University of California-Berkeley Graduate Scholarships and Financial Aid

The Financial Aid and Scholarships Office oversees the disbursement of federal loans, state Dream loans, and work-study awards for graduate and professional students. This includes the management of merit-based awards, such as fellowships, fee remissions related to teaching and research appointments, and department awards for eligible students.

Typical financial aid offers for individuals include a Federal Direct Loan and a Federal Direct Grad PLUS Loan, aimed at covering the Cost of Attendance. Financial aid offers generally exclude other awards unless they have been reported to the Financial Aid and Scholarships Office by the student, their department, or the Graduate Division's Fellowships Office.

Approximately one week before each semester’s instruction starts, a student's financial aid awards (excluding work-study earnings and certain private loans) will be disbursed, subject to specific requirements. For disbursement to occur, the student must have accepted one or more awards, signed any necessary Master Promissory Notes, completed an entrance interview for first-time borrowers, ensured that their financial aid file is complete, and reviewed the Tasks in the My Finances View Awards section of Cal Central for information about any missing documents. Additionally, the student must be enrolled in at least 6 units, have cleared any registration holds, be making satisfactory academic progress, not be over-awarded, and have a program start date aligned with the standard academic calendar's start date.