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Certificate Financial Aid

Types of Aid for Certificate Students

Students who are enrolled in or accepted into a certificate program at MassArt may apply for federal student loans. Students in a Design Certificate Program or the Teacher Preparation Program are able to receive Federal Stafford Loans, so long as they are eligible for federal student aid, as determined by the FAFSANote that, because of the three-tiered structure of the Communication Design certificate, students in this program are not eligible for federal financial aid.

The Office of Student Financial Assistance at MassArt highly recommends students in Certificate Programs not borrow, if at all possible. Changes in federal law regarding student loans will severely limit a student's ability to borrow federal loans to get a bachelor's degree at a later date.

Additional information about the types of Federal Direct Stafford Loans available for Certificate students can be found here:

Applying for Federal Direct Stafford Loans

Certificate students should apply for financial aid at the same time they are applying for admission to the college. Once a student is accepted into a certificate program, their financial aid eligibility will be determined by the Office of Student Financial Assistance, and a financial aid package will be released in Self Service.

The financial aid package that you will receive from Student Financial Assistance will offer the amount of Federal Direct Stafford Loan(s) that you are eligible to receive, based on your program. The type of Stafford Loan(s) you are offered will depend on your determined financial need and may consist of a combination of subsidized and unsubsidized loans.

If the federal loans a student has been offered as part of their financial aid package are not enough to assist the student in meeting the cost of their education, then applying for a private loan may help fill the additional need.

For additional information about the types of private loans available for certificate students: visit Certificate Alternative Loan Programs

Read more about receiving financial aid.

International Students

Please note that only U.S. Citizens and Legal Permanent Residents are eligible to file the FAFSA. However, non-U.S. Citizens may apply for a private student loan with a U.S. Citizen as a co-signer.


financialaid@massart.edu • P: 617.879.7849 • F: 617.879.7880