This report uses the 2003-04 NPSAS data to describe the characteristics of graduate and first-professional students and how they finance their education, with a section focusing on students who attend exclusively part time. The report also includes a compendium of tables providing detailed data on student and enrollment characteristics, types of financial aid, sources of financial aid, and employment while enrolled. The report shows that the majority of students (60 percent) were enrolled at the master's level. Seventy-three percent of all graduate and first-professional students received some type of aid (grants, loans, assistantships, or work-study), and the average amount received by aided students was $15,100. Aid patterns varied across programs, however. For example, doctoral students were more likely than others to receive grant aid (55 percent vs. 38 percent of master's students and 41 percent of first-professional students), while first-professional students were the most likely to borrow (78 percent vs. 40 percent of master's students and 30 percent of doctoral students). About half (51 percent) of all graduate and first-professional students attended exclusively part time in 2003-04, and 70 percent of these students worked full time while enrolled.
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