Scholarships
Arcadia offers partial merit scholarships to select applicants in the following programs on the basis of a student’s academic record. We automatically consider all applicants for these awards (students do not need to apply separately) and notify applicants of the award in the student’s acceptance letter.
Counseling
Arcadia’s Graduate Program in Counseling offers partial merit scholarships disbursed over the first four semesters in the program.
Creative Writing
The Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing Program offers students partial funding ranging up to $4,000. We apply the funding to a student’s Arcadia student account in the fall semester of the first year in the program.
Education
The School of Education offers a limited number of scholarships each year to exemplary applicants based on their merit and commitment to being a change agent in education. These awards range from $4,000 to $5,000, spread out over two years. Prospective students can apply for scholarships by completing an optional scholarship essay within the online application. Applicants to the Master of Education (MEd) and Doctor of Education (EdD) are eligible to apply. The award is offered in two installments: half in first semester of enrollment and the second half in the second academic year of enrollment. Students must earn at least 12 credits and a GPA of 3.0 in their first 12 months of enrollment to be eligible for the 2nd installment.
Alumni Discount: The School of Education also offers an alumni discount to students who completed their undergraduate degree at Arcadia University (Beaver College) and are pursuing their first Master’s, Certification and/or Doctoral program at Arcadia University. Upon admission and matriculation into a graduate education program, the alumni discount offers a tuition waiver for the first course in the program. One course is calculated as 3 credits at the prevailing graduate education per credit rate. The alumni discount will be automatically applied to those who qualify. Please reach out to Enrollment Management at admiss@arcadia.edu with any questions.
Forensic Science
The Forensic Science Program offers partial merit scholarships disbursed evenly in the fall and spring semesters over two years (four disbursements).
International Peace and Conflict Resolution
The IPCR Program offers partial merit scholarships disbursed evenly in the fall and spring semesters over two years (four disbursements).
Physical Therapy
The Physical Therapy Department offers partial merit scholarships to students enrolled in the on-campus program. We distribute the scholarships evenly over the six terms of the program. Students in the hybrid program are not eligible.
Physician Assistant
The Physician Assistant Program does not offer scholarships as part of the admission offer.
Public Health
The MPH program offers partial merit scholarships to students in both the stand-alone MPH program and dual degree programs.
Student Employment
Graduate students may apply for student employment roles as Graduate Student Assistantships (GSAs), Graduate Teaching Assistantships (TAs), or Graduate Research Assistantships (RAs). Contact studentemployment@arcadia.edu for additional information about position availability and how to apply.
For listings and more information, go to Student Employees.
Outside Scholarships
Graduate students may apply for outside scholarships community organizations, religious groups, foundations, and companies offer. If you are awarded an outside scholarship, you are required to send a copy of your award notification to the Office of Financial Aid. We will add the scholarship to your existing financial aid package. If the scholarship results in an over-award — if you receive in loans and scholarships more than the cost of attendance — we will reduce your loans. For listings and databases, go to Outside Scholarships.
Student Loans
Graduate students may apply for student loans to pay for up to the annual cost of attendance (minus other financial aid) in their graduate program. See below for options and how to apply. Contact a Graduate Financial Aid Counselor if you need help with the steps or with calculating how much to borrow.
Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan
**Students who receive federal loans must meet minimum academic standards to continue to receive federal aid. For more on this, go to our Satisfactory Academic Progress for Graduate Students page.**
If you are a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen and are enrolled half-time (six credits per term or six credits combined in all summer sessions) in a master’s or doctoral degree program, an Arcadia graduate certificate program, or a PA teacher certification preparation program, you are eligible to apply for a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan for up to $20,500 annually. You will start repaying the loan with interest six months after you graduate and will have 10 years to repay it. In addition to interest, you will pay a federal loan fee, which we deduct from the money we disburse to you. This means the money you actually receive will be less than the amount you borrow.
To apply, go to the Financial Aid Forms page and look under the “Graduate Students” heading for the steps. You will apply each year you are enrolled by completing the FAFSA and submitting an Arcadia Graduate Direct Loan Request form.
Federal student loan interest rates change every year on July 1. For current rates and loan fees, refer to the Federal Student Aid site’s Interest Rates and Fees for Federal Loans page.
Additional Loan Options
If you need to borrow more than $20,500 per year in a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan, you have options:
- Borrow an additional federal loan called a Federal Direct Graduate PLUS Loan or
- Borrow an alternative loan from a private lender.
Click below for more information about alternative (private) and Grad PLUS loans and how to apply.
