Financial Aid for Study Abroad

Most forms of financial aid can be applied toward the cost of a study abroad program depending on the term(s) in which you choose to study abroad. As part of financial planning, make sure that you have reviewed all the different funding sources that are available to you.

How to Apply Your Financial Aid to Study Abroad

As a UO student, if you wish to use your financial aid to help pay for a study abroad program, here are some of the steps you will need to follow:

  1. Apply for Financial Aid by Completing the FAFSA
  2. Finalize admission to a UO Affiliated Study Abroad Program by completing all post-acceptance items in your GEO Portal
  3. Meet Enrollment Guidelines For Receiving Financial Aid
    To receive financial aid, you must be registered at least half-time while participating in your study abroad program. Please note that if you are currently receiving any UO scholarships, you must be registered full-time during the term(s) that you will be abroad to receive regular disbursements of your scholarship.
  4. Submit a Request for Financial Aid Adjustment
    Your financial aid eligibility will be initially calculated according to the standard UO campus budget. After you have been accepted into your study abroad program, you can request your financial aid be adjusted according to your study abroad program budget.

Confirmed Your Plans to Study Abroad? Request Your Financial Aid Adjustment

By submitting the “Study Abroad: Financial Aid Adjustment” request form linked below, you are requesting that the Office of Student Financial Aid & Scholarships adjust your budget and financial aid to reflect your study abroad program costs.
It is important to note that you must be officially admitted into a study abroad program, have no outstanding items, and must be enrolled in study abroad credits before the adjustment can be made.
Depending on when you plan to study abroad, please submit the form by the following priority deadline:”

  • September 1 - for programs starting in Fall
  • December 1 - for programs starting in Winter
  • March 1 - for programs starting in Spring
  • June 1 - for programs starting in Summer

Your financial aid eligibility will be initially calculated according to the standard campus budget. After you submit a financial aid adjustment form, your financial aid offer will include your GEO program budget. Once your financial aid offer has been adjusted, you will receive an email. We cannot guarantee that your financial aid will be adjusted in time for the start of your program if you do not request the adjustment by the priority dates listed above. If you have a financial aid form from a third-party study abroad program that needs to be completed by a financial aid counselor, please submit it to financialaid@uoregon.edu.

Request Aid Adjustment for Study Abroad

Types of Financial Aid for Study Abroad

Depending on the term(s) in which you choose to study abroad, most forms of financial aid can be applied toward the cost of your study abroad program.

Summer Term Study Abroad

For summer study abroad, you can only use financial aid that would typically be available to students during summer term. This includes:

  • Pell Grant
  • Subsidized and/or Unsubsidized Student Loans
  • Parent PLUS Loan - Available to qualified parents of dependent undergraduate students with financial aid eligibility. If there is a difference between the study abroad program budget and the amount of the student's financial aid, a parent may be eligible to apply for a Parent PLUS Loan. If your parent is already a borrower, they can request an increase to their loan by contacting the Office of Student Financial Aid and Scholarships.
  • Graduate PLUS Loan - Available to qualified graduate students with financial aid eligibility. If there is a difference between the study abroad program budget and the amount of the student's financial aid, a graduate student may be eligible to apply for a Graduate PLUS Loan. If you are already a borrower, you can request an increase to your loan by contacting the Office of Student Financial Aid and Scholarships.
  • Alternative Loan

There are a select number of UO scholarships that may be used for a summer study abroad program including the Presidential, Diversity Excellence, Stamps, Staton, and Logan scholarships. Please note that you must be enrolled full-time during your summer abroad and submit a written request to the Office of Student Financial Aid and Scholarships for approval.

Academic Year (Fall, Winter, Spring Term) Study Abroad

For study abroad programs during the academic year, you can typically use any financial aid that you normally receive each term. This includes:

Grants

  • Pell Grant
  • Oregon Opportunity Grant
  • Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant
  • PathwayOregon - Covers a dollar amount up to the equivalent of 15 UO credits per term abroad. Pathway will not be increased to cover full tuition & fees.
  • UO Tuition Waiver - Only applies to programs that bill tuition and fees to the UO student billing account

UO Scholarships

  • Summit, Apex, UO Excellence Scholarships
  • Presidential Scholarship
  • Diversity Excellence Scholarship
  • General University Scholarship
  • Stamps, Staton, Logan Scholarship
  • Departmental Scholarships (unless noted otherwise)

Loans

  • Subsidized and/or Unsubsidized Student Loans
  • Parent PLUS Loan or Graduate PLUS Loan
  • Alternative Loan

Financial Aid Disbursement Schedule

UO Financial aid typically pays to your UO student account 10 days prior to the start of each term. Due to federal regulations, UO cannot alter financial aid disbursement dates if you plan to be abroad at the time of disbursement. Therefore, you must find alternative sources of funding to pay for airline tickets and other arrival expenses if required prior to aid disbursement. We also recommend you set up direct deposit and sign a Title IV Authorization on DuckWeb before to going abroad.

Some study abroad programs require that you pay the full program costs before you leave. We cannot adjust financial aid disbursements to accommodate this. If this applies to you, you must talk to your third-party program (IE3, SIT, CIEE, etc.) regarding payments as tuition may be due before the program begins.

What if I plan to study abroad spring semester?

Since the UO is based on terms not semesters, spring semester typically overlaps with both winter and spring term at the UO. This means that you would receive two separate disbursements of your financial aid during your semester abroad. For example - If you study abroad spring semester (January-May), financial aid would disburse in early January (UO Winter Term) and again in early April (UO Spring Term).

Fall semester typically coincides with fall term at UO so you would only receive one dibursement of your financial aid prior to the start of fall term.

Additional Funding Opportunities

  • GEO Scholarships
    • Use the search function on the GEO scholarships page to sort scholarships by categories such as region, term of program, and scholarship type.
  • Benjamin A. Gilman Scholarship
    • Up to $5,000
    • Limited to Pell Grant recipients
    • The Gilman Scholarship Program broadens the student population that studies and interns abroad by supporting undergraduates who might not otherwise participate due to financial constraints.
  • Short-Term Loan
    • Up to $2,000
    • UO students who are currently receiving financial aid and have already been accepted to a GEO program can request a short-term loan from GEO to help cover up-front costs such as airfare.