Types of Aid for CMU Online Students
You’ve worked hard to get to where you are. We're here to help you access the financial support you deserve. Scholarships, loans, grants, and other forms of financial aid make your CMU Online education even more affordable.
Explore the options
Financial aid for students comes in a variety of forms. Some types of aid, like scholarships and grants, are gifts that you don’t have to repay. Others are loans that you’ll start repaying after you’ve earned your degree. Most students receive more than one form of assistance in their financial aid packages.
Here’s an overview of the types of aid available to students at CMU.
Scholarships
CMU Online scholarships are gift funds that you don’t have to repay. They're based on a variety of criteria, including financial need, grade point average, your academic program, where you live, and military status. Here are some of the options.
Transfer Online Scholarship
- $1,200 per year / $3,600 over three years
- Available to new transfer students, admitted to Innovation and Online/CMU Online with a minimum 3.0 cumulative college GPA and 12 earned credits.
- Can be combined with the Phi Theta Kappa Award for eligible students.
- Can be renewed for up to three years by maintaining at least half-time enrollment and earning at least 15 new CMU credits each academic year.
- Third-year renewal requires a minimum 3.0 GPA and at least 15 new CMU credits each year through the fall, spring and summer semesters.
Departmental Scholarships
If you are interested in a specific program of study, diversity, equity and inclusion, study abroad, or have a parent or a grandparent who graduated from CMU, we have scholarship opportunities for you.
The Innovation and Online Staff and Faculty Award
Open to admitted students who are pursuing a degree through CMU Online.
Preference is given to students admitted to or enrolled in their first semester.
Apply through Scholarship Universe
The Joan M. and Clarence E. Mills Annual Award
Open to admitted CMU Online bachelor’s degree students in their junior year or higher (56+ earned credit hours).
Minimum GPA of 3.0.
Must be employed full-time by a publicly held electric utility.
Apply throughScholarship UniverseJoseph Cooley High Ebenezer Scholarship
Open to admitted CMU Online students with an interest in studying business and a minimum GPA of 2.8.
Preference is given to first-generation college students who have a history of supporting minority causes, who have graduated from a historically black college, and to single parents.
Apply through Scholarship Universe
Phi Theta Kappa Scholarship
The Phi Theta Kappa Scholarship awards $1,000 per year, totaling up to $3,000 over three years, to new transfer students who are Pho Theta Kappa members. To qualify, students must have a minimum 3.5 cumulative college GPA and at least 12 earned credits. The scholarship can be renewed for up to three years by maintaining full-time enrollment and completing at least 30 new CMU credits each academic year. For a third-year renewal, students must maintain a minimum 3.0 GPA and earn at least 30 new CMU credits each year across the fall, spring, and summer semesters.
Your Phi Theta Kappa Membership Certificate copy must be emailed to apply@cmich.edu before your first semester at CMU begins.
Scholarship Universe
Connect to even more scholarships with Scholarship Universe! Answer a few initial questions, and we'll match you with the opportunities you qualify for.
Open to admitted CMU students. Scholarship Universe connects you to donor-based internal (CMU) scholarship opportunities.
Yvonne Robertson Price Annual Award
Open to admitted CMU Online students pursuing a degree leading toward a career in education.
Minimum GPA of 2.5 for undergraduates.
Minimum GPA of 3.0 for graduate and doctoral students.
First-year students may be eligible if they earned the minimum GPA for the highest degree earned.
Preference is given to students with a history of supporting minority causes.
Apply through Scholarship Universe
Loans
Federal loans with low-interest rates can help you pay for your education. You’ll have to pay them back, but borrowing can ease your upfront costs.
Federal Direct Subsidized Loans
• Available to undergraduates with financial need who are enrolled at least half time.
• The federal government pays the interest on this loan while you’re in school, for the first six months after you leave school, and during deferments.
Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans
• Available to undergraduate and graduate students with and without financial need.
• You are responsible for paying the interest on this loan even while you’re in school.
Federal Direct PLUS Loans for Parents
• Available to parents with good credit history.
• based on need.
• Parents can borrow up to the total cost of education minus other expected financial assistance.
Grants
Based on financial need, grants are gift funds that you don’t have to repay. Grants are available from CMU, the federal government, and other sources.
Federal Pell Grant
Up to $7,395 per academic year. Available to full-time undergraduates who:
• Have not received a baccalaureate degree.
• Have an expected family contribution (EFC) of $5,846 or less.
• Have not received a Federal Pell grant for more than the equivalent of 12 full-time semesters.
• Meet the general eligibility criteria.
• Apply by submitting a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)or a Renewal Application.
Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG)
Up to $4,000 per academic year. Available to undergraduate students who:
• Are enrolled at least half time.
• Qualify on the basis of need.
• Recipients must have a zero EFC in order to be eligible for the SEOG.
• Have applied for financial aid by CMU’s priority deadline date.
• Apply by submitting aFree Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
Learn More about Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant
CMU Online discounts
As part of our commitment to supporting professional growth, we offer tuition discounts to employees of our partner organizations. These discounts are provided through partnership agreements designed to make higher education more accessible and affordable. See if your organization is a partner and learn how you can take advantage of this opportunity.
