Funding for International Students

Finding funding resources as an international student

Finding financial assistance for your education in the United States can be a challenge, but resources are available. Start looking for funding as soon as you begin your application process. First, research funding options in your home country. Then, explore the resources below. You can apply for funding after you are admitted to your degree program. 

Fellowships and assistantships through the O’Neill School

As an international student, fellowships and assistantships through the O'Neill School are also available to you.
Learn more about fellowships and assistantships

In particular, it’s important to know that that fellowships and assistantship opportunities vary for each graduate department across all US institutions, so please review the information below to learn more about what fellowships and assistantships are at the O’Neill School. 

At the O’Neill School, a fellowship is funding that is offered to you based on your application for admission. The O’Neill School provides partial tuition remission awards starting at 25%, for those who qualify, and several competitive fellowships for higher amounts may be available. If awarded a partial tuition remission award, you would receive that percentage off your tuition each semester for the duration of your degree.

The O’Neill School does not provide full funding or full tuition.

At the O’Neill School, an assistantship is a part-time hourly position. These positions are typically 10-15 hours/week and pay approximately $16/hour.

Assistantships do not come with any additional tuition assistance, funding, or tuition remission. Rather they are solely hourly jobs.

The O’Neill School does not award or offer assistantships as a part of funding or fellowship offers. Rather, students apply to available positions the semester before they start the program.

Please see the “Indiana University funding resources” section below. In particular, you’ll want to look to the Office of International Services website for information on additional resources and loans available to international students. In addition, you can look for other funding and employment opportunities through the IU Grad Grants Center.

Questions?

We understand that navigating financial aid options at US institutions can be overwhelming, so we want to provide answers to commonly asked questions.

No, the O’Neill School does not offer full funding or full tuition.

Rather, we offer partial tuition remission awards starting at 25%, for those who qualify, and several competitive fellowships for higher amounts may be available.

The O’Neill School does not award or offer assistantships as a part of funding or fellowship offers. Rather, students apply to available positions the semester before they start the program. There is nothing you can do to secure an assistantship prior to accepting your admission offer, and nothing you can do prior to when you begin onboarding over the summer, if you accept your offer.

Additionally, you would not be able to submit information about an assistantship as financial documentation. As a reminder, assistantships do not come with any additional tuition assistance, funding, or tuition remission. As a result, they wouldn’t count toward financial documentation regardless.

No, the O’Neill School does not offer this type of funding package. Please see information on fellowships and assistantships for more information on how O’Neill provides funding and assistantships.

You can look to the additional resources listed above and below. The O’Neill School can only provide partial tuition remission awards, so students may need to search for additional funding opportunities on their own.

After you are admitted, you will need to submit financial documentation to the Office of International Services as the first step in the I-20 process. You can learn more about financial documentation by clicking the button below:

Financial Documentation

OIS answers all questions about financial documentation and I-20s. Contact them directly at newtoiu@iu.edu.

The O’Neill School will not provide an outline of your remaining costs after you receive a fellowship. Rather, you can compare an O’Neill School funding offer to the cost of the program you’re interested in.

You can learn more about the cost of our programs by clicking the button below:

O'Neill School Costs

At the graduate level, students are charged per credit hour. As a result, our total costs are based on the number of credit hours required to complete the program, based on the length of time the degree should take to complete.

If awarded a fellowship, your offer letter will include a resource page with additional details. At the graduate level, students are charged per credit hour. Fellowships disburse each semester, based on individual enrollment. You would be expected to pay your bill for each semester’s tuition and fees at the beginning of the semester. You can learn more about how billing works at IU by clicking on the button for Student Central’s website below:

Billing

Yes, payment plans are available through Student Central. You can learn more about payment plans on their website below:

Payment Plans

Unfortunately, international students are not eligible to submit the FAFSA, and they are not eligible for federal financial aid or federal loans.

If you are interested in loans, check the loan options on the Office of International Services website below:

International Student Loan Options

Graduate students typically live off campus, so it will be your responsibility to find housing in the Bloomington community if you are admitted, as well as cover all other living expenses (such as utilities, food, etc.).

We provide housing information and resources to admitted students, and also provide estimated living expenses on the cost page of our website, to give students an idea of what their housing expenses may be in Bloomington. However, your housing expenses will be based on your own individual choices.

O’Neill School fellowships are tuition remission awards, meaning they only apply toward tuition expenses. Our fellowships and assistantships do not come with stipends or funds that specifically cover housing and other living expenses.

At IU, you will be charged tuition and fees by the university for your coursework each semester. However, you will also need to consider the other costs associated with being a graduate student. These include housing, food, utilities, and other “living expenses.”

On our cost page, we provide “estimated living expenses” which give students an idea of what it may cost to live in the Bloomington community. However, students will need to pay for their living expenses on their own, and those exact costs will be based on individual choices. You’d be responsible for finding your own housing, paying rent, purchasing your own groceries, paying your utilities, and anything else while you’re a student.

In preparation for your visa interview, you will first need to be admitted and submit financial documentation to IU. Once your documentation is approved, you will be issued an I-20, which is required to set up your visa interview. Once you schedule your visa interview, you’ll need to get your documentation ready and prepare for your interview. Your visa interview may be scheduled months out, depending on the country where you have your interview, so you’ll want to submit applications for admission and financial documentation early.

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