If you do not qualify for enough aid through your department to cover all your costs, consider applying for federal financial aid. If you are in the Darden School of Business, School of Law, or School of Medicine, contact your school’s financial aid office directly for more information. Follow these links for this in the MS-MIT or Accelerated Engineering programs. For all other graduate programs, read on.
Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
For the quickest and most accurate processing, students are encouraged to complete the FAFSA online. The University of Virginia's school code for the FAFSA is 003745. Graduate students must apply each year for federal aid. Do not complete the CSS Profile as this will delay the processing of your financial aid application.
Your financial aid application submission authorizes the University to disclose your name, demographic information and relevant award amount(s) to University Advancement and applicable donors(s) as appropriate. If you receive a donor-funded grant or scholarship from your department or the University, you will have the opportunity to ‘opt out’ of this disclosure as required by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA).
Your FAFSA will be sent to us electronically. We will review it and, if necessary, request additional documentation to verify your information. Monitor your To Do List in your SIS account and reply promptly to requests for additional information. Do not submit copies of your most recent tax documents unless you are specifically instructed to do so by our office.
You'll likely have a link placed in your Finance Center to complete the FA Additional Info e-form. This takes only a few minutes to complete, but your completing it allows you to be considered for Federal Graduate PLUS loans and Federal Work Study.
Once we receive and review all of your information, including any departmental awards and your enrollment, we will post your award information in the Finance Center section of your SIS account, detailing your financial aid offer.
See instructions on how to view your award
In most cases, graduate students are awarded federal aid in the forms of loans and/or work study. Graduate students may receive up to $20,500 in Federal Direct Unsubsidized Student Loans during the award period. Students may also receive a Graduate PLUS loan or a private loan for up to the difference between the student’s budget and any other resources including Direct Student Loans. Note: New federal legislation will significantly impact Graduate PLUS loan borrowing beginning July 1, 2026. See our page on changes to federal graduate student loans for more information.
Depending on availability of funds, graduate students may also receive up to $6,500 in a Federal Work-Study award for the academic year.
If you receive federal aid, the total of all financial assistance, including loans, work study, departmental awards, tuition remission, and health insurance assistance cannot exceed the estimated cost of attendance.
Exceeding the cost of attendance creates problems, including the delay of refunds and/or requiring students to repay money that was previously refunded to them. To avoid this, we wait to apply your federal financial aid until after your school or department has awarded you, if they plan to.
Since many departments complete their awarding later in the summer, your federal aid may not be posted until August.
You must be enrolled in at least 6 credit and/or research hours to be considered for any federal assistance for the academic year. Enroll early for a more accurate federal financial aid award.
You are billed based on your Approved Academic Load, not on the number of hours for which you are registered. Approved Academic Load (either full-time or part-time) is determined by your department:
- Full-time: based on enrollment of 12 credit hours. You are charged the full-time rate even if you choose to take a reduced course load (fewer than 12 credit hours). For example, if you enroll in 9 research hours and your Approved Academic Load is full-time, you'll be charged for 12 credit hours.
- Part-time: based on enrollment of 6 hours. You are charged the part-time rate provided you are enrolled in no more than 6 hours.