O’Neill Online offers both quality and affordability. Check out your many options for financial assistance below, and feel free to contact us directly to work out a personalized plan to meet your needs. We want to make our program possible for you.
Explore your fellowship options
O’Neill Online Fellowships
O’Neill Online offers generous fellowships through a competitive award process each admission cycle to newly admitted students. Fellowship awards recognize the significant academic achievement, professional experiences, and need of newly admitted students.
Applying for fellowshipsAll MPA applicants who apply by our priority application deadline will automatically be considered for O'Neill Online Fellowships. Academic and professional achievements, recommendation letters, personal statement responses, and applicant need are among the factors considered when selecting fellowship recipients. Decisions are made based on how your overall credentials compare to those of other applicants in that current term.
Award notifications
O’Neill Online Fellowship decisions are made independently from admission decisions — your admission notification will not be accompanied by an award offer. After each priority application deadline, we begin making fellowship decisions. You will be notified of your selection for an award about two weeks after the priority deadline closes.
Other financial aid options
MPA students can receive credit for three to six hours of course work—or more, in rare cases—for prior professional experience or service in the military, Peace Corps, AmeriCorps, or Teach for America. That can translate to tuition savings of more than $3,700 for Indiana residents or $7,700 for nonresidents.
Students with significant senior-level management experience in public affairs (including military service) may qualify for up to nine hours of credit for professional experience, which translates to a potential savings of more than $5,700 for Indiana residents or $11,700 for nonresidents.
The professional experience credits count toward the MPA’s experiential component and lowers the total cost and time to complete the degree.
IU offers a variety of financial aid options for graduate students. More information is available from:
U.S. students in the MPA program who are interested in federal need-based aid should fill out the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) online or on paper. Send in your form as soon after January 1 as possible. If you meet the requirements, you will be notified of your aid in late May or early June. Students in the certificate program aren’t eligible for federal aid.
- IU Bloomington’s school code (needed for the FAFSA): 001809
If you are an international student, you are ineligible for federal student loans but still have opportunities to receive financial assistance. Such sources of support may include aid from your home country, U.S. federal aid (other than federal student loans), nongovernmental sources, and departmental aid.
IU has a dedicated office to help military students and veterans access their GI Bill educational benefits, financial assistance, and other benefits. Military experience also qualifies for prior professional experience credit.