Financial Aid/Benefits

MSU will fund your graduate education!

All students admitted in the BMS program are provided a graduate assistantship that includes a stipend for living expenses, academic fees, tuition and health insurance. Our projected stipend for 2024-2025 is $35,515. The total value of a graduate assistantship is approximately $54,035 per year.

In addition to the graduate stipends offered by individual departments, the College of Natural Science and the Graduate School offer a number of fellowship programs for exceptionally qualified applicants, as described below:

BioMolecular Science Fellowships

Full financial support is provided by the BMS during your first two semesters while you explore research possibilities through laboratory rotations. Subsequent support comes from a variety of sources and amounts to a yearly stipend, health insurance, and tuition waiver (9 credits in Fall and Spring, and 5 credits in Summer).

Plant Science Fellowships

Full support for the first 2 years that includes a stipend for living expenses, academic fees, tuition, health insurance, and a professional enhancement stipend to facilitate travel to professional meetings.

Van Andel Research Institute Fellowships

Students with an interest in cancer biology and cell biology are eligible. Recipients receive a 12-month stipend plus health insurance and a tuition waiver for the academic year. Fellows are encouraged to consider rotations with adjunct faculty at the Van Andel Research Institute, in addition to MSU faculty.

MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory (PRL)

The PRL is a research unit on the MSU campus comprising faculty, graduate students, and postdoctoral associates engaged in fundamental research on the cellular and molecular biology of photosynthetic organisms and fungi. The unit is funded by multiple sources including a core research and training grant from the Department of Energy that can provide research assistantships for BMS students interested in topics relevant to the goals of the PRL.

The Reproductive and Developmental Sciences Training Program (RDSTP)

Research into animal and human reproductive biology has widespread implications for human health, particularly given the recent discovery of links between embryo and fetal experience and later predisposition to childhood and adult disease. The Reproductive and Developmental Sciences Training Program (RDSTP) trains young scientists to pursue research in High Program Priority Topic Areas identified by the NIH/NICHD/Fertility and Infertility (FI) Branch and the Gynecologic Health and Disease Branch. To address these initiatives, trainees in the program select from among four Areas of Specialization: Gonad and Gamete Biology, Early Development, Reproductive Tract Biology and Gynecological Pathologies, and Environmental factors in Reproduction, with multiple faculty trainers offering research opportunities in each area.

College of Natural Science Fellowships

Full support in the first year amounting to a stipend, health insurance, tuition waiver (10 credits in Fall and Spring, and 5 credits in Summer).

University Distinguished Fellowships/University Enrichment Fellowships

Additional financial support for five years. First-year support amounts to a stipend, health insurance, tuition waiver (10 credits in Fall and Spring, and 5 credits in Summer). In subsequent years, the full stipend awarded by the department will be supplemented by the graduate school.

In addition, there are several training grants on campus to provide additional support to qualified students:

• Environmental & Integrative Toxicology
• Integrative Pharmacological Sciences Training Program
• Plant Biotechnology for Health and Sustainability
• The Reproductive and Developmental Sciences Training Program (RDSTP)

Health insurance benefits

All graduate students on an assistantship receive graduate assistant health insurance. Information on graduate assistant health insurance can be found here on the Human Resources website.

All graduate students on a fellowship receive a stipend to cover student health insurance. Information about student health insurance can be found here on the Human Resources website.