Educational Expenses and Financial Aid
Tuition and Special Fees
The tuition charge for the 2009–2010 academic year is $19,600 for a student enrolled in eight courses in the M.Div., M.A.R., or S.T.M. degree programs. Students who are enrolled in these degree programs for fewer than eight courses at the Divinity School will be charged at the rate of $2,450 per course. Nondegree students are charged $2,450 per course. Ph.D. students who are accepted as nondegree researchers will be billed $1,500 per term.
It is expected that students in the M.Div. program will pay tuition for twenty-four courses in order to receive their degree; students in the M.A.R. program will pay tuition for sixteen courses to receive their degree; students in the S.T.M. program will pay tuition for eight courses to receive their degree. Except in cases of students who are in a joint-degree program, or whose credits have been accepted for transfer, each student must pay at least the full tuition for a degree regardless of the number of terms in which the student is enrolled. Students who transfer credit toward a degree and students who are on the expanded plan will be charged according to the number of credits taken during each term. Students will be charged for all work taken in the Divinity School or the University that is used toward fulfilling the requirements for a degree.
Also, the University expects all students enrolled at least half-time to have adequate hospital insurance coverage. As a result, it automatically enrolls such students in Yale Health Plan Hospitalization/Specialty Coverage. The approximate cost for such coverage is $1,338 for a single student plus approximately $514 for additional YHP Prescription Plus Coverage (see Health Services for Divinity School Students, in chapter on Yale University Resources). Students with adequate outside coverage may waive Yale Health Plan Hospitalization/Specialty Coverage.
In addition to the health fee, each student is assessed a $115 activities fee. M.A.R. and M.Div. students are charged a board fee of $880 to use as a declining balance per year for purchasing food in the Divinity School refectory. The declining balance charge for part-time students (those taking fewer than four courses per term) will be $230 per term.
Internship Fee
A student who chooses to do a full-time intern year under the auspices of the Office of Supervised Ministries and who receives academic credit for a portion of that work will be charged tuition at the per-course charge for the degree program. If the student elects not to receive academic credit for the intern year, there will be a $125 fee billed in one installment.
Special Fees
Orientation Fee
For M.Div. and M.A.R. degree students entering the Divinity School for the first time, there is a $155 orientation fee. The fee is assessed only to those S.T.M. and nondegree students who attend orientation. Spouses and partners attending orientation pay a $30 fee.
Change of Degree Fee
There wil be a $75 fee imposed on students who change their degree program.
Graduation Fee
Graduating students are assessed a $165 graduation fee whether or not they attend graduation.
Tuition Rebate and Refund Policy
On the basis of the federal regulations governing the return of federal student aid (Title IV) funds for withdrawn students, the rebate and refund of tuition is subject to the following policy.
- 1. For purposes of determining the refund of federal student aid funds, any student who withdraws from the Divinity School for any reason during the first 60% of the term will be subject to a pro rata schedule which will be used to determine the amount of Title IV funds a student has earned at the time of withdrawal. A student who withdraws after the 60% point has earned 100% of the Title IV funds. In 2009–2010, the last days for refunding federal student aid funds will be November 5, 2009 in the fall term and March 28, 2010 in the spring term.
- 2. For purposes of determining the refund of institutional aid funds and for students who have not received financial aid:
- a. 100% of tuition will be rebated for withdrawals which occur on or before the end of the first 10% of the term (September 12, 2009 in the fall term and January 20, 2010 in the spring term).
- b. A rebate of one-half (50%) of tuition will be granted for withdrawals which occur after the first 10% but on or before the last day of the first quarter of the term (September 28, 2009 in the fall term and February 4, 2010 in the spring term).
- c. A rebate of one-quarter (25%) of tuition will be granted for withdrawals which occur after the first quarter of a term but on or before the day of midterm (October 25, 2009 in the fall term and March 2, 2010 in the spring term).
- d. Students who withdraw for any reason after midterm will not receive a rebate of any portion of tuition.
- 3. The death of a student shall cancel charges for tuition as of the date of death and the Bursar will adjust the tuition on a pro rata basis.
- 4. If the student has received student loans or other forms of financial aid, rebates will be refunded in the order prescribed by federal regulations; namely, first to the Unsubsidized Federal Stafford, Subsidized Federal Stafford loans, if any; then to Federal Perkins loan; next to any other Federal, State, private or institutional scholarships and loans; and, finally, any remaining balance to the student.
- 5. Loan recipients (Stafford, Perkins, or Yale Student Loan) who withdraw are required to have an exit interview before leaving Yale, and should expect notification from Student Financial Services on completing this process.
Financial Aid Policies
The goal of the financial aid program at the Divinity School is to enable students enrolled in its degree programs to manage and meet their institutional and living expenses without diverting undue energy or attention from their educational responsibilities. Financial aid is awarded on the basis of demonstrated financial need—the negative difference between the cost of attending the Divinity School and the personal or non-Divinity School resources available to the student during that academic year.
In order to determine financial need the Divinity School requires students to submit a YDS Financial Aid Application, a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), and a copy of the previous year’s income tax return. Within the parameters of need and its own resources, the Divinity School takes into consideration merit and diversity in making its awards. The financial aid award will normally contain a YDS scholarship, the offer of a federal Stafford Loan (subsidized or unsubsidized) and, when necessary, the Perkins loan, and the expectation of earnings from a student job. Ten to fifteen hours of work per week are recommended during the academic year. The application deadline for financial aid is March 1 for entering students and April 1 for continuing students.
Financial aid recipients need to apply for financial aid each academic year. Unless an applicant’s financial circumstances have improved significantly, an applicant may count on the same standard of support in subsequent years. If during the academic year a student’s tuition charge changes, the student’s scholarship will be changed by the same proportion as the tuition change.
Whenever a financial aid student receives additional resources unaccounted for in the award letter, the Financial Aid Office will use those resources to eliminate any unmet need and then reduce educational indebtedness before considering the reduction of a YDS scholarship.
The same policies involving financial aid for citizens of the United States apply to international students. However, because international students without a permanent resident designation are not eligible for federal loans, they need to submit the YDS Financial Aid Application and the International Student Certification of Finances 2009–2010 with supporting documentation.
Housing Expenses
The Divinity School operates three on-campus apartment buildings containing eighty-four units total, consisting of one-bedroom, junior one-bedroom, and two-bedroom apartments. Two-bedroom units may be shared or assigned to residents with dependent children. While most rooms are unfurnished, there are a limited number of furnished apartments.
Each apartment has a living room, kitchenette (refrigerator and stove included), and bathroom. Furnished apartments generally come with a double/full size bed, bureau, end tables with lamps, area rugs, a love seat and chair, coffee table, and kitchen table with chairs. All students are expected to supply their own linens, flatware, dishes, cooking utensils, pillows, blankets, and other housekeeping equipment. Each building has coin-operated laundry facilities in the basement. There are a limited number of single beds that are lent out on a first-come, first-served basis to students renting unfurnished apartments. These beds must be assembled by the student, then disassembled and returned to storage upon move-out.
Rental fees are charged monthly to students’ accounts and include heat, hot water, electricity, and wireless Ethernet. Parking is also provided to students possessing proof of vehicle ownership. In the 2009–2010 academic year, the monthly rates for unfurnished apartments are: $830 for a junior one-bedroom, $960 for a one-bedroom, $1,090 for a two-bedroom, and $545 per person for a shared two-bedroom apartment. The furnished rates are: $960 for a junior one-bedroom, $1,090 for a one-bedroom, $1,190 for a two-bedroom, and $595 per person for a shared two-bedroom apartment. Housing leases for incoming students run from August 15 to May 31. Contracts for renewing students are twelve months, beginning June 1 and expiring May 31, though not all returning students are permitted to renew due to space constraints. Rental fees for summer housing are not covered in students’ financial aid packages for the academic year.
Housing applications for apartments must be submitted at the same time as acceptance of admission to the Divinity School. Upon receipt these forms are date-stamped and rooms are filled on a first-come, first-served basis. A security deposit equal to one month’s rent is billed to the student’s account when a housing license is signed. The deposit is held until the student leaves Divinity housing and refunded after the apartment has been inspected, minus any deductions for damages.
Additional housing for Divinity students is available in units adjacent to YDS in the Prospect Hill area. These apartments are managed by University Graduate Housing. More information can be found at www.yale.edu/gradhousing/.
On-Campus Dining
Breakfast and lunch, priced à la carte, are served Monday through Friday in the Divinity School refectory. All full-time M.Div. and M.A.R. students are automatically billed $880 per year for food to be purchased in the refectory on a “declining balance” basis. Part-time students are billed $460 per year for declining balance food purchases. S.T.M. students, nondegree students, and visiting fellows wishing to participate in the declining balance program may do so by contacting the registrar.
Total Expenses
For a single student living on campus during the 2008–2009 academic year, the total expenses are estimated to be:
Tuition | $19,600 | |
Health, Student Activity Fees | 3,002 | * |
Rent & Food | 10,328 | |
Books & Supplies | 1,100 | |
Living expenses | 5,026 | |
Total expenses | $39,056 |
*Includes $880 declining balance for refectory purchases for full-time students.
Sources of Support
Merit Scholarships
The Admissions Committee designates several merit scholarships each year. There is no separate application for merit scholarships. The Admissions Committee each year designates the top five applicants to the M.Div. and the M.A.R. programs as Marquand Scholars. The criteria used in making these selections include exceptional academic achievement, demonstrated leadership ability, and spiritual maturity. In the 2009–2010 academic year, the Marquand will be offered to five Master of Divinity and five M.A.R. students. They will receive full tuition and a $5,000 living allowance.
The Nickerson Scholars are also recommended by the Admissions Committee; awards are made to three Master of Divinity candidates who have indicated in their application that they are pursuing ordained ministry. Nickerson Scholars are selected for high academic achievement and their commitment to ministry. Nickerson Scholars receive full-tuition scholarships and a living allowance of $2,500, and the awards are renewable.
The William Sloane Coffin Scholars, recommended by the Admissions Committee, are selected among incoming applicants who demonstrate some of the attributes of William Coffin’s prophetic leadership, his passion for social justice, and his critical theological interpretations of the contemporary social and political scene. William Sloane Coffin Scholars receive a full-tuition scholarship and a living allowance of $2,500; the award is renewable.
Recipients of the Forman scholarship, the William and Marian Sengel scholarship, and the Ping Teh Sie scholarship are all selected by the associate dean of admissions and financial aid. Recipients are designated as incoming students and receive full tuition and, in the case of the Sengel and Ping Teh Sie scholarships, a living allowance of $2,500. Recipients of the Forman scholarship are given a $2,000 living allowance. The Forman scholarship is established for an overseas student with financial need. The Sengel scholarship is awarded to a student from a developing country who plans to return to that country. The Ping Teh scholarship is designated for a Chinese-American student or one from China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, or Singapore. Finally, the Tweedy scholarship goes to four incoming M.Div. students with exceptional academic achievements and unusual promise for outstanding pastoral leadership. It covers full tuition and comes with a living allowance of $1,500.
Need-Based Scholarships
All YDS scholarship awards are administered through the Financial Aid Office. A scholarship award is a gift without any expectation of repayment and is renewable. The named scholarship funds that appear in the back of this bulletin provide an important portion of the YDS scholarship budget, but are not administered separately from this budget and do not require a separate application.
The scholarship awarded a student has a direct relationship to the amount of tuition billed on the student’s account. If the tuition decreases or increases, the scholarship will be decreased or increased by the same proportion. If the student decides to enroll for only three courses rather than four courses in the fall term, the tuition charge is reduced by one-fourth. When the Financial Aid Office is notified of this change, that student’s scholarship will be reduced by one-fourth. Students should consult with the Financial Aid Office first to be sure that all adjustments were made before a refund is taken from their account.
Veterans Benefits
For information about eligibility and application for educational benefits for veterans, visit the United States Department of Veterans Affairs Web site at www.gibill.va.gov. To have your enrollment certified to the Veterans Administration, contact the Divinity School registrar.
Loans
YDS utilizes the federal Stafford Loan program (subsidized and unsubsidized) and the federal Perkins loan program. A student must be enrolled at least half-time in a degree program and have demonstrated financial need to be eligible to receive federal funds.
Employment
Each student receiving financial aid is expected to contribute to her/his expenses by earning $4,000 during the academic year. By working ten to fifteen hours per week on campus (there are more jobs available than students to fill them) or off campus, it will not be difficult to earn that amount of money. The resources of the University’s Student Employment Office are available to all Divinity School students (www.yale.edu/seo).
Likewise, students may be eligible to receive federal Work-Study funds to help secure jobs on campus or with nonprofit agencies off campus. These funds are applied for at the Financial Aid Office after a student has obtained a job.
Students in the Divinity School occasionally have the opportunity to serve as a Teaching Fellow in courses in Yale College. Such opportunities normally arise only when the student has an unusually strong background in the subject of the course. The associate dean of academic affairs must approve all plans to serve as a Teaching Fellow before negotiations are concluded with the department offering the course and before the course actually begins to meet.
Student Accounts and Bills
Student accounts, billing, and related services are administered through the Office of Student Financial Services, which is located at 246 Church Street. The telephone number is 203.432.2700.
Bills
Yale University’s official means of communicating monthly financial account statements is electronically through the University’s Internet-based system for electronic billing and payment, Yale University eBill-ePay.
Student account statements are prepared and made available twelve times a year at the beginning of each month. Payment is due in full by 4 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on the first business day of the following month. E-mail notifications that the account statement is available on the University eBill-ePay Web site (www.yale.edu/sis/ebep) are sent to all students who have activated their official Yale e-mail accounts and to all student-designated authorized payers. It is imperative that all students activate and monitor their Yale e-mail accounts on an ongoing basis.
Bills for tuition, room, and board are available to the student during the first week of July, due and payable by August 1 for the fall term; and during the first week of November, due and payable by December 1 for the spring term. The Office of Student Financial Services will impose a late charge if any part of the term bill, less Yale-administered loans and scholarships that have been applied for on a timely basis, is not paid when due. The late charge will be imposed as follows:
Nonpayment of bills and failure to complete and submit financial aid application packages on a timely basis may result in the student’s involuntary withdrawal from the University.
No degrees will be conferred and no transcripts will be furnished until all bills due the University are paid in full. In addition, transcripts will not be furnished to any student or former student who is in default on the payment of a student loan.
The University may withhold registration and certain University privileges from students who have not paid their term bills or made satisfactory payment arrangements by the day of registration. To avoid delay at registration, students must ensure that payments reach Student Financial Services by the due dates.
Charge for Rejected Payments
A processing charge of $25 will be assessed for payments rejected for any reason by the bank on which they were drawn. In addition, the following penalties may apply if a payment is rejected:
- 1. If the payment was for a term bill, a $110 late fee will be charged for the period the bill was unpaid.
- 2. If the payment was for a term bill to permit registration, the student’s registration may be revoked.
- 3. If the payment was given to settle an unpaid balance in order to receive a diploma, the University may refer the account to an attorney for collection.
Yale University eBill-ePay
There are a variety of options offered for making payments. Yale University eBill-ePay is the preferred means for payment of bills. It can be found at www.yale.edu/sis/ebep/. Electronic payments are easy and convenient—no checks to write, no stamps, no envelopes, no hassle. Payments are immediately posted to the student’s account. There is no charge to use this service. Bank information is password protected and secure, and there is a printable confirmation receipt. Payments can be made twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, up to 4 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on the due date to avoid late fees. (The eBill-ePay system will not be available when the system is undergoing upgrade, maintenance, or repair.) Students can authorize up to three authorized payers to make payments electronically from their own computers to the student’s account using Yale’s system.
Use of the student’s own bank payment service is not authorized by the University because it has no direct link to the student’s Yale account. Payments made through such services arrive without proper account identification and always require manual processing that results in delayed crediting of the student’s account, late fees, and anxiety. Students should use Yale eBill-ePay to pay online. For those who choose to pay by check, remittance advice with mailing instructions is available on the Web site.
Yale Payment Plan
The Yale Payment Plan (YPP) is a payment service that allows students and their families to pay tuition, room, and board in ten equal monthly installments throughout the year based on individual family budget requirements. It is administered by the University’s Office of Student Financial Services. The cost to enroll in the YPP is $100 per contract. The deadline for enrollment is June 19. For additional information, please contact Student Financial Services at 203.432.2700 and select “Press 3” from the Main Menu. The enrollment form can be found online in the Yale Payment Plan section of the Student Accounts Web site: www.yale.edu/sfas/financial/accounts.html#payment.
