowing them to gain hands-on experience while attending school.
TA and Research Assistant Programs
When you apply for grad school, you may also be able to apply for a teaching assistant (TA) or research assistant (RA) position. These are essentially support staff jobs for the professors you’ll be working with as you study.
Depending on your program, your responsibilities might involve leading small group discussions, grading papers, or holding office hours to provide tutoring to undergraduate students. In exchange for acting as a liaison between professors and undergraduates, your compensation might include a small stipend, tuition remission, and health care benefits.
Tuition Reimbursement
Tuition reimbursement offered by your employer can also help pay for graduate school. However, you may need to have a job in the same field as the degree you’re pursuing.
To find out if your company offers tuition reimbursement for attending grad school, contact the human resources department. If you qualify, your company might reimburse you up to a specific amount for attending an eligible program. However, your company may only reimburse you after you’ve completed your coursework.
The Bottom Line
Unfortunately, the new limits placed on federal loans will likely make it challenging for future graduate students to afford a higher education. As such, it’s worth exploring alternate funding sources, including scholarships, grants, work-study programs, assistantships, and tuition reimbursement. Bear in mind, you may require a combination of these to cover the cost of graduate school; if you need guidance, contact your school’s financial aid department to learn about the options available to you.
