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Financial Aid FAQ
Applicants
What financial aid is available for graduate
applicants?
Scholarships, teaching opportunities, research assistantships, and internships are available to graduate students through individual departments. Federal loans are available to U.S. citizens. International students are ineligible for federal student loans, but they may apply for departmental aid or for loans from their own country.
How do I apply for financial aid?
All applicants: Indicate your interest in financial aid in the online application and contact your department and the Financial Aid Office for more information.
International applicants: Apply for financial support from your department on Form I-1. The form requires that you list in the bottom section the sources of support you already have, then fill in the name of the department in the section “BYU Department of ___” and the amount requested.
U.S. applicants: Contact the Financial Aid Office for information on applying for federal or BYU loans.
When will I know how much money the department will give me? Most departments allocate their funding when they make their admission decisions. Some departments offer no funding to international students during their first year. You should check with your department soon after making your request to find out whether or not they will offer support.
Current Students
What financial aid is available for current graduate students?
Scholarships, teaching opportunities, research assistantships, and internships are available to graduate students through individual departments. Federal and BYU loans are available to U.S. citizens. International students are ineligible for federal student loans, but they may apply for departmental aid or for loans from their own country.
How do I apply for financial aid?
For application materials and procedures, contact your department.
How many credit hours must a graduate student have to be considered full-time?
A U.S. graduate student who is enrolled for 8.5 or more credit hours in a semester or 4.5 credit hours in a term is considered full-time for tuition purposes. International students are required to register for 9.0 credit hours to be considered full-time.
How many credit hours do I have to take to keep my financial aid?
It is your responsibility to comply with any registration requirements established by sponsoring agents for student loans, loan payment
deferrals, assistantships, internships, scholarships, and awards.
Graduate Assistants, Interns, and Award Recipients: Graduate students receiving assistantships, awards, or internships through BYU must register for at least two hours per semester or for one hour per term. Departmental requirements may exceed these minimums, and international students must register for at least nine semester hours each fall and winter semester.
BYU Short-Term Loans: Only degree-seeking students enrolled in day school are eligible for short-term BYU tuition loans. Since the amount borrowed is directly applied toward the cost of tuition, no minimum level of enrollment is required.
Federal Loans (Stafford Loans and Supplemental Student Loans): To qualify for federal loans, graduate students must normally register for at least 4.5 hours each semester or 2.5 hours each term. Nevertheless, the regulations require that students who have used their six-month "grace" period but wish to defer payment on a previous federal loan must be registered full-time (8.5 or more hours per semester and 4.5 or more hours per term). Independent study, audit, or workshop classes cannot be used to meet the minimum hour requirement.
I've heard I can have as few as two credits to be considered full-time. How can I do that?
Master’s and doctoral students who are enrolled for fewer than 8.5 credit hours per semester may petition for full-time status if they meet certain specific conditions. Requests for such an exception are made with the Petition for Graduate Full-Time Status.
Employment
How do I apply for an on-campus job?
Departments are usually able to offer graduate students employment within their field, either in the form of research positions,
teaching assistantships, or internships. Contact your department for information on jobs available. For other work opportunities,
contact Student Employment Services.
Do students have to be registered for classes if they want to work on campus?
Depending on the source of the funds (such as scholarships), you may have to be registered for at least two credit hours per
semester or one credit hour per term in order to work on campus. Check with your department to see whether you are required to
be registered. All students working on campus must be enrolled in at least two credit hours each semester or one credit hour each
term or pay FICA tax.