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It is important to note that while international students are eligible for all types of University grants, scholarships and assistantships, federal student loans are available only to students who are US citizens or permanent residents.  Alternative funding may be available to international students via private sources in the form of loans or other awards.  We strongly encourage you to carefully investigate these sources of funding before making a final decision.

After you have been accepted in a program of study, all international students are required to provide a confidential Certification of Finances to identify sufficient funding for your education before an I-20 will be issued.  An I-20 must be obtained from �Ӱ���̳ before you may apply for a visa to enter the United States for educational purposes.

Outside Resources

Information on outside scholarships and loans for international students are available at:

All graduate students are considered for University merit-based financial assistance including teachings assistantships, research assistantships, fellowships and scholarships. This aid is awarded by each academic department. Not all types of assistantships are available in all programs. Please visit the financial aid, costs and scholarships page to learn about department-specific assistance.

Teaching Assistantships

Teaching Assistantships (TA) provide a stipend plus full tuition. Duties include an average of 12 hours of work per week for 50 weeks or 20 hours of work per week for 30 weeks. Duties may include assisting in the laboratory or recitation sections and grading of reports or homework.

Research Assistantships

Research Assistantships (RA) require no teaching responsibilities, and provide a standard stipend plus full tuition.

Industrial and Governmental Fellowships

Funding may cover full or partial tuition and/or a stipend.  The stipend must be at least minimum wage and duties may not exceed 40 hours per week including time to attend classes.

Partial Tuition Scholarships/Assistantships

Due to the limited number of TAs and RAs available, partial tuition scholarships and assistantships are also granted on a merit basis.  These assistantships offer a 20%-40% tuition waiver equivalent.  In some departments, a few hours per week of work is required by the student in exchange for the waiver.  There is no stipend associated with this form of aid.

Student loans are available through the Federal Direct Loan Program and alternative student loan lenders.  Most Clarkson graduate students will take federal student loans before considering alternative loans.  Although some alternative lenders advertise low variable interest rates, other considerations such as repayment options, deferment and possible cancellation benefits, interest rates and consolidation options should be included in making loan decisions.

The information contained herein includes changes made by Congress that took effect July 1, 2013 and December 1, 2018. You should always exhaust all of your scholarship, assistantships and federal student loan options before borrowing an alternative loan.

Below are some comparisons to assist you in deciding which loan is best for you.

Federal Direct Graduate PLUS Loan vs. Private Loan

Enrollment status for graduate students varies depending upon the program in which the student is enrolled.  Quarter programs are considered half-time at 3 credits per quarter and full-time at 6 credits per quarter.  Graduate semester programs are considered half-time at 4.5 credits per semester and full-time at 9 credits per semester.  In some cases, the Academic Department determines the student’s enrollment status. At least half-time enrollment is required for all federal loan programs and for in-school deferment status on federal loans a student has already borrowed. Contact the Academic Department directly for questions regarding enrollment status.

Students enrolled in doctoral or master’s thesis credits may be considered full time at the discretion of the Academic Department.  If determined to be full time or half time, students who are in residence, external PhD students and students who are not in residence are eligible to apply for federal student loans.  Loan eligibility is determined by subtracting University Awards and other grant and scholarship aid from the cost of tuition, a book allowance and a living allowance. 

View the complete Graduate SAP Policy

Graduate Satisfactory Academic Progress for Federal Aid - Effective July 1, 2016 - Beginning with the Fall 2016 semester and quarter (Revised July 2019; July 2020; July 1, 2021)

Federal regulations require that schools monitor the academic progress of every federal financial aid recipient and certify that the student is making satisfactory academic progress towards earning his/her degree.  This policy governs federal financial aid only. Institutional awards, scholarships and assistantships may have other requirements. Students may only receive federal aid for courses that are required for degree completion.

Satisfactory academic progress is evaluated at the conclusion of each term and includes, per federal regulation both quantitative and qualitative measures. These measures include:

Cumulative Grade Point Average - a cumulative 3.0 is required.  Students with a cumulative GPA less than 2.7 are not eligible for federal aid.

PACE - A minimum percentage of attempted credit hours must be earned every term. PACE is determined by:
Cumulative # of Earned Hours divided by Cumulative # of Attempted Hours
Students must maintain a minimum PACE of 50%.

The maximum time frame for meeting degree requirements.

Students must complete their degree within 150% of the published length of the program. All graduate credits attempted at Clarkson are applied to the maximum time frame. There is no appeal of the maximum time frame standard. Periods of nonattendance do not count toward maximum time frame.

Attempted Credits for PACE and the Maximum Time Frame include:

• Earned hours – Passed (A-D), Pass (P)
• Repeated Courses – all attempts – refer to the REPEATED COURSE section for detailed information.
• Withdrawal (LW) and (W) - Maximum time frame regulations do not allow for the exclusion of courses in which a student has remained past the drop period and earned a grade of "W”.
  • Failure (F)
  • Incomplete (I)
• All accepted transfer credits (including consortium agreements and Study Abroad courses) and test credit (T)
• All graduate courses attempted at Clarkson, even if they are not used to meet degree requirements.
• Earned credit hours for PACE include:
  • Grades of A, B, C, D or P (with credit)
  • All accepted transfer credits (T)

Financial Aid Warning

A student whose cumulative GPA is between 2.700 and 2.999 and/or whose PACE is less than 50% is not making Satisfactory Academic Progress for Federal Financial Aid.  The student is notified by the Financial Aid Office via email to the student’s Clarkson email address that he/she is on Financial Aid Warning for the subsequent term of attendance.  During the Financial Aid Warning term, the student retains eligibility for federal financial aid.

A student who meets both the PACE and GPA standards at the conclusion of the Financial Aid Warning term is again meeting Satisfactory Academic Progress for Federal Financial Aid and is eligible for federal aid for the subsequent term of attendance.

A student who does not meet both the PACE and GPA standards at the conclusion of the Financial Aid Warning term is notified by the Financial Aid Office via email to the student’s Clarkson email address that he/she is not making Satisfactory Academic Progress for Federal Financial Aid and is ineligible for federal aid for subsequent terms.  A student may not have two consecutive Financial Aid Warning terms. 

A student who does not meet the federal financial aid satisfactory academic progress standards at the conclusion of the warning term or a student whose GPA is less than 2.7 may file an appeal based on catastrophic or extraor