The Funding Gap: How Many TA/RA/GA Jobs Actually Exist for International MS Students?
With 502,000 international graduate students competing for ~220,000-240,000 total assistantships (most reserved for PhD students), the math reveals a 10:1 competition ratio for international master's students—approximately 10% receive funding.
The Funding Gap: TA/RA/GA Opportunities for International MS Students
International MS students in the US face intense competition for graduate assistantships, with approximately 10 students competing for every available position. While over 502,000 international graduate students enrolled in US universities in 2023-24—an all-time high—the data reveals a stark scarcity of funded opportunities, particularly for master's students who receive significantly less support than their doctoral counterparts.
This competitive landscape has worsened in 2024-2025 as universities implement substantial budget cuts, with institutions like Penn State slashing graduate school budgets by 46.5% and the University of Chicago cutting PhD admissions roughly in half. For prospective international MS students, understanding these numbers is essential: graduate assistantships, while valuable, are highly competitive and not guaranteed for most applicants.
The numbers tell a sobering story
The most comprehensive national data comes from the National Science Foundation's Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering (2023) and the Institute of International Education's Open Doors 2024 Report. In the 2023-24 academic year, 502,291 international graduate students enrolled in US universities, marking the highest number ever recorded. This represents an 8% increase from the previous year, with India sending 196,567 graduate students and comprising the largest sender country.
Within Science, Engineering, and Health (SEH) fields specifically, 197,257 international students pursued master's degrees—representing 38.6% of all master's students in these fields. An additional 125,030 international students enrolled in doctoral programs. The total pool of international graduate students in SEH fields reached 322,287, or 39.4% of all graduate students in these disciplines.
Against this enrollment surge, approximately 220,000 to 240,000 total RA/TA positions exist across SEH fields nationwide based on NSF GSS 2023 data. For full-time doctoral students, roughly 38% receive research assistantships and 26% receive teaching assistantships—totaling approximately 171,914 positions. Master's students face far more limited opportunities, with an estimated 49,500 to 65,994 assistantship positions available, as 67% of master's students rely on personal funding sources rather than institutional support.
Competition reaches critical levels for MS students
The ratio of students to available positions reveals the extent of the funding challenge. For international MS students specifically, approximately 10 students compete for every available assistantship position. If international students secure roughly 30.4% of graduate assistantships (based on Economic Policy Institute analysis of NCES data), then only 15,048 to 20,062 of the 197,257 international master's students in SEH fields receive RA or TA positions.
International doctoral students fare considerably better, with approximately 85,957 positions available to 125,030 students—creating a more favorable 2:1.5 ratio. This disparity stems from fundamental differences in program structure: doctoral programs typically include full funding packages as standard recruitment tools, while master's programs are predominantly designed as revenue-generating, self-funded degrees.
Field concentration intensifies this competition. International students cluster heavily in the most competitive disciplines: 68.7% of mathematics and computer science graduate students are international, as are over 50% of engineering students according to NSF field-specific tables. These same fields attract the highest numbers of applicants, further reducing individual chances of securing assistantships.
Field-specific funding rates for master's students
| Field | Full-time MS enrollment | RA funding rate | TA funding rate | Combined RA/TA rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Computer & Information Sciences | 94,517 | 3.1% | 4.9% | 8.0% |
| Mathematics & Statistics | 14,237 | 3.2% | 12.7% | 15.9% |
| Electrical/Computer Engineering | ~31,100 | 4.5% | Not captured | ≥4.5% |
| Biological/Biomedical Engineering | ~5,204 | 8.5% | Not captured | ≥8.5% |
Source: NSF GSS 2023 Tables 4-8a, 4-10a, 4-20a, 4-17a
Universities with public employment records confirm these national patterns. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign employs approximately 6,000 graduate assistants according to its Graduate Employees' Organization union data, while the University of Wisconsin-Madison supports 5,400+ graduate students through assistantships and Penn State awards 4,500+ graduate assistantships annually. Yet these numbers must support both master's and doctoral students across all departments, with the vast majority allocated to PhD candidates.
Even at universities with the largest assistantship programs, master's students receive limited support. Georgia Institute of Technology provides one of the few concrete MS-specific statistics: approximately 21% of ECE department MS students receive graduate research assistantships, while 78% of PhD students in the same department receive funding. This 3.7-fold difference exemplifies the structural funding gap between degree levels.
Budget cuts are shrinking an already limited pool
The 2024-2025 academic year brought substantial reductions in graduate funding across multiple universities, driven by state budget constraints, enrollment declines, and federal funding uncertainty. These cuts directly reduce the already scarce assistantship opportunities available to international students.
Penn State University implemented one of the most dramatic reductions, cutting its Graduate School budget by 46.5%—a $9 million decrease—since fiscal year 2022. This occurred as part of $94 million in overall budget cuts announced in January 2024 for fiscal year 2026. While the university still awards over 4,500 assistantships annually, the reduced graduate school budget directly constrains funding available for stipends and tuition waivers.
The University of Chicago cut PhD admissions targets roughly in half across its Division of Humanities and Social Sciences for the 2025-2026 academic year. By August 2025, nearly all humanities departments paused PhD admissions entirely for 2026-27, including classics, comparative literature, English, Germanic studies, Romance languages, Slavic languages, South Asian languages, art history, linguistics, and multiple music programs. The university faced a $221 million budget deficit and announced 400 employee cuts.
West Virginia University eliminated 143 faculty positions and 28 majors in September 2023, responding to a $45 million budget shortfall projected to reach $75 million. The cuts included all mathematics graduate programs and foreign language programs, along with master's degrees in higher education administration, legal studies, public administration, and linguistics, plus doctoral programs in mathematics, management, and occupational health sciences.
Additional universities implemented significant reductions:
- UNC Greensboro cut 20 programs including 11 graduate programs
- Delta State University eliminated 21 degree programs while closing its entire College of Arts and Sciences
- St. Cloud State University discontinued 42 degree programs and 50 minors
- University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee laid off 32 tenured faculty members through the closure of its College of General Studies
Federal funding uncertainty in 2025 created additional constraints. The University of Wisconsin-Madison sent revised offer letters to prospective graduate students in March 2025, with some programs reducing incoming class sizes by over half due to concerns about NIH and NSF grant funding. The University of Southern California announced hiring freezes and curtailed faculty hiring, citing $1.35 billion in federal funding at risk. Brown University implemented a campus-wide hiring freeze.
Where opportunities remain strongest
Despite widespread cuts, certain universities maintain substantial assistantship programs, though competition remains intense even at these institutions. Based on public employment records, official graduate school data, and union membership figures, the following universities currently offer the most TA/RA/GA positions:
Top universities by assistantship volume
University of Wisconsin-Madison employs 5,400+ graduate students through assistantships, representing one of the largest programs nationally. The university reports that 91% of PhD students receive full funding and 71% of doctoral students hold assistantships as of Fall 2023. While primarily benefiting doctoral students, the sheer scale creates more opportunities for master's students than at smaller institutions.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign supports approximately 6,000 graduate employees across teaching assistants, graduate assistants, research assistants, and pre-professional graduate assistants according to its Graduate Employees' Organization union. The university's strong collective bargaining agreement establishes a minimum salary of $24,200 for a 50% nine-month appointment in 2024-2025.
Penn State University awards more than 4,500 graduate assistantships annually, maintaining one of the largest programs despite recent budget cuts. Assistantships include quarter-time, half-time, and three-quarters time appointments, with health insurance subsidized for all graduate assistants.
Michigan State University offers 3,000+ assistantships to qualified graduate students across research assistant, teaching assistant (union-represented), and teaching assistant (non-union) categories.
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor employs approximately 4,476 graduate student instructors, research assistants, and staff assistants based on November 2023 official headcount data. However, the university's School of Information explicitly notes that "UMSI master's students are rarely hired for GSRA" positions.
Georgia Institute of Technology provides the most concrete master's-specific data: approximately 21% of ECE department MS students receive graduate research assistantships, compared to 78% of PhD students. Overall, about half of Georgia Tech's graduate students work as GRAs or GTAs, with 80% of doctoral students receiving assistantships. The College of Sciences offers $37,500 annual stipends for 2025-26—among the highest nationally.
Arizona State University reported offering aid to 2,985 international students—the highest volume of any institution reporting to U.S. News. Average aid approximates $12,700, with minimum stipends of $26,544 for 50% appointments in 2025-26.
Additional universities maintaining substantial programs include University of Kentucky (1,800+ assistantships), Cornell University (strong funding for research master's and PhD students), Purdue University (60%+ of graduate students on assistantships), and the University of Illinois Chicago (minimum $31.03 hourly wage with strong union protections).
International students face additional barriers
Beyond the fundamental scarcity of positions, international students encounter specific constraints that domestic students do not. Federal regulations limit international students on F-1 visas to 20 hours of work per week during academic terms, effectively capping most assistantships at 50% FTE appointments. While this protects students from overwork, it also means international students cannot supplement inadequate assistantships with additional campus employment.
International students are ineligible for NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program funding, which provides $37,000 annual stipends plus $16,000 in tuition support exclusively to US citizens and permanent residents. This removes a major funding pathway that domestic students can pursue, increasing reliance on the limited pool of university-funded assistantships.
Teaching assistantships require additional English proficiency demonstrations beyond admission requirements. Universities mandate TOEFL or IELTS scores specifically for TA positions, and many require International Teaching Assistant (ITA) training programs. These add steps to the application process and can disqualify otherwise qualified international students from TA opportunities, channeling them toward the more limited research assistant positions.
Research assistantships, while more accessible to international students, depend entirely on individual faculty grant funding. Federal research funding cuts in 2024-2025—particularly affecting NIH, NSF, and NEH grants—directly reduce RA positions available. Since international students disproportionately rely on research assistantships due to TA language requirements, federal funding uncertainty creates acute vulnerability.
Visa restrictions also constrain flexibility. Students on F-1 visas must maintain full-time enrollment status, cannot work off-campus without specific authorization, and face deportation if they cannot maintain their student status. This creates a precarious situation where students need assistantships to afford education, but the scarcity of positions means most will need substantial personal funds regardless of work authorization.
What the data means for prospective students
The evidence demonstrates that international MS students should not assume assistantship availability when planning to study in the US. With approximately 10 students competing for every position and most universities allocating 70-90% of assistantships to doctoral students, master's students face structural disadvantages in funding competition.
Students applying to thesis-based master's programs have better prospects than those in coursework-only programs. Faculty members with active research grants need research assistants to complete project work, creating natural RA opportunities. By contrast, coursework-only programs generate no research assistant demand and must compete for teaching assistant positions against doctoral students whom departments often prefer for their longer tenure and greater teaching experience.
Geographic and institutional choices significantly impact assistantship probability. Large public research universities—particularly those with 3,000+ total assistantships like Wisconsin, Illinois, Penn State, and Michigan State—offer more opportunities simply through volume. A 15% chance of funding at a university with 5,000 assistantships creates more actual positions than a 30% chance at a university with 500 assistantships.
STEM fields, while hosting the highest concentrations of international students and thus the most intense competition, also maintain the most assistantship positions. Engineering, computer science, and physical sciences departments typically employ more research assistants than humanities or social sciences due to larger research portfolios and external grant funding. Students in these fields should focus on research-intensive universities and faculty with active grants.
Planning strategies for prospective students
For students determined to pursue US master's degrees despite funding uncertainty, several strategies may improve—though not guarantee—assistantship chances:
Contact faculty directly before applying to identify professors with active grants seeking research assistants. This targeted approach works far better than generic applications hoping for departmental funding. Review faculty publications from the past 2-3 years and recent grant awards on university research pages.
Apply to multiple universities with large assistantship programs to increase overall probability. A student applying to 10 universities with 15% individual funding chances has a 79% probability of receiving at least one offer, compared to applying to three universities yielding only 39% overall probability.
Consider one-year intensive master's programs to reduce total funding needed, requiring only one year of assistantship rather than two. Some universities offer these accelerated options in engineering and computer science, allowing students to minimize financial burden.
Complete teaching assistant training before arrival or during the first semester to improve TA eligibility. Universities often preferentially assign TA positions to students who complete ITA certification programs, as this reduces departmental training obligations.
Be flexible about subfield specialization within a discipline to open more opportunities. Students rigid about specific research areas limit themselves to faculty in those narrow specializations, while those open to related areas can pursue assistantships with any faculty member whose grants align broadly with their skills.
Yet ultimately, these strategies work at the margins. They might improve an individual student's chances from 10% to 15%, but they cannot overcome the fundamental scarcity documented in this data. The 197,257 international master's students in SEH fields compete for approximately 15,000-20,000 positions—a mathematical reality that no amount of strategic planning can fully address.
A system stretched beyond capacity
The data reveals a structural mismatch between international student enrollment growth and graduate assistantship availability. International graduate enrollment increased 8% in 2023-24 to an all-time high, driven particularly by a 19% surge in Indian graduate students according to IIE Open Doors 2024. Meanwhile, universities are cutting graduate programs, reducing assistantship budgets, and eliminating faculty positions that would supervise graduate assistants.
This trajectory appears unsustainable. As more students discover the funding scarcity, information asymmetry diminishes—fewer students will accept unfunded offers, potentially forcing universities to either increase funding or reduce enrollment expectations. Federal immigration policies have already created funding uncertainties that caused Wisconsin, USC, and Brown to implement hiring freezes affecting graduate admissions in 2025.
National graduate assistantship landscape
| Category | Count/Percentage | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Total international grad students (2023-24) | 502,291 | IIE Open Doors 2024 |
| International MS students in SEH fields | 197,257 (38.6% of all SEH MS students) | NSF GSS 2023 |
| Total RA/TA positions (SEH fields) | ~220,000-240,000 | NSF GSS 2023 Table 1-8 |
| Estimated international MS assistantships | 15,048-20,062 (30.4% of MS positions) | Calculated from EPI analysis and NSF data |
| Competition ratio for international MS | ~10:1 (10 students per position) | Calculated from enrollment and position data |
| MS students self-funded | 67% | NSF GSS 2023 |
For the current cohort of prospective international MS students, the message from this data is clear: funding is highly competitive, not guaranteed, and has worsened in 2024-2025. Students should make decisions based on realistic assessments of their individual financial capacity to complete degrees without assistantships, rather than optimistic assumptions about securing funding after arrival.
The bottom line
The research reveals a fundamental tension in US graduate education: while universities actively recruit international students and benefit enormously from their talent, enrollment fees, and research contributions, they provide assistantship funding to only about 10% of international master's students. This creates a system where the vast majority of international MS students must self-fund their education, contradicting popular perceptions of widespread assistantship availability.
Universities with the largest programs—Wisconsin, Illinois, Penn State, Michigan, Michigan State, and Georgia Tech—offer the best volume of opportunities, though competition remains intense even at these institutions. Recent budget cuts at Penn State, Chicago, West Virginia, and dozens of other universities have reduced an already scarce funding pool. Federal research funding uncertainty in 2024-2025 further constrains research assistantship availability just as international enrollment reaches record highs.
For prospective international MS students: assume you will need to self-fund your degree, and treat any assistantship offer as a fortunate bonus rather than an expected outcome. Those who cannot afford to self-fund should consider alternative paths: fully-funded PhD programs in the US, master's programs in countries with more robust graduate funding systems, or delaying graduate education until personal finances allow. The opportunities documented in this report are real and valuable, but they remain the exception rather than the rule for international master's students in America.
Data sources and methodology
All statistics in this report derive from official government and institutional sources:
- National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) - Graduate assistant counts and enrollment data
- National Science Foundation GSS 2023 - Field-specific funding mechanisms and support rates
- Institute of International Education Open Doors 2024 - International student enrollment
- NSF Higher Education R&D Survey 2023 - University research expenditures
- Congress.gov H.R. 1968 - FY 2025 federal appropriations
- University employment records - Institutional websites, union contracts, and public HR data
The 10:1 competition ratio calculation: 197,257 international MS students in SEH fields ÷ estimated 15,048-20,062 positions available to international MS students (30.4% of total MS assistantships based on EPI analysis) = 9.8-13.1, rounded to ~10:1 for clarity.
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