Graduate Information

The Graduate School of Arts & Sciences (GRS) has created an emergency fund to assist currently enrolled GRS students who have experienced an unexpected and limited financial hardship due to a situation beyond their control.

In situations where a GRS student is receiving University fellowship funding (e.g. a research fellowship, teaching fellowship, Dean’s fellowship, etc.) and has need for access to their funds before the normal pay period or disbursement, the student may request an advance or no-cost emergency loan from GRS.  Advances or emergency loans are available only after the first day of classes each semester.  In order to be eligible, the student must be registered for the current semester and must not owe a previous semester balance on their student account. Depending on the type of funding, these emergency funds are in the form of an advance from the student’s stipend check or a short term no-interest loan.

For graduate students who might be dealing with financial hardships, the GRS office is able to offer assistance. For students with non-service stipends, GRS can provide early partial payments of their monthly stipends, which can be directly deposited into their bank accounts as long as they have already set up direct deposit with BU.  For those receiving weekly salaried service stipends, the GRS office can provide no-interest short terms loans. While we are 100% supportive of our students, our office does not have the funds to deal with the entirety of many types of problems.  For this reason, the maximum amount available per student is $1,000.

To request emergency funds, please complete the following form, keeping in mind that you must:

  • be a student in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GRS)
  • be a registered student for the current semester
  • not owe a previous semester balance on your student account
  • provide a brief statement (100-250 words) explaining your situation

 

Request for Emergency Funds (GRS Students Only)

This form is intended for matriculated students attending Boston University's Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GRS) only. Do not submit this form if you are not a GRS student; please contact your own school's financial aid office instead. If you are a GRS student, please complete the form below to request emergency funds. The Graduate School of Arts & Sciences will contact you with additional information and instructions on the next steps.

  • Please enter the name of your program (e.g. English, Preservation Studies, Physics, etc.).
  • Please let us know when you will need the funds, keeping in mind that funds can only be provided after the first day of classes for the semester.

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