Cost of Attendance

Visit the Rackham Graduate School website for detailed, up-to-date information on cost of attendance, funding resources, financial planning, and cost of living for graduate students at the University of Michigan.

Stamps Funding

The Stamps School offers generous financial support to graduate students. Financial awards are held throughout both years of study and range from stipends and discretionary funds that offset studio expenses and enable focused creative work/research to teaching/research assistantships and full tuition waivers.  Teaching, staff, and research assistantships provide valuable professional experience, and post-graduate support expedites the transition from the academic environment to professional practice. 

• 75% Tuition Assistance for all Stamps Graduate students in good academic standing
• Graduate Assistantship Positions with Stipends & Health Care Benefits: Students have access to numerous teaching, staff, and research assistantships that provide valuable professional experience.
• MDes/MFA Discretionary Funding: Graduate students may receive $2,000 per year that they enroll in the Stamps School to spend at their discretion towards their educational projects.
• Summer Fieldwork Funding: The School supports a three- to five-week summer research project, conducted either domestically or internationally, for all graduate students who are in good academic standing. The project will take place during the summer after the first year. Up to $4,500 is provided in support of summer fieldwork.
• Smucker-Wagstaff Project Grant: The Smucker-Wagstaff Project Grant was established in 2007 to help Stamps graduate students achieve excellence by supporting students who need assistance to carry out research for their creative work that advances their progress toward their degree. Students may apply for one award each year with a maximum amount of $3000.

Rackham and University Program Funding

Additional fellowships, grants, and scholarships are also available through the Rackham Graduate School.

• The Rackham Conference Travel Grant provides opportunities for Rackham graduate students to present papers and/or posters at academic conferences. Students may apply once per fiscal year. Rackham administered.
• The Rackham Graduate Student Research Grant is designed to support Rackham graduate students who need assistance to carry out research that advances their progress toward their degree. Rackham administered.
• The Rackham International Student Fellowship assists outstanding international students, particularly those who may be ineligible for other kinds of support because of citizenship. Rackham administered.
• Rackham Non-Traditional Fellowships assist master’s students who return to graduate school after an extended absence. Rackham administered.
• Center for the Education for Women scholarships are available to assist students who have experienced a lapse in education after graduating from high school of at least 48 consecutive or non-consecutive months (not counting interruptions of less than 8 months).
• Area Studies Centers: The university is home to a number of programs, institutes and centers that provide specialized funding to support research and travel. An example is the International Institute, with 17 area studies centers based on regions around the world.

Post-Graduate Support

Stamps Graduate Programs support a variety of scholarships, presentations at conferences, residencies, individually funded projects and post-graduate opportunities.

Recent graduate students are eligible to apply for funding opportunities up to five years after graduation. Post-graduate support is not an obligation of Stamps graduate programs, it is merit based funding that is reviewed by the Associate Dean’s office and graduate program directors. Funds are disbursed as reimbursement.

MDes Post-Graduate Opportunities

The Stamps MDes program will help fund conference participation, exhibitions and projects on a case by case basis.

MFA Post-Graduate Opportunities

The Stamps MFA program will help fund exhibitions, residencies, and projects on a case by case basis.

Partial funding is available for a wide range of fellowships and residencies, including support for the following residency programs with which Stamps has an ongoing agreement:

• The Dedalus Foundation MFA Fellowship in Painting and Sculpture is awarded annually to final-year students who are graduating from an MFA degree program in the United States. Each fellowship carries a stipend of $25,000 for the fellowship year. The Dedalus Foundation provides all the funding, the Stamps School does not match or financially support the fellowship.
  Eligibility: Candidacy for the fellowship is by nomination only. Each fall, the MFA Program selects two candidates from our MFA programs in painting and sculpture.
• The Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture has been a transformative experience for artists. It is designed to give emerging artists the opportunity to work independently and to build a strong and supportive community of artists through an experience extending far beyond the borders of its campus. The Stamps MFA Program participates in Skowhegan's Matching Fellowship program and can award full scholarships for one successful applicant.
  Eligibility: First and second year MFA students working in painting and sculpture are eligible to participate. Interested students apply directly through Skowhegan.
• The Headlands, California Artist in Residence (AIR) program awards fully sponsored residencies to approximately 45 local, national, and international artists each year. Residencies of four to eight weeks include studio space, chef-prepared meals, comfortable housing, and stipends for travel and living expenses.
• The Vermont Studio Center is the largest international residency program in the US, hosting more than 50 visual artists and writers each month from across the country and around the world.
• Anderson Ranch's Artists in Residence Program fosters creative and intellectual growth for emerging and established visual artists. Residents have access to world-class facilities at the Ranch and 10 weeks of uninterrupted studio time.