The goal of the Yale Divinity School financial aid program is to enable students enrolled in YDS degree programs to manage and meet their institutional and living expenses without diverting undue energy or attention from their educational responsibilities. Most financial aid is awarded on the basis of demonstrated financial need—the difference between the cost of attending YDS and the personal or non-YDS resources available to the student during that academic year. YDS also offers a limited number of merit scholarships.

In order to determine financial need and award financial aid, YDS requires students seeking aid to submit a financial aid application each year. U.S. citizens and permanent residents must submit both the YDS Financial Aid Application for U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents form and the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). International students must submit the YDS Financial Aid Application for International Students form; incoming first-years must also submit the YDS International Student Financial Resources form after they matriculate. The application deadline for financial aid is March 1 for admissions applicants and May 1 for continuing students.

Within the parameters of need and its own resources, YDS takes into consideration merit and diversity in making its awards. The financial aid award will normally include a YDS scholarship that covers 100 percent of a student’s tuition cost. For full-time M.A.R. and M.Div. degree students, the award will also include an additional scholarship amount for use toward other educational and living expenses. Students enrolled part time and students in the S.T.M. degree program may receive YDS scholarship funds equal to their tuition cost only; they are ineligible for YDS merit scholarships and YDS scholarship funds that exceed their cost of tuition. Students may also take advantage of campus employment opportunities. U.S. citizens and permanent residents may be eligible for federal education loans such as the William D. Ford Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan and the Grad PLUS Loan.

Students who receive YDS scholarships during the academic year may also receive summer tuition scholarships for selected courses offered by YDS, including intensive summer language and summer internship courses. These YDS summer scholarships do not cover tuition for summer courses offered by other Yale schools or programs or by other universities.

Financial aid recipients, including merit scholars, must submit a new financial aid application for each academic year. Unless an applicant’s financial circumstances have improved significantly, an applicant may count on the same standard of support in subsequent years. If during the academic year a student’s tuition charge changes, the student’s scholarship will be adjusted accordingly.

Whenever a financial aid student receives additional resources unaccounted for in the award letter, the student must notify the YDS Office of Financial Aid. The office will use those resources to eliminate any unmet need and then reduce educational indebtedness before considering the reduction of a YDS scholarship.

International students are eligible for the same level of YDS scholarship aid as U.S. citizens. They should be aware that scholarships from Yale Divinity School may have U.S. tax implications as determined by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) of the United States. For more information, please see our International Students and U.S. Taxes webpage (https://divinity.yale.edu/admissions-aid/tuition-and-financial-aid/tuition-and-fees/international-students-and-us-taxes).

Additional information about financial aid, tuition and fees, and related topics is available on the YDS Tuition and Financial Aid webpage (https://divinity.yale.edu/admissions-aid/tuition-and-financial-aid).

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)

In order to continue to receive financial aid, a student must maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP). The parameters of SAP are discussed under Academic Deficiencies, in the chapter Standards and Requirements.