Financial Aid
- Introduction
- Tuition and Fees
- Divinity School Aid
- Outside Aid
- Student Loans
- Employment Opportunities
Introduction
The principal responsibility for financing graduate and professional education rests with the student and the student's family through the use of personal savings, guaranteed student loans, part-time employment, and family funds. However, given the high cost of graduate education, the Divinity School makes every effort to assist admitted students financially in pursuing their studies at the University of Chicago. Such financial aid consists primarily of merit-based gift aid.
Tuition and Fees
Tuition, fees, and other charges for the 2008–2009 academic year are as follows:
Application Fee
Domestic $45
Foreign $50
This fee must accompany the original application for admission. No part of the fee is either refundable or applicable as advance payment on other fees.
Quarterly Tuition Fees
1. For A.M.R.S., A.M., and Ph.D. students:
Full Time.............................. $11,832
Advanced Residence............. 4,668
Extended Residence................. 744
2. For M.Div. students:
Scholastic Residence .........$7,770
Note 1: Part-time registration fees are one-half of those listed for the respective residence categories above.
Note 2: All students in a degree program, including those preparing for the qualifying examination or writing a dissertation, must be registered in at least three out of four quarters of the academic year.
Note 3: In addition to those classes for which he or she has registered, a student may audit classes without charge, subject to the consent of the instructor. Audited courses do not carry credit and are not made part of the student’s permanent record.
Note 4: No tuition is assessed when a student has been granted a Leave of Absence.
Note 5: Unlike other residence statuses, no financial aid is available during Extended Residence.
Other Fees
Student Accident and Sickness Insurance (each of three quarters)
-- Basic Plan (student only)…………………………………………….. $615
-- Advantage Plan (student only)………………………………..………...937
-- Dependents Plan………………………………………………………...1,073
Student Health Fee (quarterly)………………….…………………………177
Student Activities Fee (quarterly)…………………….…………………..…49
Foreign Language Reading Examination Fee………………...……..…..70
Late Registration Fee (first 3 weeks of each quarter)………….………...100
Late Registration Fee (week 4+)………..................................….………...150
Late Payment Fee…………………………………………….…………..…..50
Degree Cancellation Fee
(for each cancellation of an application for the same degree)……...….50
Pro Forma Registration Fee (quarterly)……………………………….....235
Tuition Refund Schedule
A student who is given approval to withdraw part or all of his or her registration shall be granted a reduction of a portion of the original charge in accordance with the schedule printed in the quarterly Time Schedules 
. Approval of the withdrawal, with the date it becomes effective, must be certified by the Dean of Students in the Divinity School.
Estimate of Expenses
Expenses will vary for each student in the Divinity School according to both individual programs and circumstances and the current cost of living. Single students should budget at least $26,896 for 12 months, including fees, books and supplies, and room and board, but not including health insurance. This figure, formulated as of June 2006, is based on the experience of a number of students enrolled in the University and should be regarded as a minimum amount.
Divinity School Aid
Divinity School financial aid awards, based on academic promise, consist of partial and full tuition scholarships and a small number of fellowships that cover the student's full tuition and provide a stipend toward living expenses. These awards are direct grants that require no service to the University in exchange. Scholarship moneys are credited directly to the student's account with the University Bursar. Stipendiary moneys, allocated on a quarterly basis, are available on the first day of the quarter. Please note that financial aid letters sent to admitted students concern only direct grants from the Divinity School.
The Committee on Admissions and Aid seeks to provide continuing support at a level consistent with the student's academic performance and financial aid eligibility. The Committee makes awards on the basis of a full-time academic program unless otherwise specified in the financial aid application. If a student registers for a part-time course of study, the amount of the award will be reassessed at the time of registration.
Only degree students are eligible for Divinity School financial aid.
A.M.R.S. students are eligible for financial aid for one year of Scholastic Residence.
A.M. in Divinity students are eligible for financial aid for two years of Scholastic Residence, with the award made at the time of admission for the initial year automatically renewed for the second year. (The financial aid awards of A.M. in Divinity students are reevaluated at the time of doctoral admission.)
M.Div. students are eligible for financial aid for three years of Scholastic Residence and up to one year of Advanced Residence. See Aid for Ministry Students for more information.
Ph.D. students are eligible for financial aid for the years of Scholastic Residence in addition to the standard financial aid award provided for students in Advanced Residence.
Unlike other residence statuses, no financial aid is available during Extended Residence.
In addition to providing direct grants, the Divinity School cooperates with other University offices in helping students utilize additional financial resources, such as the various guaranteed Student Loans, the Work-Study program, and other part-time employment opportunities. Many students find both Student Loans and part-time employment helpful in financing their graduate and professional education. Students should also consider applying for Outside Aid, in the form of fellowships and grants.
Aid for Ministry Students
The Divinity School recognizes that most candidates for ministry cannot anticipate a career that includes substantial financial remuneration, and it makes every effort to relieve a significant part of the financial burden involved in preparation for ministry. M.Div. students qualify for various forms of Divinity School financial assistance. These include:
1. Entering Fellowships in Ministry Studies.
2. Tuition scholarships which pay from half to full tuition. These awards are based on academic merit and financial need; they are also renewable.
3. Field education stipends of $2,000 per quarter to all second-year M.Div. students participating in the Arts of Ministry sequence while serving a local congregation.
4. Fieldwork stipends of $1,500 to support the completion of the fieldwork placement. When such placement requires a registration fee (e.g., for Clinical Pastoral Education), the Divinity School subsidizes such a charge up to $500.
Contact the Dean of Students in the Divinity School for more information on aid for ministry students.
Outside Aid
Divinity School students are encouraged to apply for financial assistance from sources outside the Divinity School in addition to their application for Divinity School financial aid. In fairness to all applicants for Divinity School aid, the Committee on Admissions and Aid requires that persons winning such awards report them promptly; however, adjustments in such persons' financial aid are made only in cases where the outside award substantially reduces the level of financial need. Most such outside awards are, in fact, more modest and may be used to supplement Divinity School financial aid awards.
For more information, students should consult the Office of Graduate Affairs' Fellowship Kiosk . The following fellowships are among the most prestigious and remunerative of outside awards:
1. Andrew W. Mellon Fellowships in Humanistic Studies are offered through a national competition. Any college senior or recent graduate who is a U.S. or Canadian citizen is eligible to apply. A faculty member must nominate the student to a regional director. Requests for further information should be made to:
Web site: http://www.mellon.org/
2. Charlotte W. Newcombe Doctoral Dissertation Fellowships support the last full year of research and writing for outstanding doctoral students whose dissertations focus on ethical or religious values and the way those values govern the choices made by people and societies. Requests for further information should be made to:
Charlotte W. Newcombe Doctoral Dissertation Fellowships
Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation
P.O. Box 5281
Princeton, New Jersey 08543-5281
Phone: 609-452-7007
Fax: 609-452-7828
Web site: http://www.woodrow.org/newcombe/
3. Disciples Divinity House offers tuition and housing support and an annual living stipend for qualified members of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) who are pursuing the M.Div., A.M., or Ph.D. degrees at the Divinity School. These scholarships are renewable annually through the time normally required for obtaining the degree. Further information may be requested from:
The Disciples Divinity House
1156 East 57th Street
Chicago, Illinois 60637
Phone: 773-643-4411
Fax 773-643-4413
E-mail: ddh.uchicago@attglobal.net
Web site: http://ddh.uchicago.edu
4. Ford Foundation Diversity Fellowships are available on a competitive basis to members of certain minority groups who are U.S. citizens or nationals at the time of application. Both predoctoral and dissertation fellowships are available to support doctoral work in the behavioral and social sciences, the humanities (including religious studies), and certain other fields. Requests for further information should be made to:
Ford Foundation Doctoral Fellowships for Minorities
Fellowship Office, GR 346A
National Research Council of the National Academies
550 Fifth Street NW
Washington, D.C. 20001
Phone: 202-334-2872
E-mail: infofell@nas.edu
Web site: http://www7.nationalacademies.org/FORDfellowships/
5. The Fund for Theological Education, Inc., offers several fellowship programs of interest to both ministry and doctoral students. Further information may be requested from:
The Fund for Theological Education, Inc.
825 Houston Mill Road, Suite 250
Atlanta, Georgia 30329
Phone: 404-727-1450
Fax: 404-727-1490
Web site: www.thefund.org
6. Jacob K. Javits Fellowships support graduate study in selected fields within the arts, humanities, and social sciences. The award, which is renewable for up to four years, covers tuition and fees and includes a stipend. Fourth-year college students and persons who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents, and who have not completed their first year of graduate study, are eligible to apply. Requests for further information should be made to:
U.S. Department of Education,
OPE Teacher and Student Development Programs Service
1990 K Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20006-8524
Phone: 202-502-7542
Fax: 202-502-7859
E-mail: OPE_Javits_Program@ed.gov
Web site: http://www.ed.gov/programs/iegpsjavits/index.html
7. National Resource (Title VI or FLAS) Fellowships are available for graduate study in critical languages and related areas. Only U.S. citizens or those who can prove that they are seeking citizenship are eligible. Application is made through the University, and forms are available at the beginning of the winter quarter from the Dean of Students in the Divinity School.
8. Foreign students are encouraged to explore appropriate funding opportunities such as Fulbright-Hays, DAAD, SSHRC (Canada Council), Harkness, and World Council of Churches grants.
Fellowships for Foreign Study
Graduate students at the University of Chicago have a number of opportunities for overseas study and research. Applications for overseas programs are usually due in early October of the year preceding the year of study abroad. Interested students should consult the Office of International Affairs , which can be contacted at:
Office of International Affairs
International House
1414 East 59th Street
Chicago, Illinois 60637
Phone: 773-702-7752
Fax 773-702-3058
E-mail: international-affairs@uchicago.edu
Web site: http://internationalaffairs.uchicago.edu
A sampling of fellowships for foreign study is listed below:
1. The American Institute of Indian Studies (AIIS) Advanced Language Programs in India are open to graduate students (U.S. citizens or permanent residents) who will have completed a minimum of two years of instruction in Hindi, Bengali, or Tamil at the time of departure. For more information, contact:
The American Institute of Indian Studies
1130 East 59th Street
Chicago, Illinois 60637
Phone: 773-702-8638
E-mail: aiis@uchicago.edu
Web site: http://www.indiastudies.org/AIIS.html
2. The Doolittle-Harrison Fellowship awards up to $400 to doctoral students for presentation at a professional academic conference or for short-term travel outside of the contiguous United States to facilitate dissertation research. For more information, see http://grad-affairs.uchicago.edu/programs/doolittle.shtml or contact:
Brooke Noonan
The Office of Graduate Affairs
5801 South Ellis Avenue, Room 221-A
Chicago, Illinois 60637
Phone: 773-702-0871
Fax: 773-702-1194
E-mail: brookec@uchicago.edu
3. Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Fellowships (U.S. Department of Education) are awarded for six to twelve months of research in non-Western countries through a national competition. The awards provide international travel, living stipends, and other expenses for doctoral candidates. For more information, contact:
U.S. Department of Education
OPE, International Education Programs Service
1990 K Street, NW, Sixth Floor
Washington, D.C. 20006-8521
Phone: 202-502-7632/7688
Fax: 202-502-7860
E-mail: ddra@ed.gov
Web site: http://www.ed.gov/programs/iegpsddrap/index.html
4. German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), an association of the institutions of higher education in the Federal Republic of Germany, offers a variety of awards to graduate students for study in Germany. The awards cover tuition, maintenance, and transportation to and from Germany. For more information, contact:
DAAD
871 United Nations Plaza
New York, New York 10017
Phone: 212-758-3223
Fax: 212-755-5780
E-mail: daadny@daad.org
5. The University of Chicago is one of sixty institutions invited to participate in the Luce Scholars Program, established by the Henry Luce Foundation to send fifteen individuals for a year of work and travel in East Asia. Each award provides a substantial stipend (with an additional allowance for dependents), plus air transportation. Applications for nomination should be submitted to the University's Center for East Asian Studies (CEAS) in late October. For more information, go to http://www.hluce.org/3scholfm.html or contact Dianne Yurco in CEAS at 773-702-8647.
6. Each year, the University awards numerous Overseas Dissertation Research Grants to advanced graduate students whose dissertations require a period of overseas research. For more information, contact the Office of International Affairs .
7. The Social Science Research Council (SSRC) offers fellowships and grant programs through annual competitions on a wide range of topics and across many different career stages. Most support goes to predissertation, dissertation, and postdoctoral fellowships. Some programs support summer institutes and advanced research grants. For more information, contact:
SSRC
810 Seventh Avenue
New York, New York 10019
Phone: 212-377-2700
Fax: 212-377-2727
Web site: http://www.ssrc.org/fellowships/
8. The University offers exchange programs with the following Japanese universities: Rikkyo University, Tsukuba University, and Waseda University. Fluency in Japanese is required. Contact the Dean of Students in the Divinity School for more information.
Student Loans
Many students find that scholarship aid and their own resources (parental contributions, earnings from employment, savings, and gifts or loans from relatives and friends) are insufficient to meet the costs of their graduate or professional education. In such situations, students can turn to low-interest, long-term student loans. Borrowing from these sources, even at the favorable terms currently available, should be planned carefully in order to avoid the accumulation of unmanageable debt; nevertheless, students should not hesitate to take advantage of such loan programs, which are designed especially for them. Students who expect to be in the Divinity School for two or more years should budget their savings to last through the whole course of their education rather than exhausting them in the first year or two just to avoid borrowing.
Students who are considering loans to help finance their education should be aware that procedures and policies of the student loan programs are subject to review by the federal government.
The most up-to-date information on student loan programs may be obtained from the Student Loan Administration (SLA):
The Student Loan Administration
970 East 58th Street, Room 411
Chicago, Illinois 60637
Phone: 773-702-6061
Fax: 773-702-3238
E-mail: student-loans@uchicago.edu
Web site: http://www.uchicago.edu/student/loans
Students admitted for the autumn quarter who wish to be considered for a student loan should submit a loan application to the SLA office by the May 15 priority deadline; notifications concerning loan approval are sent out in August. SLA also determines eligibility for the Work-Study program, but job assignments cannot be made until the student is actually on campus.
Federal Perkins Loans
Students who demonstrate financial need according to accepted federal guidelines may borrow through the Federal Perkins Loan program. Perkins Loans carry a fixed 5% interest rate. Perkins Loans are extremely limited, however, and the University cannot guarantee the availability of Perkins moneys to all students who apply.
Perkins Loans, like Stafford Loans, are restricted to students who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents and are enrolled in the University at least half-time. A student may borrow a total of $40,000 in Perkins Loans (this includes NDSL loans) over the course of undergraduate and graduate work.
Students have a nine-month grace period after they graduate, leave school, or drop below half-time status before they begin repaying the loan. They have up to ten years in which to repay the loan, and the minimum monthly payment is $40.
Federal Stafford Loans
Full-time students who demonstrate financial need may also be able to borrow either subsidized or unsubsidized loans through the Stafford Loan program. Like Perkins Loans, Stafford Loans are restricted to students who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents and are enrolled at least half-time in the University. As of July 1, 2004, the current interest rate is 2.77%. The government pays the interest on the subsidized Stafford Loan while the borrower continues to be registered as a full- or half-time degree-seeking student for a six-month grace period following the last such registration. The unsubsidized Stafford Loan accrues interest as soon as it is disbursed; therefore, interest accrues while the student is still in school. A student may borrow up to $8,500 in subsidized student loans each academic year. For students who are either not eligible to receive subsidized Stafford Loans, or who have borrowed to the $8,500 limit, unsubsidized loans are available. These may be borrowed up to an annual total of $18,500, less any eligibility amount borrowed in the subsidized Stafford Loan. Both subsidized and unsubsidized loans must be repaid within ten years (or sooner, depending on the size of the loan), and the minimum monthly payment is $50. Students may borrow Stafford funds through the University of Chicago Loan Plan.
The University of Chicago Loan Plan
Developed in cooperation with the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC), the University of Chicago Loan Plan is one of the lender options available to students. Its Federal Stafford Loans offer students the benefit of no origination fee and no guarantee fee, which means no fees will be deducted from students' loans. Its Alternative Loan has been tailored especially to meet the needs of University of Chicago students, setting itself apart with attractive features, such as a competitive interest rate. The University of Chicago Loan Plan provides for electronic transfer of funds directly to students' tuition accounts.
Other Loan Funds
Registered students who run into unforeseen financial difficulties during the school year may apply for emergency short-term loans. Loans can be made for periods of sixty days with interest rates from 3 to 7%. A cosigner is required if the student will not repay the loan with stipend or student loan funds. International students also require a cosigner.
Federal Work-Study
The Federal Work-Study program provides an excellent opportunity for students to earn money from part-time work. It encourages students to apply early because these funds are extremely limited. Federal work-study eligible students are particularly attractive to campus departments that have job openings. Federal work-study is restricted to students who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents.
Please go to the Student Loan Administration for more detailed information.
Employment Opportunities
Almost all Divinity School students work during some phase of their graduate studies. Both on- and off-campus part-time employment opportunities for Divinity School students and their spouses are abundant. Job opportunities are limited only by one's energy and resourcefulness.
Divinity School students have full access to the many services of the University's Office of Career Advising and Planning Services , including job skills workshops, full- and part-time job listings, the Graduate Intern program, the College Work-Study program, and career counseling.
Students can work as research assistants for professors, as editorial assistants on one of the four journals published in Swift Hall, on the Wednesday Lunch crew, in the Divinity School's student-run coffee shop, or elsewhere on campus. Go to the Student Employment Web site , managed by the University's Human Resources Department, for a list of current job openings.
Many students work in various University offices, in the libraries, and in business establishments, colleges, and religious institutions throughout the Chicago area.
Student spouses are eligible for many of the opportunities described above as well. Spouses of foreign students, however, may not work unless they hold J-2 visas and have received permission to work from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Contact the University Department of Human Resources for more information:
University Department of Human Resources
956 East 85th Street
Chicago, Illinois 60637
Phone: 773-702-8900
Fax: 773-702-0353
E-mail: employment@uchicago.edu
Web site: http://hr.uchicago.edu
