Best Student Loans for PhD Students

A doctoral degree is an impressive credential but comes with a hefty price tag. Doctoral degree recipients graduate with an average of $92,926 in federal student loan debt, and those with professional degrees graduate with $153,335 in federal debt, according to an analysis by The Institute for College Access & Success.

The best way to pay for this higher education is through scholarships and grants, followed by federal student loans. But these often aren't enough to complete a PhD program, and private student loans can help you foot the rest of the bill.

Current private student loan rates

Federal loans for PhD students

You have two federal student loan options as a PhD student:

• Direct Unsubsidized Loans: Grad students can take out Direct Unsubsidized Loans regardless of financial need. Interest begins accruing from the date of disbursement, and unlike Direct Subsidized Loans, there's no interest subsidy. These loans have annual and aggregate limits, so you may not be able to cover the full cost of your PhD with these loans.
• Grad PLUS loans: Grad PLUS loans allow you to borrow up to your cost of attendance, minus any financial aid you receive. However, you must pass a credit check for adverse credit, and interest rates on these loans are higher than other federal loan types. As with Direct Unsubsidized Loans, you must pay all interest that accrues from the date of disbursement.

Federal student loans offer many borrower benefits and protections, including access to income-driven repayment plans and loan forgiveness, as well as low, fixed interest rates. For this reason, it's generally best to turn to these loans before private student loans.

Learn More: Student Loan Limits: Federal and Private Loan Borrowing Caps

Best private student loans for a doctoral degree

Why you can trust us

The Credible editorial team is independent and unbiased. Partners do not influence our editorial content. To help you find the best student loan for your situation, we conduct thorough research and analyze more than 1,700 of lender data points. Using data-driven methodologies, we score criteria that are important to you. This allows us to objectively rank student loan lenders and products. To learn more, read our methodology below.

Methodology

To determine the best student loan lenders for PhD loans, Credible collected more than 1,000 points of data on 16 companies and evaluated them on several different categories: repayment options, eligibility, interest rates, loan terms, and customer support. We assigned a score out of five stars to each lender based on our findings. Below are the weightings assigned to the general categories for the best student loan companies — which comprise individual criteria that are also weighted:

• Repayment options: 25%
• Eligibility: 25%
• Interest rates: 20%
• Loan terms: 20%
• Customer support: 10%

While the best lender for you will depend on your unique needs and financial circumstances, these findings should help answer your questions and assist you in your search for the best student loan.

Learn more about our methodology.

How to get a PhD loan

Follow these five steps to help ensure you get the best student loans for your individual situation:

1. Start with the FAFSA: Fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid to make yourself eligible for grants, scholarships, work-study, and student loans from the federal government. Many of these forms of financial aid don't require you to repay them, so you'll want to make sure you receive as much as you can qualify for. You may also choose to borrow certain federal student loans to take advantage of the more flexible repayment plans they offer.

2. Determine how much more money you need for your education: Your university's financial aid office will help you determine how much you'll need to borrow in student loans to meet your cost of attendance, taking into account any federal financial aid you receive.

3. Prequalify for a private student loan: Most private student lenders make it easy to prequalify for a graduate student loan. You can do this online by submitting some basic information about yourself, such as your annual income, the school you're attending, and how much you'd like to borrow. It's a good idea to prequalify with several different lenders to see the rates and terms you might qualify for.

4. Choose your loan: Review your prequalification offers, comparing loan terms, interest rates, and monthly payment amounts. Select the lender and loan option that works best for you, then submit a formal application.

5. Make sure your loan funds are received: Student lenders typically disburse your loan funds directly to your university. You'll want to double-check with your school's financial aid office that the money was received.

PhD loan limits

Each student loan type has a limit, and some are higher than others:

• Direct Unsubsidized Loans: You can borrow up to $20,500 each year, with an aggregate limit of $138,500. This amount includes any undergraduate loans, and only $65,500 can be in subsidized loans.
• Grad PLUS loans: You can borrow up to your school's total cost of attendance. There aren't any annual limits.
• Private grad school loans: Loan limits vary by lender, and private student loans typically have minimum loan amounts in addition to loan maximums. For example, you must borrow at least $1,000 with College Ave, but you can borrow as much as your school-certified cost of attendance.

Further Reading: Graduate Student Loan Limits: How Much Can I Borrow?

When PhD student loan payments start

With student loans, you generally have the option of beginning to pay them back right away or waiting until you leave school. The rules vary depending on the type of loan you take out:

• Direct Unsubsidized Loans: You're not required to begin repaying these loans until 6 months after you graduate, leave school, or drop below half-time enrollment. But you are responsible for the interest that accrues from the moment the loan is disbursed. If you don't pay the interest while you're in school, it'll be added to the principal of the loan once you graduate. You may choose to make interest-only payments while in school to keep this from building up and adding to the total you have to repay.
• Grad PLUS loans: Like Direct Unsubsidized Loans, you have a 6-month grace period after leaving school before you're required to begin paying back your loan. You're responsible for the interest from the time the money is disbursed, and you may make interest-only payments while in school.
• Private PhD loans: Different lenders may have slightly varying rules, but you generally don't need to make loan payments while enrolled in school or during a 6- to 9-month grace period after graduating. You're generally responsible for the interest that accrues from the time the loan is disbursed. You typically have the option to make interest-only payments or full principal and interest payments or to defer payments entirely. However, this last option will mean the interest that accrues while you're enrolled in school will be added to the total you'll need to pay back.

Student loan forgiveness for PhD loans

If you have federal student loans, you may be eligible for certain loan forgiveness programs to help erase the amount you borrowed for your PhD program.

One of the most common ways to do this is through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program. To be eligible, you must make 120 qualifying loan payments under an income-driven repayment plan while working full-time for a government or not-for-profit agency. Only Direct Loans qualify for PSLF.

Private loans aren't eligible for any type of loan forgiveness.

If you're having trouble managing your PhD student loan debt, refinancing is one option that might help. It can result in a lower interest rate and a lower monthly payment, particularly if student loan interest rates have dropped since you took out your loans. Your credit score also plays a crucial role in determining the interest rate you'll be offered. If yours isn't that strong, a cosigner with a better credit score or higher income than you could help. About one-third of borrowers who refinanced their student loans in 2024 did so with a cosigner, according to Credible marketplace data.

PhD loan alternatives

You should generally use student loans as a last resort when paying for your higher education. You may be able to help pay for the cost of tuition and living expenses with a few of these options, reducing the amount you need to borrow:

• Scholarships and grants: Both scholarships and grants are considered gift aid - meaning you don't need to pay them back. You may be able to earn a scholarship or grant from your university or nonprofit organizations. Each scholarship or grant program has its own criteria. Your school's financial aid office may be able to help you determine which programs you can qualify for.
• Fellowships and assistantships: Many universities employ PhD students as teaching or research assistants for professors, typically in the same department. You may also qualify for a fellowship — a competitive short-term research opportunity with financial support.
• Employer assistance: Depending on where you work, your current employer may be willing to help you pay for your higher education if your field of study is related to your career. Your company's human resources department can determine if you qualify for employer assistance programs.