There are several forms of financial assistance accessible to part-time and online graduate students enrolled in graduate and certificate studies at Johns Hopkins University.
Many students can benefit from employee education assistance programs offered by their employer, in which the employer pays for part or all of their tuition. Students should work directly with their employers to understand the exact terms of the company’s education assistance program to understand how they can best take advantage of this opportunity. Once these terms are understood, students should use JHU’s Third Party Payers system to upload their contracts online and keep track of each step in the payment process.
Students whose tuition is paid by their employer should begin processing requests with their employers well before registration deadlines to ensure that payment is processed. If payment is not processed, students will not be able to register for courses. Students are ultimately responsible for all costs associated with their registration.
These opportunities are determined by the employer organized independently of the University.
Johns Hopkins Engineering for Professionals provides a unique tuition waiver available to qualified Maryland high school STEM teachers.
“At present, the Engineering for Professionals program does not offer scholarships, but as the program continues to grow, more opportunities may become available. However, federal financial aid in the form of student loans is available to graduate degree candidates who are enrolled at least half-time (at least 4.5 credits) per term. To receive these loans, students must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®).
If you borrowed a federal student loan at JHU for a term that began before July 1, 2026, you remain eligible to borrow under the previous federal loan limits — including Graduate PLUS loans — for the remainder of your current program or for up to three years, whichever is shorter.
To qualify, you only need to have received any Direct Loan funding (either a Direct Unsubsidized Loan or a Graduate PLUS Loan) before July 1, 2026 for your current program. You do not need to have previously borrowed a Graduate PLUS Loan specifically.
If you are unsure whether this applies to you, the financial aid office can help review your borrowing history and eligibility.
The GEM Fellowship is designed to focus on promoting opportunities for individuals to enter industry at the graduate level in areas such as research and development, product development, and other high level technical careers. GEM also offers exposure to a number of opportunities in academia.
Fellowship Details
If awarded, the fellowship is provided for three terms with an option for a fourth-term extension. The award includes a full tuition waiver for all courses, matriculation fee, graduation fee, university-sponsored health insurance, and a stipend of $7,000 per term, during the fall and spring terms. Tuition will be waived for summer courses as well, but the stipend is not awarded during that term. Johns Hopkins Engineering will award up to two GEM fellowships per academic year.
Entrance Eligibility Requirements
Students must be selected by GEM and then admitted to a Johns Hopkins Engineering for Professionals program. Students cannot apply for GEM funding after applying to Johns Hopkins University; they must apply to GEM first.
Retention Requirements
Students must maintain a 2.8 GPA and full-time enrollment status (i.e., they must be enrolled in three or more courses) during the fall and spring terms.
More information about these benefits and enrollment procedures can be obtained through the website of the Office of SEAM, or through SEAM’s online form. For questions, email veterans@jhu.edu.
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Student Course Load Requirements
Graduate students must be enrolled in at least 9 credits to maintain full-time status (in fall/spring semesters), and 6 credits to maintain full-time status in a summer semester1. Credits across all modules within a semester count towards the overall semester enrollment status.2
1: The summer full-time status minimum requirement for graduate students is in effect beginning Summer 2025.
2: Graduate certificate credits may vary depending on externally established standards. updated 09-20-2024
Part-Time Graduate Student Satisfactory Academic Progress
Students who receive Federal Student Financial Aid must, in accordance with federal, state, and institutional requirements, be in good standing and maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) toward obtaining their degree or certificate.
Under Federal Title IV law, a University’s SAP policy must meet certain minimum requirements, and be at least as strict as the University’s standards for good academic standing. This policy applies to students applying for financial aid for semesters/periods of enrollment that begin with the Fall 2012 semester.
Federal Standards
The federal government requires an institution to use three measurements to determine SAP: qualitative (GPA/grades), quantitative (pace of completion), and maximum timeframe. Students must maintain a minimum cumulative grade point average (or equivalent measure), maintain a minimum cumulative completion rate of courses attempted, and complete a degree or certificate within the University’s published maximum timeframe. The standards used to evaluate academic progress are cumulative and, therefore must include all periods of the enrollment (even periods during which the student did not receive financial aid). To be eligible to receive Federal Title IV financial aid, students must demonstrate satisfactory progress toward their academic objectives as follows:
Qualitative Measure
The Office of Student Financial Services converts letter grades into their numeric equivalents, calculates a GPA, and considers students to have the equivalent of a B average if their calculated cumulative GPA is a greater than or equal to a 3.0. Only grades of A+, A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D+, D, D-, F, I/F, FN and U are factored into the GPA calculation. All other grades will be ignored from the qualitative measure. A student may earn no more than two grades of C+ or below, which includes grades of I/F, FN and U.
Quantitative Measure
Minimum cumulative completion rate/pace of 67%, defined as total number of completed course units divided by total number of attempted course units. Financial aid recipients must maintain a cumulative completion rate of completed courses equal to or exceeding 67% of the courses attempted. All grades (except for audited course work) will be included in the measure of pace, including W and I grades. All courses in which a student is enrolled as of the 1st day of the term/session are considered attempted credits. Classes dropped/withdrawn after the term/session begins are considered attempted. This policy is separate from the academic program’s drop/withdrawal policy.
Maximum Timeframe to Completion of Degree or Certificate
Master’s students must complete their degree within 5 years of matriculation, and Doctoral students must complete their degree within 12 years of matriculation. Periods of non-enrollment (e.g. LOA) are excluded.
| Grades | Included in Qualitative Measure | Included in Quantitative Measure (Pace) |
|---|---|---|
| A, B, C, D, F, FN, FPF, I/F, U | Yes | Yes |
| AU | No | No |
| All Others | No | No |
Additional Information
Students who fail to meet the minimum standards will be placed on Financial Aid Warning for the subsequent semester/period of enrollment. Students are still eligible for financial aid during the “Warning” semester. Students receiving financial aid for the first time will be placed on Financial Aid Warning as applicable if they did not meet the minimum grade standards as noted in this policy based on the previous period of enrollment prior to applying for financial aid.
Students who, while on Financial Aid Warning, fail to achieve the minimum standards at the end of the following semester will be placed on Financial Aid Suspension status for subsequent semesters/periods of enrollment. No financial aid will be disbursed during subsequent semesters/periods of enrollment until the student regains financial aid eligibility. Students who do not complete their program within the Maximum Timeframe lose eligibility for financial aid and are placed on Financial Aid Suspension status.
- The student submits an appeal and Appeals Committee grants the appeal. The student is then placed on Financial Aid Probation for the next semester/period of enrollment and is eligible for aid during the Financial Aid Probation semester. If the appeal is approved but the Committee has determined that the student will not be able to meet the SAP standards within one semester/period of enrollment, then the student will be placed on Financial Aid Probation with an Academic Plan which if followed will ensure the student is able to meet the SAP standards by a specific point in time.
- The student registers for coursework while on Financial Aid Suspension status, pays for tuition and fees without the help of student financial aid, and does well enough in the coursework to satisfy all the satisfactory academic progress standards at the end of the subsequent semester(s)/period(s) of enrollment.
- Personal Statement: Please provide a typed and signed statement indicating what went during the preceding semester (special circumstances) you were enrolled at Hopkins, what you did (and why) during time away from JHU (if applicable) and what you will do differently at Hopkins to ensure success in the upcoming semester. Mitigating or special circumstances include, but are not limited to, serious illness or injury to student or immediate family member, death of an immediate family member, and significant trauma in a student’s life that impaired their emotional and/or physical health.
- Documentation and Supporting Statements: Provide documentation for your special circumstances. Supporting statements from third parties should be on professional letterhead and signed.
- Academic Plan: Work with your faculty advisor to develop an academic plan (see SAP Appeal Form).
Students who lose eligibility and submit an appeal may be placed on an Academic Plan if the appeal is approved. The purpose of an academic plan is to support the student in bringing himself or herself back into compliance with the financial aid SAP standards by a specific point in time in order to ensure that the student will be able to successfully complete the degree or certificate program.
The academic plan will be specifically tailored to the student and may include milestones and specific requirements such as a reduced course load, specific courses or tutoring. Students on an academic plan are still responsible to meet the SAP requirements in the subsequent semester/period of enrollment, will lose eligibility if the SAP standards are not met, and need to go through the appeal process in order to regain eligibility. The student’s progress in the academic plan will be taken into account in any subsequent appeal process of financial aid eligibility.
Common Questions
All repeated coursework will count in the qualitative (GPA) computation. Every repeat attempt will be included in the completion rate determination.
All coursework accepted for transfer to the student’s program of study by The Johns Hopkins University School of Arts and Sciences is taken into consideration in the quantitative measurement component of SAP as both attempted and earned coursework. Grades earned at other institutions are not counted in the qualitative measure.
For students who change majors within their degree program, only coursework attempted that is applicable to the new major is included in the quantitative measure of pace. All coursework is included in the qualitative measure as required under federal law.
Grades earned for remedial coursework and ESL coursework are included in both the qualitative (GPA) and quantitative (completion rate) measure of SAP.
Financial aid recipients are reviewed annually for SAP at the end of the spring semester. Student Financial Services will contact students (in writing) who do not meet the SAP standards and lose eligibility for Federal Title IV financial aid.
No. Financial aid recipients must meet the financial aid satisfactory academic progress standards, which are at least as strict as the schools’ academic standards, in accordance with federal Title IV law.
Office of Student Financial Services
Student Accounts works to assist you in the areas of financial aid and student accounts. For questions, please feel free to give us a call at 410-516-8028.