How long will graduate school take? Masters programs should take 2 years.
Doctoral programs may take from 4 to 6, but 5 years is a good heuristic (that includes the Masters, so 5 years total). There are always a few students who take a long time to finish their dissertations, but these students are sometimes viewed unfavorably both by their departments and their potential employers unless they have legitimate excuses. • What is a reasonable financial aid package? This can really vary. Masters students generally don’t receive any aid because they’re done quickly enough to find work and pay off their loans. Most of the financial aid packages I was offered in the PhD programs I was accepted into included tuition wavers for 4 out of the 5 years and enough money to pay for rent and groceries for a single student. Living stipends vary dramatically because cost of living varies so much. A tuition waver + a $12,000/yr stipend may sound like a lot until you remember that you’ll be living in Los Angeles, for example.
