Graduate and Seminary Student Financial Aid

Grants and Scholarships

Graduate and seminary students are eligible for some grants and scholarships. Occasionally graduate programs at EMU also offer assistantships. See what your program offers by clicking the button below.

Graduate & Professional Program Financial Aid

Church Match Grants

Students who receive tuition assistance grants that originate from a congregation, a church conference, or a group of churches who have pooled resources for the purpose of providing tuition assistance grants are eligible to receive a matching grant. Enrollment of at least 5 hrs/semester in either the MAC or CJP program is required. The maximum grant eligibility is $1000 per academic year and $2000 during the lifetime of the student’s studies. March 1 is the"preferred response date" for churches to inform EMU of their intent to send funds for students.

Loans

Federal Direct Student Loans

All federal direct student loans for graduate student are unsubsidized. Loan funds come from the federal government to the school. The student is charged interest from the time the loan is disbursed until it is paid in full. If the student allows interest to accumulate, it will be capitalized which means added to the principal amount of the loan and increases the amount of loan the student will need to repay.

Students may borrow up to $20,500 per academic year with an aggregate limit of $100,000 (not including undergraduate loans) for new graduate federal student loan borrowers beginning on July 1, 2026.

The interest rate for direct student loans for 2025-26 is fixed at 7.94%. Processing fees of 1.057% are automatically deducted from each disbursement of the loan. Repayment of the full amount begins six months after a student ceases to be enrolled at least half-time. See also the Federal Direct Loan Information page.

All borrowers must complete the EMU Graduate Federal Direct Loan Request Form.