In 1999–2000, 60 percent of all graduate and first-professional students and 82 percent of those enrolled full time, full year received some type of financial aid, including grants, loans, assistantships or work study. The average amount of aid received by aided full-time, full-year students was about $19,500.

The percentages of students with financial aid and average amounts received varied by the level of the degree program. Among full-time, full-year students, 88 percent each of students at the doctoral and first-professional levels received aid, compared with 79 percent of students at the master’s level. Among full-time, full-year students with grants, doctoral students received larger average amounts of grant aid (about $13,400) than did master’s ($7,600) or first-professional ($6,900) students. However, full-time, full-year first-professional students took out larger loans, on average, than did their counterparts at the other two levels ($20,100 vs. $14,800 for master’s students and $14,100 for doctoral students).