OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY
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The Office of Financial Aid is open to students from 10:00am to 4:00pm, Monday to Friday, for in-person service, or by phone 541-737-2241. You can also email us anytime at financial.aid@oregonstate.edu and we will follow up with you.
Graduate students typically pay for their education through a combination of loans, scholarships, grants, fellowships and employment through their institution.
There are some departments who are able to fund students through various grants and fellowships as well as teaching assistantships and research assistantships. You can learn more by visiting your academic department’s website.
Please refer to the Graduate Schools Financing Your Education webpage for more information about these funding opportunities.
International Students
International students are not eligible for federal financial aid but Oregon State offers and administers a number of scholarships and tuition remission programs for qualified international students. Scholarship and award information for newly admitted and continuing students, undergraduate and graduate students can be found in International Student Advising & Services (ISAS) and our International Student Handout. Please note that international students are not eligible for U.S. federal financial aid.
Federal Financial Aid
Degree seeking graduate students may apply for federal student aid by completing the FAFSA application at FAFSA.ed.gov each year. If the student is eligible, the FAFSA will result in an offer for a unsubsidized Ford Direct loan. The FAFSA application will also allow the student to apply for the Graduate PLUS loan online if they need additional aid. Both of these federal loans require the student to be enrolled at least halftime in a degree-seeking program. Graduate students are not eligible for federal Pell grants or federal subsidized Ford Direct loans.
Ford Direct Unsubsidized Loan
Graduate PLUS Loan
Enrollment Requirement for Federal Loans
To receive federal loans, a graduate student must be enrolled at least halftime (5-8 credits each term). Aid is packaged based on the expectation of fulltime enrollment. To avoid disbursement delays, you must submit an enrollment revision form to let us know if you plan to be less than fulltime for the year. If our office has not been notified of your enrollment plans, your aid will be adjusted and disbursed after the Financial Aid Census Date for that term.
*Graduate certificate seeking students may only receive aid based on credits that are required for their certificate program.
Private Supplemental/Alternative Loans
Private/Alternative loans are loans obtained from a bank, credit union or other lending agency. For most students, federal loans are a better option and should be utilized before private loans are considered. Alternative loans require a credit check and may have a higher, variable interest rates. They also do not offer the flexible repayment, consolidation, and loan forgiveness options that you get with federal loans.
GTA/GRA Impact on Financial Aid?
Graduate assistantships reduce your overall Cost of Attendance (COA) since they reduce your tuition and fees. Because we cannot award you federal student aid and loans that exceeds your COA, a graduate assistantship could reduce the amount of graduate loans you would be eligible for. Please contact the Office of Financial Aid if you would like to discuss your particular situation.
Graduate Certificate Programs
Not all graduate certificate programs are eligible for federal financial aid. Please contact the Office of Financial Aid for a list of programs that are currently aid eligible. Further information about both aid eligible and non-eligible programs may be found on our Gainful Employment page.
Students in an aid eligible graduate certificate programs may only receive federal loans based on enrollment in courses that are required for that program. Other courses may not be counted towards the minimum halftime enrollment that is needed for federal loan eligibility. For the list of required courses, please review the course catalog or contact your academic advisor.
Doctor of Pharmacy Students
Degree seeking graduate students in the Doctor of Pharmacy program may apply for federal student aid by completing the FAFSA application at FAFSA.ed.gov each year. If the student is eligible, the FAFSA will result in an offer for an unsubsidized Ford Direct loan. The FAFSA application will also allow the student to apply for the Graduate PLUS loan online if they need additional loans.
Students seeking funding beyond federal loans can find more information on the College of Pharmacy Scholarship page and contact the College of Pharmacy.
Yearly maximum Unsubsidized Ford Direct loan for 1st, 2nd, 3rd year of program = $33,000
Yearly maximum Unsubsidized Ford Direct loan 4th year of program = $37,167
Aggregate maximum for all federal Ford Direct loans combined=$224,000
More information on these federal loan options may be found on the FSA website.
Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Students
Degree seeking graduate students in the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine program may apply for federal student aid by completing the FAFSA application at FAFSA.ed.gov each year. If the student is eligible, the FAFSA will result in an offer for an unsubsidized Ford Direct loan. The FAFSA application will also allow the student to apply for the Graduate PLUS loan online if they need additional loans.
Students seeking funding beyond federal loans can find more information on the Veterinary Medicine Scholarship page and contact the Carlson College of Veterinary Medicine.
Yearly maximum Unsubsidized Ford Direct loan for 1st, 2nd, 3rd year of program loan max= $40,500
Yearly maximum Unsubsidized Ford Direct loan for Veterinary students 4th year of program loan max= $47,167
Aggregate maximum for all federal Ford Direct loans combined $224,000
More information on these federal loan options may be found on the FSA website.