Financial Aid and Student Account

Master's 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.

All master's 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 scholarship/fellowships after matriculation.

Students who are borrowing US federal loans are encouraged to follow the timeline on the CMU Student Financial Services website.

If you are a US citizen or permanent resident and you plan to apply for federal financial aid, including federal student loans and/or federal work study, you must submit a completed  Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

Once you have submitted your 2026-2027 FAFSA form and CMU has received any additional required financial aid application materials, CMU's Student Financial Services staff will determine your federal financial aid eligibility for the 2026 - 2027 academic year. At that time, you will receive an email from CMU’s Student Financial Services (SFS) that will direct you to access Carnegie Mellon's My Student Aid (MSA) portal. 

The email from CMU-SFS will be sent to either your CMU Andrew email address or the email address you used to create your application for admission to Heinz College.

• If you have activated your Andrew ID (after accepting your offer of admission), the email from CMU-SFS will be sent to your CMU @andrew.cmu.edu email address. 
• If you have not yet received and/or activated your Andrew ID, the CMU-SFS email regarding your financial aid offer will be sent to the email address you used to create your application for admission to Heinz College. You can log in directly to My Student Aid by selecting the identity provider associated with the email address you used to create your application for admission to Heinz College and entering your information.

Once you have been contacted by Student Financial Services, you can access the MSA portal, which provides an easy-to-navigate overview of your financial aid. Once available, your aid offer will be accessible within your MSA portal by clicking 'Display Now' within the Financial Aid Offer box. In addition to reviewing your aid offer, you can track the status of your financial aid application, submit supporting documents and forms, and review your estimated cost of attendance.

Note: If you have issues logging in to MSA, please be sure to use an updated version of Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge and Safari. Chrome is the preferred browser. Instructions for navigating and using MSA may be found on the Student Financial Services website. If you have questions about accessing MSA, feel free to reach out to The HUB at thehub@andrew.cmu.edu or call 412-268-8186.

During the summer, you will receive instructions for accepting, decreasing, or declining any loan funds through the MSA portal. Federal loans will not be disbursed unless they are accepted. In the meantime, if your offer contains federal loans, please be sure to complete the federal loan application process by visiting studentaid.gov and following the steps for any applicable federal aid programs listed.

Be sure to take action on all federal aid and complete all the required federal forms (the dates listed on the site are suggested dates, not deadlines- but following the timeline puts you in the best position for on time disbursement).

• Be sure to submit loan docs (MPN) and entrance counseling (can be done as early as June 1 for the fall semester).
• Beginning July 1: accept/ reduce/ decline all financial aid listed in the portal.

If you have any additional questions about the financial aid process, please do not hesitate to email the Heinz College Office of Financial Aid.

The Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program (specific to U.S. federal education loans only) was established in 2007 to encourage individuals to enter and to continue to work full-time in public service jobs. Under this program, borrowers may qualify for forgiveness of the remaining balance due on their eligible federal student loans after they have made 120 payments on those loans under certain repayment plans while employed full time by certain public service employers. Click here for more information about PSLF.

Private loan programs, open to all students regardless of their citizenship, offer competitive interest rates and borrower benefits. Some lenders require students to apply with a co-signer regardless of your income or credit rating. Look at each loan program for these requirements.

Private student loans are offered through private lenders within FASTChoice. These are through the student's name and a credit check is used to determine eligibility. By applying with a creditworthy individual (for example, a parent or guardian), the student may improve chances of approval.

Private loans are also available for parents or guardians.

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

• External Fellowships and Scholarships - a great starting point for conducting a scholarship search
• CMU's Fellowships and Scholarships Office (FSO) - A vast number of external scholarships, fellowships, and educational opportunities are listed here
• The Best College Scholarship Search Websites offers reviews of a number of scholarship search engines available to help you get started.
• Bold.org provides a list of scholarships that you can filter and search by many different categories.
• Career One Stop is a general scholarship search site for all students. It is very comprehensive, so be sure to use multiple search words!
• Scholarships.com - Scholarship Directory lists scholarships under multiple categories.

 

Common external Scholarships for international students to consider

• Fulbright Scholars
• Aga Khan Foundation’s International Scholarship Program and Other Scholarships and Financial Assistance Programs
• CONACYT
• FUNED
• List of Scholarships and Fellowships - including opportunities that do not require proof of U.S. Citizenship
• Quad Fellowships for STEM, administered by IIE
• Saudi Arabia Ministry of Education
• We Make Scholars (an initiative funded by the Government of India)

Students are eligible to apply for on-campus jobs once they arrive on campus for their first semester of study. A variety of opportunities are available on campus. It is not necessary to apply for employment prior to arriving on campus. The following are brief descriptions of a few of the types of positions an international student may apply for on campus:        

TEACHING ASSISTANTS (TA)

• 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, $17 per hour and work approximately 10-12 hours per week. TAs are not awarded any tuition waivers.

RESEARCH ASSISTANTS (RA)

• 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 research.
• RAs are paid hourly, $17 per hour and work approximately 10 hours per week. RAs are not awarded any tuition waivers.

OTHER OPPORTUNITIES

• Many of the administrative offices with Heinz College hire students on a part-time basis for work during the academic year.
• Other short-term projects occasionally arise that provide students with the opportunity to earn money during the academic year.

federal community service work study (FCSWS): off-campus jobs

FCSWS is a federally subsidized work program which provides eligible students the opportunity to work for an eligible public, government or 501(c) 3 non-profit organization whose mission and work benefit the community and enables the student to earn money to help cover education-related expenses. In most cases, the salary is $17 per hour with the federal government providing 70% of the salary and the qualifying employer paying the 30% "non-federal share" of the hourly wage. Most Heinz students can earn up to $5,600 per academic year and an additional $6,800 over the summer.

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

The Students Account Office of the Division of Enrollment Services manages the student billing and payment process. For details on invoicing, payment options, and tuition deadlines, please visit the CMU Billing and Payments website.

Sponsored billing occurs when an entity, government or a third party assumes responsibility for all or part of a student’s educational expenses. Sponsors pay the university directly on behalf of the student with an agreement, commitment and/or obligation between the paying party and the student.

There are two steps in our sponsored billing process, and these steps must be completed no later than one week before the start of classes. To complete these two steps and ensure your billing is processed correctly, visit CMU's Sponsored Student Billing page.

Non-university living expenses cannot be paid through student accounts. Funding for these expenses must be arranged directly between the student and sponsor.

The monthly payment plan, administered through Nelnet Campus Commerce, allows students and families to pay the university in manageable monthly installments and provides the convenience of enrolling online.

Students can learn more online here.

Making payments to Nelnet is simple. Your Nelnet plan will allow you to specify deductions from your checking, statement savings account, or credit card (credit card fees apply). Please contact Nelnet customer service for more information at 800-609-8056.