Graduate students enrolled at least half-time in a master's program may be eligible for federal loans and/or federal work-study. Graduate students enrolled in online programs are ineligible for federal work-study.

To apply, students must submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The FAFSA is available starting October 1 and will be reviewed on a rolling basis as it is received by the Office of Financial Aid. It is recommended that the FAFSA be completed by May 1 each academic year. FAFSAs should be submitted no later than 30 days prior to the end of the academic semester in which you are enrolled at least half-time.

Complete Your FAFSA Online
Be sure to list the American University (AU) FAFSA code, 001434, in the college release section. (A limited supply of paper FAFSA forms is available from the AU Office of Financial Aid if you prefer.)

Additional Forms
You may be asked to download and complete a Verification Worksheet or other documentation as needed to complete your aid application. Do not complete these forms unless asked to do so by the Office of Financial Aid.

Typically, graduate students are eligible for $10,250 per semester in unsubsidized Stafford loans as long as they are enrolled at least half-time. Half-time is defined as 5 credits for fall and 5 credits for spring. If your program has a summer semester, 2 credits is considered half-time. Eligibility for the unsubsidized loan is determined based on information on the FAFSA as well as loan history found in the National Student Loan Database System (NSLDS).

Please note that graduate students may not borrow more than $138,500 in Stafford loans throughout the entirety of their academic careers. You may view your Stafford loan history at nslds.ed.gov.

Graduate students may be eligible for the Graduate PLUS loan to assist in defraying additional educational expenses not covered by the Stafford loans. The Grad PLUS loan is a credit-based loan from Direct Loans and requires an additional master promissory note (MPN) if approved. For more information about this loan or to apply, please go to Federal Student Aid. If approved by the lender, graduate students are eligible for up to the total cost of attendance minus all other aid received.

The purpose of the Graduate Excellence Fund is to recognize Kogod on-campus graduate students who have demonstrated academic excellence and leadership inside and outside of the classroom. This is a need-and merit-based scholarship for students who have fully completed one academic semester in a Kogod or WCL (for JD/LLM/MBA) on-campus graduate program and will be enrolled in at least 6 credits in Kogod during the semester for which they are applying. Students who are full-time employees at AU and receiving tuition benefits are not eligible for this fund.

Need-and Merit-Based Scholarships
There are more than 17 need- and merit-based scholarships for graduate students and 10 available to most Kogod students in any program. While we have relied on faculty and staff nominations as well as data received from the Office of Student Accounts and Office of Financial Aid to award these funds, we want to increase transparency and allow students to express interest in additional scholarship funding.

Graduate Excellence Fund
The purpose of the Graduate Excellence Fund is to recognize Kogod on-campus graduate students who have demonstrated academic excellence and leadership inside and outside of the classroom. This is a need-and merit-based scholarship for students who have fully completed one academic semester in a Kogod or WCL (for JD/LLM/MBA) on-campus graduate program and will be enrolled in at least 6 credits in Kogod during the semester for which they are applying. Students who are full-time employees at AU and receiving tuition benefits are not eligible for this fund.

Kogod students have great ideas for speakers, panels, or other types of programs and events, and we can help you make those a reality! Funds are available to support student-led initiatives that align with the Learning By Doing outcomes. Note that this fund is available to individual students, not student organizations.

The Educational Enhancement Fund provides support for Kogod students to participate in professional development opportunities, including business-focused professional conferences, case or other competitions, leadership development activities, and other experiential opportunities.

This fund has been established to provide financial assistance when a Kogod student (major, minor, or enrolled in a graduate program) encounters unexpected, immediate, and temporary personal hardship that puts at risk their ability to successfully progress in their course work toward degree completion and fulfill other commitments at AU. The fund is unable to support long-term or continuous situations, but we can help you find community-based resources to support ongoing issues.

The National Black MBA Association leads in the creation of educational opportunities and economic growth for black professionals. Kogod offers these awards in partnership with the DC Chapter of the NBMBAA.

Visit http://dcblackmba.org/ for more information.

The Reaching Out LGBTQ MBA Fellowship was created as a joint effort between top business school programs and Reaching Out. It aims to demonstrate that business schools are the top destination to develop the out LGBTQ and active ally business leaders of tomorrow.

Fellowship recipients each receive a minimum $10,000 scholarship per academic year, or a $20,000 total scholarship, and receive access to exclusive mentorship and leadership development through Reaching Out. When applying to the full-time MBA program, please use the optional essay to indicate that you would like to be considered for this scholarship. When applying to the online MBA program, please use the second essay. Recipients will be notified at the time of admission if they have received the award.

Visit https://www.reachingoutmba.org/lgbtmbafellowship  for more information.

The Thomas R. Pickering Fellowship is a US Department of State program administered by Howard University that seeks to attract and prepare outstanding young people, based on financial need, who represent ethnic, gender, social, and geographic diversity and have an interest in pursuing a Foreign Service career in the US Department of State.  The Program encourages the application of members of minority groups historically underrepresented in the Foreign Service, women, and those with financial need. Please visit https://pickeringfellowship.org/ for more information about the Pickering Program.
Pickering Fellows who apply and are admitted to the full-time MBA program at the Kogod School of Business will have their $100 application fee waived and will receive a Merit Award in the amount of at least 50 percent of the full-time MBA tuition costs. Kogod will also recognize Pickering Fellowship finalists (those who are selected for interviews in Washington, DC but are not chosen as a Fellow) by giving them priority consideration for merit-based awards from Kogod if they have completed their application file by the priority deadline.

Applicants should email kogodgrad@american.edu to let Kogod Graduate Admissions know that they are a Thomas R. Pickering Fellowship applicant and should also include that information in their supplemental essay as part of the application.

The Rangel Graduate Fellowship is a program that aims to attract and prepare outstanding young people for careers in the Foreign Service of the US Department of State in which they can help formulate, represent and implement US foreign policy. The Rangel Program selects outstanding Rangel Fellows annually in a highly competitive nationwide process and supports them through two years of graduate study, internships, mentoring, and professional development activities. This program encourages the application of members of minority groups historically underrepresented in the Foreign Service, women, and those with financial need. Fellows who successfully complete the program and Foreign Service entry requirements will receive appointments as Foreign Service Officers, in accordance with applicable law and State Department policy. Please visit http://rangelprogram.org/ for more information about the Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Graduate Fellowship Program.

Rangel Fellows who apply and are admitted to the full-time MBA program at the Kogod School of Business will have their $100 application fee waived and will receive a Merit Award in the amount of at least 50 percent of the full-time MBA tuition costs. Kogod will also recognize Rangel Fellowship finalists (those who are selected for interviews in Washington, DC but are not chosen as a Fellow) by giving them priority consideration for merit-based awards from Kogod if they have completed their application file by the priority deadline.

Applicants should email kogodgrad@american.edu to let Kogod Graduate Admissions know that they are a Charles B. Rangel Fellowship applicant and should also include that information in their supplemental essay as part of the application.

American University’s Kogod School of Business is proud to be a member of City Year's University Partnerships program and offers the following benefits to City Year AmeriCorps members, alumni and staff who apply and/or are accepted to any of our graduate programs: application fee waiver, up to one-year deferral and a minimum of $10,000 tuition scholarships for up to two eligible members per year.

Requirements: Submit a letter verifying City Year affiliation as part of the application process. Please email alumni@cityyear.org with "American University Kogod School of Business: City Year verification letter request” in the subject line and include the site where you served and dates of service in the email.

This letter will be sent to the Admissions Office on your behalf. When submitting your application, use the code CITYYEAR to waive your application fee. Please state that you served with City Year and reference our partnership.

American University is proud to be a school of national service. Graduate programs in our Kogod School of Business are committed to match the Segal awards of admitted students at the level of the award, up to $6400 per student (that is a 100 percent match for one award per student). American University will require that Segal award recipients show the award amount for matching purposes. If a student has multiple Segal awards, the University agrees to match at least one of those awards and will consider additional matches. Admitted students may also be considered for additional merit and aid awards.

Full-time Washington Post employees, spouses or dependents admitted to any graduate degree program within the Kogod School of Business, including online, are eligible for $10,000 in merit award funding over the course of the program.

US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) employees participating in the American University partnership can register for graduate courses in the Kogod School of Business as a non-degree or degree seeking student. Kogod's graduate degree programs are ideal for individuals looking to advance their career with more specialized training in areas such as accounting, finance, or analytics.

HHS employees have the opportunity to attend AU at a discounted rate, with 20 percent off the regular tuition cost. This discount is only for HHS employees and their spouses.