Scholarship vs Fellowship vs Assistantship: What's the Difference?

Scholarship vs fellowship vs assistantship is a question that comes up most often when an offer letter mentions more than one of them. Many funding packages, especially in graduate school, combine several pieces, and the labels used for each piece vary between institutions. This article shows how to work out what each part of an offer actually is and what it asks of you.

For the broader picture of scholarships and fellowships, including eligibility, finding awards and applying, see our pillar on scholarships and fellowships.

Three questions that matter more than the label

For any piece of funding, ask:

1. What does it pay for? Tuition, fees, living costs, research costs or a mix.
2. Does it require work? Teaching, research or other services for the institution.
3. What conditions apply? Grades, progress, reports, length and renewal.

The answers tell you how the money behaves, which matters for your time, your taxes and your other funding.

Common patterns

Typical features of each funding type

Typical features of each funding type

Type	Usually funds	Work required?	Typical conditions
Scholarship	Tuition and other study costs	Usually no	Enrollment, minimum grades, sometimes field or background criteria
Fellowship	Graduate study or research; sometimes a living stipend	Usually no work for the institution, but progress expected	Academic progress, sometimes reports or service
Assistantship	A stipend, often with tuition support	Yes: teaching or research duties	Hours, duties, satisfactory performance

Decoding a mixed offer

An invented teaching example of a graduate offer letter:

“We are pleased to offer a first-year fellowship covering tuition and a stipend for the fall and spring semesters, followed in years two to five by a graduate assistantship with tuition remission, contingent on satisfactory progress.”

Reading it with the three questions:

• Year one is a fellowship. It funds tuition and living costs, and there are no teaching or research duties for the institution mentioned. Check whether summer is covered, since only fall and spring are named.
• Years two to five are an assistantship. You’ll be paid for work, so ask what the duties are and how many hours they involve. Our guide to teaching vs research assistantships helps you weigh the options.
• “Contingent on satisfactory progress” is a condition. Ask how progress is defined and who decides.

The same letter at another university might call year one a “scholarship” or years two to five a “fellowship with teaching duties.” The labels change; the three questions don’t.

Why the difference matters for taxes

In the United States, IRS Publication 970 explains that scholarship and fellowship amounts used for qualified education expenses, such as tuition and required fees, books, supplies and equipment, can be tax-free for degree candidates, while amounts for room and board, travel and similar costs are generally taxable. Any part that pays for teaching, research or other required services, as assistantships do, generally can’t be excluded from income. This is general information, not tax advice.

Timing your acceptance

If you’re a graduate applicant, the Council of Graduate Schools’ April 15 Resolution, an agreement among its signatory schools, says students admitted for the fall “are under no obligation to accept or decline offers of financial support prior to April 15.” It covers fellowships, traineeships, assistantships and full tuition support. Check whether the school making your offer is a signatory.

Comparing offers

The scholarship and fellowship comparison worksheet lets you set each piece of each offer side by side, using the three questions above. If an assistantship is part of the package, the teaching assistantship offer checklist covers the terms to confirm.

A practical next step

Take any funding offer you have and split it into its separate pieces. For each piece, write one line answering the three questions: what it pays for, whether it requires work, and what conditions apply. Ask the institution about anything you can’t answer from the letter.