Policies & Maintaining Aid Eligibility

To maintain eligibility for your financial aid, you must meet the requirements below while enrolled at DU.

• Enrollment Requirements
  • All federal financial aid funds for graduate and law students are only available to students enrolled in a degree-seeking program.
  • Students must remain enrolled at least half time (4 credits) to receive work-study or any Direct loan.
  • The requirements for departmental and private scholarships will vary depending on the department or donor. Some awards have a minimum GPA requirement. Contact your department or donor directly for information on specific policies.

• Implications for Dual-Degree Students

  Dual-degree students often work toward a law degree at the Sturm College of Law while also earning a master's degree from another DU graduate school or college. This may entail concurrently taking classes in both semester and quarter formats, which carries some financial aid implications.

  By default, your financial aid awards as a dual-degree law student are based on enrollment at the law school only. Therefore, if you are enrolled in both semester and quarter classes, you will need to complete a Enrollment Adjustment Form so we can adjust your financial aid to reflect the classes you are taking in both programs.

  When you submit this form, we will modify your cost of attendance and loans to reflect the tuition charges you will incur as you pursue dual degrees. Because financial aid typically disburses on the semester schedule for all dual-degree students, you may receive a credit refund in one term that you need to use to cover charges in a future term. If you would like to set up your budget and loans to more accurately reflect your tuition charges and billing schedule, we recommend that you set up an appointment with a financial aid advisor.

• Information for Special-Status Students

  If you are taking courses at the University of Denver, but are not enrolled in a formal degree program (or enrolled in a program less than 24 credits in length), you are not eligible to borrow any federal student loans. You will still be charged standard tuition rates for each course you take; tuition rates can be found through the Registrar's Office.

  If you have no other resources to pay for your courses, you may consider applying for a private loan. To apply for a private loan, you will first need to select a lender. We encourage you to compare lenders and make an informed decision, as terms of private loans can vary significantly. These loans may have higher rates than federal loans and will require a credit check and/or debt-to-income ratio for the borrower. Lower interest rates may be available if you choose to have a co-borrower. You must initiate the loan process with the lender you select; applications are available online at the lender's website.

  Learn More about Private Loans

  A note about Denver Bootcamp programs: Students enrolled in Denver Bootcamp programs are not eligible for any school-certified loans — including private loans that require a school certification — due to the short length of the program. These students are eligible for Direct-to-Consumer loans only, which do not require school certification.

• Law Consortium

  Students enrolled at University of Denver's Sturm College of Law may, upon approval from the law school, enroll as visiting students at another ABA-approved law program for a semester or an academic year.

  You are eligible to receive your Direct Unsubsidized loan, Graduate PLUS loan, private loan and private scholarships (if permissible by donor) while on consortium. You may not, however, participate in the work-study program or receive a disbursement of institutional scholarships and grants for costs incurred at the visiting school.

  To be eligible for financial aid, you must complete a Consortium Agreement Form. Once the agreement is processed, financial aid will disburse to your account no sooner than 10 days prior to the start of each DU semester.

  You will receive a refund for your financial aid from the Office of Student Billing and are responsible for paying the bill at your visiting school. If you would like to request that DU pay your host school prior to releasing a refund, please provide a bill from your host school to our office.

• Financial Aid Eligibility for Study Abroad Programs

  Graduate students who are studying abroad on non-DU programs are charged both a $50 DU study abroad administrative fee and technology fees. Federal student loans may be awarded to students attending a non-DU program.

  Please complete a Consortium Agreement to request financial aid for your study abroad program. We will adjust your current cost of attendance to reflect that of your host school. The financial aid for which you are eligible will be released to you by DU, and you are responsible for paying the bill at your host school. If you would like DU to pay the bill at your host school prior to processing your refund, please include a copy of your bill with the Consortium Agreement.

• Satisfactory Academic Progress

  Students must be making Satisfactory Academic Progress to maintain eligibility for all types of aid. This means:

  • Graduate students must maintain a cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of 3.00.
  • JD law students must maintain a CGPA of 2.3 (2.70 for all other law students, including master's, certificate, LLM and Grad Tax).
  • All students must complete and pass a minimum of 66.6% of all courses attempted. This is known as the cumulative completion rate (CCR).
  • All students must complete their degree within 150% of the minimum credits required to graduate. This is known as the maximum time frame (MTF) limit.

• Return of Title IV Funds (Withdrawal Policy)

  Students who begin classes at DU, apply for financial aid, complete all of the requirements and then withdraw from classes may have their financial aid adjusted according to federal, state and institutional regulations.

  Learn More