Funding

Earning a master’s degree from the U-M School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS) is an investment in your future. We know grad school is expensive, which is why we are committed to helping you manage the cost of your SEAS education. If you have questions about financing your graduate degree after reviewing this page, reach out to us at [email protected].

Tuition

Rates reflect tuition and fees for a full term 2024-2025 academic year.

Visit the U-M Office of the Registrar for additional information including tuition and fees per term or part-time schedule.

Additional Costs

Estimated budgets reflect a modest-but-adequate expense pattern of U-M students based on Office of Financial Aid research.

*Living expenses are the most variable part of a student’s budget. You can reduce costs through cohabitation, eating at home, and using the university’s many resources from fitness facilities to computer labs.

Financial Aid

A variety of resources exist to help finance your graduate degree and to help lower research expenses during your time as a student. Funding exists in the following forms:

• One time, partial tuition scholarships are offered at the time of admission (not all students receive scholarships)
• Potential salary support for professional internships
• Honors Awards recognizing outstanding achievements in specific areas
• Travel support for presentations at conferences, symposia and professional development meetings
• Funds to cover travel-related to master’s projects, practica, or theses

Applying for external funding (see database link below) is strongly encouraged. Due to limited funding sources, we are unable to offer partial tuition scholarships to meet the full demonstrated need of all of our students.

Getting Started

Your application to SEAS serves as your application for our recruitment tuition grants. These are competitive, merit-based, non-renewable grants. The majority of financial recruitment offers each academic year will be made by mid-March. Additional funding opportunities from SEAS and U-M will be available after you accept admission.

The links below, including the SEAS Funding Database, are meant to help you find funding opportunities. You can expand your search by visiting Fastweb, Pivot, SPIN, or another clearinghouse for student-centered grants.

University of Michigan Ph.D. students have one of the strongest compensation packages in the United States.  

Students admitted to the SEAS PhD program, receive five academic years of tuition support (four pre-candidate semesters and six candidate semesters), along with Gradcare health insurance, which covers five academic school years and four summers. You will also receive a monthly stipend equivalent to a 50% Graduate Student Instructor (GSI) appointment for the duration of your program. While stipends are benchmarked to GSI rates, students typically have a combination of fellowship funding (e.g., non-service), GSI appointments, Graduate Student Research Assistant (GSRA) appointments, and external funding sources. The stipend amount for 2024-2025 is roughly $3,442.38 per month.

As a stipulation of the “full funding” package, you are expected to make satisfactory progress toward your degree enrolled as a full-time student.