Financial Aid

Harvard Graduate School of Education’s admissions decisions are made without regard to an applicant's financial need. Once a candidate has been admitted, the Financial Aid Office reviews the financial aid application of the individual, and determines the financial need of the candidate. Thus, to be considered for the most forms of financial aid, applicants should be prepared to apply for financial assistance at the same time as they apply for admission. Teacher Education students are eligible for the same financial aid as other master's candidates at the Graduate School of Education, including scholarship funding, federal loan opportunities, fellowships, and federal work study programs.

In addition to these grants, loans, and work-study funding, other scholarship opportunities will be available to HGSE master's students in 2012-13: the Urban Scholars Fellowship Program for practitioners committed to working in urban schools and demonstrating that desire through prior service work; Leadership in Education Awards for top master's degree candidates with strong leadership potential; the Pforzheimer Fellowship for graduates of Harvard College who demonstrate unusual talent for and commitment to public service; and potentially others that have yet to be announced. For information on these opportunities, please regularly check merit-based fellowships.

TEP Financial Aid Profile:

•  For the class entering in the summer of 2012,  79% of TEP students received financial aid.
•  92% of those students received some form of grant/scholarship aid.
• As of October 1, 2012, $403,265 in total grants/scholarships from institutional, federal, and outside sources, has been awarded to TEP students, as well as $608,880 in loans.

“Typical” Financial Aid Package for TEP students:

Federal Direct Loan $20,500
Perkins Loan $6,000
Federal Work Study $5,000
Need-based Institutional Grant Average $8,800

Additional Awards/Scholarships:

Average Merit-Based Award $13,500
Average Outside Award $6,000

Outside Loans:

Average Additional Supplemental Loan (Grad PLUS, etc.) $17,790

In addition, both the Perkins Loan Program and the Direct Loan Program offer Loan Forgiveness Provisions for students who go on to teach in low-income schools, and in certain high-need subjects (Federal Student Aid website):

Perkins: Up to 100% loan forgiveness - 15% for the first year of qualifying, 15% for the second, 20% for the third, 20% for the fourth, and the remainder for the fifth.

Stafford/Direct/FFEL Loans: Loan forgiveness of up to $17,500 for secondary math and science teachers - and up to $5,000 for any secondary or elementary teachers - who do not have an outstanding balance on an FFEL or Direct Loan as of October 1, 1998; teach full-time in a designated low-income school for five consecutive years; and are certified as a highly qualified teacher per the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.

Math and science concentrators should also investigate the teaching fellowships offered by the Knowles Science Teaching Foundation.

For more information about financial aid, as well as downloadable financial aid application materials, please visit http://www.gse.harvard.edu/admissions/financial_aid/.

Information about fellowship programs is available at http://www.gse.harvard.edu/admissions/financial_aid/fellowships/

Note: HGSE is a participant in the Yellow Ribbon Program.