Financial Aid

The School of Architecture is committed to being financially accessible to students of all backgrounds and geographical origins worldwide. Financial aid, consisting of need-based scholarship and/or loans, is offered to the School’s students with demonstrated need. The Yale School of Architecture practices need-blind admissions. The financial aid application deadline for Prospective Students & New Students is January 2, 2026. Current students must reapply for financial aid annually by April 30, 2026.

In order to determine a student’s need-based financial aid eligibility, the Yale School of Architecture requires all financial aid applicants to submit parental information. Parental information must be submitted on the CSS Profile. If you feel you have extenuating circumstances for which parental information should be waived, please contact the financial aid office. It is important to note that unwillingness to provide parental information, age, marital status, or other standards of dependency are not conditions for which the School of Architecture waives the requirement of parental data.

Barring any significant changes in a student’s financial circumstances (including spousal and parental circumstances), need-based scholarship recipients can generally expect their need-based scholarship to be renewed in subsequent years.

U.S. citizens and permanent residents are eligible for a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan. Non-U.S. citizens and non-permanent residents are eligible for the Yale Student Loan. Private Loans are also available to qualified student borrowers through private lenders, such as banks, online lenders, and credit unions. Creditworthy U.S. citizens may apply for private loans without a co-signer, and international students typically need a creditworthy U.S. Citizen/Permanent Resident co-signer to apply. For private loan options, visit our Loan Comparison Tool.

The application for financial aid is a separate process from the application for admission to the School, and applying for financial aid does not impact admission decisions. We encourage you to apply for financial aid at the same time you apply for admission.

Application Deadlines

When your financial aid application is due depends on whether you are a prospective student or current student:

Prospective Students & New Students: The application deadline is January 2, 2026.

• Because scholarship money and some loan funds are limited, applicants who miss the January 2 application deadline may jeopardize their eligibility for financial aid. Prospective & New Student applicants who are accepted for admission and who have correctly completed their financial aid application by the January 2 deadline will receive a financial aid determination shortly after the online notification of admission.
  

Current Students: The application deadline is April 30, 2026.

U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents:

• FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid - Yale’s FAFSA Federal School Code is 001426)
  
• CSS Profile (YSoA’s CSS Code is 3975)
  
• Income and Asset Verification Documentation: Due May 15 for admitted, matriculated students. Refer to our General Financial Aid Policies for more information.
  

Non-U.S. Citizens and Non-Permanent Residents:

• CSS Profile (YSoA’s CSS Code is 3975)
  
• Income and Asset Verification Documentation: Due May 15 for admitted, matriculated students. Refer to our General Financial Aid Policies for more information.
  

U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents:

• FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid - Yale’s FAFSA Federal School Code is 001426)
  
• CSS Profile (YSoA’s CSS Code is 3975)
  
• Student’s 2024 federal tax return and current bank statement
• Parent 2024 federal tax return and current bank statement
  
• If tax returns were not filed by the parent and/or student, please submit the Non-Tax Filer Form in the Additional Forms section.
  

All tax and bank statements can be uploaded to our Income and Asset Verification Documentation Upload, linked below.

Non-U.S. Citizens and Non-Permanent Residents:

• CSS Profile (YSoA’s CSS Code is 3975)
  
• Certified and translated student and parent 2024 tax documents from their home country
  
• Student and parent current bank statements
  
• If tax returns were not filed by the parent and/or student, please submit the Non-Tax Filer Form in the Additional Forms section.
  

After admission to the Yale School of Architecture, students who have been awarded financial aid are required to submit documents for verification to our secure Document Upload Tool.

For U.S. citizens or permanent residents, this process includes submission of the student’s 2024 federal tax return and current bank statement, and the parent 2024 federal tax return and current bank statement.

For international students, this process includes the submission of certified and translated student and parent 2024 tax documents from their home country, and student and parent current bank statements.

If tax returns were not filed by the parent and/or student, please submit corresponding Non-Tax Filer Form in the Forms section.

The School reserves the right to adjust a student’s financial aid award if the actual income or asset information of the parent, student, or spouse is different from the original information included on the financial aid application(s). In addition, for U.S. citizens and permanent residents, all awards are contingent on the student meeting the general eligibility requirements specified by the U.S. Department of Education, including Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) requirements (below).

Applicants in default on a student loan will not be eligible for any financial aid until the default status has been cleared and documentation provided to the Financial Aid Office.

Students on financial aid are required to reapply for financial aid each spring for the following academic year. Financial aid does not extend longer than the normal equivalent length of time required to complete the program of study to which the student was admitted.

All students are encouraged to seek additional funding beyond what is available from the School of Architecture. In order to comply with federal regulations as well as University policy, students must advise the Financial Aid Office of any additional awards received (scholarships, grants, loans, VA benefits, teaching assistantships, teaching fellowships, etc.). As a general rule, outside awards up to $10,000 can be received without affecting the student’s need-based scholarship from the School of Architecture, although it may be necessary to reduce the student’s loan(s). Outside assistance in excess of $10,000 will likely affect a student’s need-based scholarship from the School of Architecture.

If a third party (employer or other sponsor) is to pay all or part of your cost of education and they require a bill in their name, you must provide documentation from the sponsor detailing the terms of the sponsorship to include: what charges are covered, the duration of the sponsorship, and the billing requirements and contact information. In addition, you must submit written authorization allowing the University to communicate with and release your student account billing information to the sponsoring third party as necessary. This information and authorization are needed by June 1 and October 1 for the fall and spring terms, respectively. Please e-mail a copy of the award letter or scholarship notice, along with your authorization to yalepay@yale.edu.

Admitted/Matriculated and Current Students can find more information on sources for Outside Aid on the Student Affairs website.

Student Employment Within the School

The School of Architecture offers students job opportunities within the School that cover a wide variety of needs. Current positions include woodshop or computer monitors, receptionists, exhibition installers, archivists, clerical workers, and Urban Design Workshop employees. It is not necessary to qualify for financial aid in order to hold any of the positions, although the earnings from these positions may be included in determining financial aid awards. First-year students can begin working within the School beginning in the spring semester of their first year.

Teaching and Research Opportunities

The School offers teaching fellowships, teaching assistantships, and research assistantships. Students appointed as teaching fellows and assistants help faculty in their graduate and undergraduate courses. Research assistants aid faculty in their research. The Teaching Fellowship Program offers stipends (fixed payments); the Teaching Assistantship and Research Assistantship programs offer financial support to students according to the level of teaching or research involvement, and the nature of the course or research in which the student is assisting.

Fellowships and assistantships are one-term appointments made by the Dean’s Office at the request of the faculty. These appointments are usually made at the end of a term for the following term.

In addition, several departments in Yale College, including History of Art and several foreign languages, often offer teaching fellowships to students in the School who may have an appropriate expertise.

It is not necessary to qualify for financial aid in order to hold any of these appointments, although the earnings from these appointments may be included in determining financial aid awards.

Student Employment Within the University

The Student Employment Office, 246 Church Street, is maintained to give assistance to self-supporting students in obtaining employment outside of the School but within the University during termtime. Student job listings at Yale can be found online at https://yalestudentjobs.org/.

Employment Opportunities Outside of the University

The School is often advised of various employment opportunities outside the University that may interest architectural students, including work in local architectural offices, small architectural jobs, etc. These opportunities are posted for the convenience of students who may be seeking outside work.

New students are sent an admission letter with a reply form to accept the offer. Your first step in the visa process is to accept the offer of admission. Admitted students will receive an email with a financial certification form for the immigration steps from the admissions office. This form is required for OISS to prepare your immigration document. For more information, please visit the OISS website.

Eligible students are strongly encouraged to seek specific information about GI Bill Education benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs at 888.442.4551 or http://benefits.va.gov/gibill. The Registrar’s Office will be happy to assist students with claims once they are enrolled.

For information on the Yellow Ribbon program, visit www.yale.edu/sfas/finaid/finaid-information/yellowribbon.html.

Federal regulations require that in order to receive assistance under Title IV of the Higher Education Act, students must be making Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP), which is measurable academic progress toward completion of their degree requirements within published time limits. The following SAP policy applies to all enrolled students.

Guidelines for Academic Progress

The academic year at the Yale School of Architecture consists of fall, spring, and summer terms. SAP is calculated three times per year, at the end of each term. A student’s SAP status at the beginning of a term is effective until the completion of that enrolled term. Students must maintain SAP in both qualitative and quantitative standards.

Qualitative standards:

At the end of each term, the dean responsible for student matters will review the academic standing of each enrolled student and notify in writing any student who is not considered in good academic standing. A student is in good academic standing so long as the student is not on academic warning, academic probation, or has been required to withdraw. Students must maintain a cumulative minimum of a Pass at each evaluation point.

The following chart indicates the resulting academic standing for students who may receive grades of Pass with Concern, Low Pass, or Fail:

Studio Courses	First Occurrence	Second Occurrence	Third Occurrence	Outcome/Comment
Pass With Concern	Warning	Probation	Probation and Design Committee Review	Three PwC in studio will be flagged for the Design Committee for their review of whether the student has met the competency criterion for graduation
Fail	Probation, repeat studio in extra term	Withdrawal		Two studio failures requires mandatory withdrawal

Non-Studio Courses	First Occurrence	Second Occurrence	Third Occurrence	Outcome/Comment
Low Pass		Warning, unless paired with Pass with Concern or Fail in Studio, in which case, Probation	Probation	Probation continues until grades in all courses are High Pass or Pass
Fail	Warning, unless paired with Pass with Concern or Fail in Studio, in which case, Probation	Probation	Probation or Withdrawal	Note that should this occur in the final term, withdrawal may be necessary if credits cannot be achieved

Foundations	First Occurrence	Outcome/Comment
Pass With Concern	Probation
Fail	Withdrawal	Failure to pass Foundations requires withdrawal from the School

Students who are placed on either academic warning or academic probation for the next term due to their grades during the prior term are not considered to be in good academic standing and accordingly fail to meet the qualitative SAP standard (refer to Section II.G of the School of Architecture Handbook for the definition of “good academic standing”). All other students meet the qualitative SAP standard.

Quantitative standards: A student meets the quantitative SAP standard if cumulative a pace is maintained of earning at least 67 percent of the total credits attempted. Incompletes do not count as credits attempted (refer to Section II.H.1 of the School of Architecture Handbook for information on “Incompletes”). “Withdrawals” count as credits attempted (refer to Section II.B. of the School of Architecture Handbook for information on “Withdrawals”). Credits for completed repeated courses count as both credits attempted and earned. Transfer credits are not accepted. The maximum time frame in which a student must complete degree requirements cannot exceed more than 200 percent of the minimum time for fulfilling degree requirements (refer to Section II.D. of the School of Architecture Handbook).

Maximum Time Frame

The maximum time frame in which a student must complete degree requirements cannot exceed more than the specified minimum time by program for fulfilling degree requirements (refer to Section II.D. of the School of Architecture Handbook). For the M.Arch. I (three-year professional) program, students must complete the degree requirements within five years. Any approved leave of absence cannot exceed two years. For the M.Arch. II and M.E.D. (two-year) programs, students must complete the degree requirements within three years and any approved leave of absence cannot exceed one year.

Financial Aid Warning

At the conclusion of each term, the dean responsible for academic matters will provide the Financial Aid Office with a list of students who are not in good academic standing and therefore are failing to meet SAP. The Financial Aid Office will then notify these students that they have been placed on financial-aid warning until the end of the next term. During the financial-aid-warning term, the student may receive financial aid, despite the determination of not meeting SAP. Students on financial-aid warning who fail to return to SAP by the end of the term will lose their future financial aid eligibility, unless they successfully appeal and are placed on financial-aid probation.

Financial Aid Probation and Appeals

A student who has not successfully met SAP by the end of the financial-aid-warning term has the right to appeal the loss of financial-aid eligibility. Appeals must be submitted to the dean’s office in writing within two weeks of receiving notice that the student did not meet SAP after a term on financial-aid warning. The appeal must include information about why the student failed to meet SAP, and what has changed, or is expected to change, that will allow the student to meet SAP in the future. The written appeal should be accompanied by documentation that verifies the extenuating circumstances (e.g., death of a relative, an injury or illness of the student, or other special circumstances). The dean’s office shall notify the student of the outcome of the appeal within ten business days of receiving it. If the appeal is approved, the student is placed on financial-aid probation until the end of the next term and may receive financial aid during that term. Students on financial-aid probation are required to meet with the chair of the Rules Committee and the dean responsible for academic matters to establish an individual academic plan to enable the student to meet SAP at some point in the future, according to specific benchmarks established by the plan. Students on financial-aid probation who fail to meet SAP by the end of the financial-aid probation term, or fail to meet the benchmarks of their individual plans on time, will not be eligible for financial aid for the subsequent academic term. Students who are ineligible for financial aid may reestablish eligibility in future terms by meeting SAP.

Students who have additional questions regarding financial aid should contact the Financial Aid Office:

• Email: archfinancialaid@yale.edu

• Mailing adddress:
  Yale School of Architecture
  PO Box 208242
  New Haven CT 06520-8242