Application Fee and Payment

Rackham Application Fee Waiver Program

Goal

The purpose of the graduate application fee waiver program administered by Rackham is to lower the financial barrier for potential applicants to Rackham master’s and doctoral programs. In this way, we support Rackham’s goal of increasing access to graduate education.

Eligibility for a Rackham Application Fee Waiver

At this time, Rackham application fee waivers are available for U.S. citizens and permanent residents who have demonstrated financial need. Financial need is demonstrated by having been the recipient of a Pell grant and/or by having a Student Aid Index (SAI) of <$1,500.

How to Apply for a Rackham Application Fee Waiver

To apply for a fee waiver, a prospective applicant should complete the fee waiver request within the Rackham graduate application and upload their Student Aid Index (SAI) from their Federal Application of Federal Student Aid (FAFSA); the SAI must be less than $1,500 for the applicant to be eligible. Alternatively, if a prospective applicant is not currently enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program, they may establish their financial need through demonstrated Pell Grant eligibility, documentation for which can be found in the FAFSA assessment or financial aid letter from the most recent institution. This process must be completed prior to submission of the graduate application; no refunds can be provided once a graduate application is submitted.

Other Sources of Application Fee Waivers

There are other sources of application fee waivers outside of this Rackham-administered program. Within the university, individual Rackham graduate programs may have their own fee waiver programs; prospective applicants should reach out to their intended program directly to inquire prior to submitting an application. In addition, if a prospective applicant participated in research or graduate school preparatory programs at the University of Michigan, they may be eligible for a fee waiver from those programs. These include programs such as the U-M Student Research Opportunity Program (SROP), Michigan Humanities Emerging Research Scholars Program(MICHHERS) and Bridges to the Doctorate programs; participants in those programs should contact the programs directly to obtain a fee waiver code. Receipt of a fee waiver from either an individual Rackham graduate program or a Rackham preparatory program is governed by applicable state and federal law, as well as university policy.