Graduate Financial Aid

Working toward, and ultimately completing your graduate degree is an investment in yourself.  Deciding where and what to study can be exhilarating and exciting.  It can also be confusing and stressful, especially when you consider the costs associated with earning an advanced degree.  We believe your time and energy should be spent focusing on your studies instead of your finances.

The SMU Graduate Financial Aid Office was created to provide graduate students with a reliable resource for information on issues unique to graduate programs.  

Announcements, Dates & Deadlines

2022-2023 Academic Year (Fall Term 2022 – Summer Term 2023): 

• Scholarships for graduate-level programs are determined by academic departments, typically through the admissions process, and then submitted to the Graduate Financial Aid Office to be included in your total financial aid offer.  The Graduate Financial Aid Office does not have scholarship or grant funding available.  Questions regarding scholarships for graduate students should be directed to the academic department.   If your scholarship does not appear as part of your total financial aid offer, please contact your academic department for information.   

• The 2022-2023 FAFSA is available for use.  Go to www.studentaid.gov to complete and submit the 2022-2023 application for federal and state financial aid programs. SMU strongly encourages using the Data Retrieval Tool (DRT) to complete your FAFSA.  The FAFSA DRT will automatically pull 2020 tax information directly from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) which reduces errors, shortens processing wait times, and minimize the chances of being selected for verification.

• Financial Aid awarding cycle for the 2022-2023 academic year is scheduled as follows:   
  • New incoming graduate student awards are scheduled to begin in late April and will continue on a rolling basis.
  • Returning/Continuing graduate student awards will not begin until mid to late June after grades from the prior SPRING term have been evaluated and posted.  

• Award notifications will be sent to your SMU email address. 

• Students who utilize credit-based loan funding such as the Federal GradPLUS, Texas College Access Loan (CAL), or a private consumer-based education loan must submit a new loan application specifically for the 2022-2023 academic year.  

2021-2022 Academic Year (Fall Term 2021 – Summer Term 2022): 

• The 2021-2022 FAFSA will remain available to students attending Fall 2021 – Summer 2022.  Go to https://studentaid.gov to complete and submit your 2021-2022 application for federal and state financial aid programs. SMU strongly encourages using the Data Retrieval Tool (DRT) to complete your FAFSA.  The FAFSA DRT will automatically pull 2019 tax information directly from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) which reduces errors, shortens processing wait times, and minimize the chances of being selected for verification.
• Financial Aid awarding cycle for the 2021-2022 academic year is ongoing.   

Enrollment Requirements: 

Federal aid for any given term requires part-time enrollment (typically 4.5 or more credit hours).  For enrollment of less than 4.5 hours, students may use one of the private lenders listed in the Types of Financial Aid link at the top of the page. 

Students who are withdrawing from the University or dropping a class should contact their Financial Aid advisor for additional information on how the change in enrollment will impact current financial aid awards.  

Financial Aid Advising for Graduate & Doctoral Students