At UVA, most institutional and federal financial aid in the form of loans, grants, and scholarships are portable when studying abroad. Refer to Planning and Budgeting, the Financial Aid Availability chart, and the information below.

Eligibility

To be eligible to use your financial aid abroad, you must:

• Submit the requirements (and additional documentation, if applicable) listed below
• Meet Satisfactory Academic Progress standards
• Maintain full time enrollment
• Graduate students only: coursework taken abroad must count towards your degree

Summer students: Full time enrollment is 6 credits for undergraduate students and 3 credits for graduate students. Enrollment may be a combination of education abroad and on-Grounds credits. For transfer credit programs, this refers to the number of credits transferring back to UVA.

Requirements

In order to use your aid for education abroad, you must submit all requirements and additional documentation. Consult the Student Financial Services (SFS) website for more information:

• Have an appropriate Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) on file with SFS
• In SIS, complete everything in your To-Do list and resolve any holds
• Answer "Yes" to the Financial Aid for Education Abroad questionnaire in your UVA Education Abroad Application (Exchange, Outside, and Partner programs only)

Summer students: FAFSA for undergraduate students must be filed for the preceding academic year (e.g. summer 2023 is part of 2022-2023). FAFSA for graduate students must be filed for the upcoming academic year (e.g. summer 2023 is part of 2023-2024).

Additional Documentation

Students applying to Exchange and Outside programs also need to submit the following to SFS:

• Education Abroad Expense Form - this must be completed in order for your financial aid to be reviewed
• Consortium Agreement (if there is not already an agreement on file with SFS) - this must be completed in order for your financial aid to be disbursed

Review Process

SFS will adjust your cost of attendance based on the budget of your education abroad program. See the Student Financial Services page, How the Financial Aid Process Works for Study Abroad.

January Term students applying to more than one program will have their aid eligibility reviewed based on the higher-cost program. Awards will be adjusted for students who then chose to participate in the lower-cost program.

Award Notification

Once your cost and aid eligibility have been reviewed, your revised award will be viewable in SIS. You will also receive an email notification.

Students who complete all of the relevant requirements listed above by the program application deadline ideally receive notification regarding their award before the program commitment deadline. However, be prepared to commit by that deadline even if you haven't yet received your revised award notification. See the Commitment section of the Fees, Billing, and Payments page. 

Additional Resources

If you need to consider additional funding options, note the following:

• Research and apply for education abroad scholarships
• Students on Outside programs should look into any scholarships offered by their program provider
• Consider a Parent PLUS or private student loan

Disbursement

Disbursement dates vary by term:

• Semester/Year: financial aid funds will disburse to your student account no earlier than 10 days prior to the start date for your program, and no earlier than 10 days prior to the beginning of each UVA term.
• Summer: your funds will disburse on one of three dates, depending on your program start date. See Summer Study Abroad Financial Aid for more details.
• January Term: the scheduled disbursement date for this year's January Term study abroad financial aid is January 3, 2024. See January Term Financial Aid information for more details.

Visit Getting Your Money and How to Use Financial Aid to Pay for Your Program for additional information.

Students studying abroad who receive any form of financial aid or scholarship through UVA should consider setting up Direct Deposit to receive funds (a U.S. bank account is required).

For students on Outside programs, check with your program provider to see if they require advance documentation of the aid you will receive. For students on Outside and Exchange programs, don't forget to submit a Consortium Agreement to SFS (if they do not already an agreement on file).

If you need access to funds earlier than your scheduled disbursement, for flights, visas, immunizations, or daily expenses for the first few weeks on the program, consider a Pre-Travel Advance.

Questions

Visit the Student Financial Services website for more details and SFS contact information.