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Tuition, Fees & Financial Aid

Financial Aid

1) Scholarship Based Financial Aid

There are two types of scholarships available in most programs. The first is the Graduate Assistantship which includes a stipend and tuition remission. The second is a Tuition Scholarship which includes tuition remission only.

2) Special Tuition-Reduction for Primary-and-Secondary School Teachers and Administrators

Given its Augustinian Mission and heritage, Villanova University has long maintained a special commitment to the teaching profession. Specifically, the training of teachers and administrators who have dedicated their professional lives to the education of subsequent generations holds a vaulted position within the graduate efforts of the University.

As a practical expression of this dedication to the teaching profession, the University has adopted a special tuition plan for primary- and secondary-school teachers enrolled in a graduate class in any program in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. This plan is in two forms: for teachers and administrators in Catholic schools and for teachers and administrators in public or private schools that are not affiliated with the Catholic Church.

For teachers and administrators at Catholic schools
The University has granted these individuals a 40% tuition reduction from the standard tuition rate in any graduate program in Arts and Sciences.

For teachers and administrators at private or public non-Catholic schools
The University has granted these individuals a 20% tuition reduction from the standard tuition rate in any graduate program in Arts and Sciences.

Details of Tuition Plan and How to Apply for the Reduced Tuition Rate
The individual must be accepted for enrollment into one of the graduate programs in the College of Arts and Sciences. That is, the individual must proceed with the usual application process.
The individual must be a full-time or part-time teacher or administrator in a primary or secondary school. A part-time teacher must be under contract for the current school year and must show his/her contract. A substitute teacher must have served as a substitute teacher the semester previous to enrollment, must be able to document subbing at least 60 days during that semester and must show pay stubs or letters from administrators verifying the number of days worked.
The individual applying for the reduced tuition rate must complete a tuition reduction form. These forms are available in all of our programs’ main offices and in the Office of the Dean of Graduate Studies for Liberal Arts and Sciences.
Once the individual has completed the form, it should be forwarded to the Chairperson of the individual’s program. If the individual is a part-time or substitute, the necessary documentation needs to accompany the form.
The department reviews and verifies the information on the form and forwards it to the Dean’s Office for approval.

There are a variety of options for funding your studies at Loyola University Chicago. In addition to traditional need-based financial aid packages, the Graduate School awards a variety of merit-based awards.

University Assistantships, which provide a stipend and tuition scholarship, are available from the Graduate School on a competitive basis to new and continuing full-time students.

Assistantships normally include an annual stipend and full tuition for course work in fulfillment of program requirements, up to a maximum of 24 semester hours per academic year, including summer sessions. In the Department of Theology students in good standing can normally renew these assistantships for up to four years (or three years for those entering the program with an M.A.) Those students awarded assistantships are assigned as research assistants and perform research tasks for supervising professors for approximately fifteen hours per week.

Fifth year Ph.D. students may apply to the Teaching Fellowship program of Loyola University or to the Teaching Fellowship program in the Department of Theology.

Additional fellowships are also available to qualified students upon recommendation by the Department. An especially promising applicant for the Ph.D. may be recommended for a Crown Fellowship which provides an annual stipend and full tuition for four years. No duties are attached to the Crown Fellowships beyond the continuation of good academic work.

The Graduate School also awards Dissertation Fellowships, which support students working on their Ph.D. dissertations. Among these are fellowships available to Ph.D. candidates to live as Fellows at the Rome Center.

Deadlines for complete applications (including the Application for Assistantships and Fellowships, the Application for Admission, the Merit Award Application, three letters of recommendation, all transcripts, and Graduate Record Examination scores) and notification dates can be found by contacting the Graduate School. Applicants for merit-based awards should request Merit Award Application forms from the Graduate School Admissions Office.

For information on merit-based awards, consult The Graduate School web page, The Graduate School Catalog, or contact the Graduate School, 450 Granada Center, 6525 N. Sheridan Road, Chicago, IL 60626.

For information on financial aid programs and guaranteed student loans, consult the Office of Student Financial Aid web page.