Graduate fellowship gifts: Help Tigers go beyond their potential

Julia Brubach was drawn to graduate school at Princeton because she “liked how integrated the electrical engineering department was with the materials science department.” In her third year of graduate studies, she is pursuing her passion for renewable energy, researching next-generation solar cells.

Brubach’s graduate fellowship matters. “I like the science aspect of renewable systems, tackling solar energy from a research perspective,” she said. “I’m doing what I can to build a more sustainable future.”

Princeton’s graduate students come to the University with great promise to become the innovators and leaders of tomorrow. With the support of alumni and friends, they can go beyond that potential.

“Princeton believes that robust support enables emerging scholars to realize their full potential and break new ground,” said Rodney D. Priestley, dean of the Graduate School and the Pomeroy and Betty Perry Smith Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering.

Donor support for graduate fellowships, he said, “allows us to fully fund Ph.D. students during regular enrollment with some of the highest stipends in the nation and to provide substantial support to nearly all master’s degree candidates — giving students the freedom to focus on scholarship, teaching, dissertation research and meaningful careers of impact.”

This fall, Princeton launched the Talent Initiative, amplifying the University’s historic commitment to financial aid, including both scholarships and fellowship funding. The Talent Initiative aims to realize the enormous promise of talented students from every background. It’s the primary fundraising effort of Venture Beyond, a series of targeted initiatives building on the success of the Venture Forward campaign and focused on advancing the University’s strategic priorities.

Here’s what every Tiger needs to know about the impact of graduate fellowships.

Fellowships, by the numbers

For 2025-26, the Graduate School enrolled 3,323 degree candidates: 89% doctoral students; 11% master’s students. Together, they represent the four academic disciplines: engineering (28%), humanities (18%), natural sciences (30%) and social sciences (23%).

For regularly enrolled students, tuition and required fees were $69,010.

• 100% of doctoral students and many master’s degree candidates receive financial support for the duration of their degree program’s regular length of enrollment.
• The University assures funding for its enrolled, degree-seeking Ph.D. candidates for all years of regular program enrollment, contingent upon satisfactory academic performance.
• This funding covers the full costs of tuition and fees, plus a stipend to support the estimated living expenses of a single graduate student.

University support for its graduate students comes from research, teaching and fellowship funds. For 2024-25, Princeton’s support totaled approximately $340 million.

• Fellowships are the largest source of support by a wide margin, more than the other two categories combined. Support by approximate percentages:
  • Fellowships: 58%
  • Research: 24%
  • Teaching: 18%

• Fellowship support is the piece that works without strings attached to a particular research grant or teaching assignment, allowing students to follow their curiosity.

Fellowship support ensures that scholars can break new ground

Growing up in Southern California, Matthew Ai was inspired by aerospace culture. He learned to pilot small planes and mixed rocket fuel in the desert. At the University of Southern California, he majored in electrical and computer engineering and began studying quantum science. When Ai heard about Princeton’s new graduate program in quantum science and engineering, which provides training in a new discipline at the intersection of quantum physics and information theory, “it felt like the perfect fit for my interests and skillset,” he said.

His fellowship matters as he enters his third in the program. “My fellowship supports me in tackling big scientific questions,” he said. “I’m trying to solve a 40-year-old mystery in how to build clean superconducting nanodevices.”

Raheem Hanifa came to Princeton’s Graduate School with years of experience in public policy research aimed at understanding social problems and finding solutions for them. After studying political science and sociology at Michigan State University and then working for a Detroit nonprofit focused on civil rights and civil liberties advocacy, he earned a master’s degree in public policy from the University of California-Berkeley. From there, Hanifa worked on housing policy research at the Government Accountability Office in Washington, D.C., then served as a research analyst at Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies.

He was drawn to Princeton for the opportunity to work with “academics at the top of their fields, particularly when it comes to housing and urban sociology.” In his dissertation work, Hanifa is examining the intergenerational effects of the G.I. Bill on racial wealth disparities. “I’d like to develop metrics and standards for policy to create some powerful solutions for the vast racial wealth inequalities we see in society, particularly in urban areas.”

His fellowship matters. “I want to live in the tradition of folks like W.E.B. DuBois and other scholars who pioneered groundbreaking work on issues of race and equality.”

Support the Talent Initiative with a fellowship gift

A planned gift can help advance Princeton’s Talent Initiative by creating graduate fellowships and scholarships for future generations of students. Gifts can be made through a bequest, charitable gift annuity or charitable remainder trust, or by naming Princeton as a beneficiary of a retirement or other financial account. Donors who share their plans may be eligible for gift credit now.

A graduate fellowship planned gift is also a meaningful way to join the 1746 Society, which recognizes those who have included Princeton in their estate plans or made a planned gift during their lifetime.

To learn more, contact Princeton’s Gift Planning team at 609.258.6318 or GiftPlanning@princeton.edu, or visit the Gift Planning website for information on bequests and other planned giving options

Additional information can be found on Gift Planning’s website, including Bequest Basics and a Bequest Fact Sheet.