Tuition Waivers

Heinz College does not offer tuition waivers to master's students.

 

Heinz College Scholarships and Fellowships for International Students

International students do not need to submit a financial aid application in order to be considered for scholarships and fellowships from their program. These awards are made at the time of admission.

International students are eligible for consideration for any scholarship/fellowship, specific to their program of study, unless the scholarship/fellowship's description specifically states otherwise. Students are awarded scholarships/fellowships as part of the admissions process and are notified of the award amount, if any, in the letter of admission. Students are not reconsidered for additional financial aid after the original scholarship/fellowship has been awarded.

 

Outside Scholarships

You may want to consider researching additional ways of financing your education.  Here are some useful resources to get started:

• FinAid: The Financial Aid Information Page- a website dedicated to assisting students from around the world to identify and apply to scholarships
• Other Outside Fellowships and Scholarships- a PDF contaiining a list of outside scholarship opportunities
• CMU's Fellowships and Scholarships Office (FSO) -  A vast number of external scholarships, fellowships, and educational opportunities are listed here
• Fulbright Scholars are awarded up to half-tuition scholarship by Heinz College 
• Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program - Applicants from World Bank member countries are eligible to apply to the World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program. Each year, the Program awards scholarships to individuals undertaking graduate studies in subjects related to economic development. Please visit the Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program page for eligibility criteria and more information.

  

Work Opportunities 

Teaching Assistants (TA)

• International students may apply for TA positions for their final two semesters.
• TAs aid instructors by grading homework and exams, conducting review sessions and tutoring.
• TAs are paid hourly, $12 per hour and work approximately 10 hours per week. TAs are not awarded any tuition waivers.

Research Assistants (RA)

• International students may apply for RA positions once they have enrolled as full-time students in their program of study at Heinz
• RAs assist faculty in their reseach
• RAs are paid hourly, $12 per hour and work approximately 10 hours per week. RAs are not awarded any tuition waivers

Other Opportunities

International students are not eligible for work-study awards. However, short-term projects occasionally arise that provide international students with the opportunity to earn money during a semester.

 

Alternative Loans for International Students

Alternative education loans are loans extended to students by private lending institutions on the basis of creditworthiness. International students are required to have a cosigner for the loan who is a US citizen or permanent resident of the US. Students may use any lender they wish.

LOAN APPLICATION PROCESS:

• Loan applications are available through many lender websites;  interest rates and fees vary by lender.
• The lender may require additional documentation from you and/or your cosigner before they consider your application as complete. This documentation might include things such as citizenship verification, cosigner income and employment verification, etc.
• A loan may cover an enrollment period of no more than one calendar year. If your enrollment extends beyond one calendar year and you want to borrow after that year lapses, you need to apply for another loan for that enrollment period.

LOAN APPROVAL PROCESS:

• Once your loan application is complete, the lender performs a credit investigation and either approves or denies the loan. You may contact your lender at any time during the loan application and/or approval process to check the status of your loan application.
• If the loan is approved, the lender contacts the school and asks the school to provide enrollment, cost of attendance, and disbursement date information. This is called loan certification. Disbursement dates are generally 2 or 3 equal disbursements, about 10 days before each semester begins.
• If the loan is denied, the lender contacts the student directly.

LOAN DISBURSEMENT PROCESS:

• The lender must obtain a self-certification form signed by the applicant before disbursing an Alternative Education Loan.
• Generally, disbursements are done via electronic funds transfer (EFT) directly to the university student account. In cases where the funds are sent to the school via paper check, the student must endorse the check in the HUB before it is credited to the student account.
• Each disbursement appears as a credit on your university student account.
• If the loan disbursement results in a credit balance (negative balance) on the student account, a refund is generated to the student to use for living and other education-related expenses.

Students may choose any participating lender for their education loans.

Carnegie Mellon’s recommended Alternative (non-federal) Loan lenders: www.cmu.edu/finaid/loans/private.html

 

TMS (Tuition Management Systems) Payment Plan

The TMS Payment Plan is a monthly payment plan which may be used as an alternative to borrowing. Participants pay an annual enrollment fee. The plan enables participants to pay for Fall and Spring tuition charges over a 10-month period and is open to all Carnegie Mellon students.  The plan is not available for the Summer semester.

To enroll, please contact one of the TMS Education Payment Counselors at 1-800-722-4867, weekdays from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. (EST). Click here for more information.