Financial Impact Hardship Award

Requests open for the 2025-2026 academic year on Monday, June 23, 2025

Oregon State University created a dedicated hardship fund to assist graduate students, including those who hold a Graduate Employee position. OSU’s Office of Graduate Education coordinates these funds to assist graduate students experiencing unexpected financial hardship that impedes, impacts, or interferes with academic progress. This funding is being provided to help ensure that graduate students with demonstrated financial need can continue their education at OSU.

Students apply for this award directly. In their application, students should describe the financial crisis they are experiencing and the immediate impact on their ability to continue graduate studies. Situations affecting their academic progress may include but are not limited to housing insecurity, employment accessibility, health emergencies, unexpected family situations, access to academic materials/resources, childcare expenses, etc. If you have questions about your eligibility and would like to discuss with someone, please reach out to [email protected].

Award details

Award amounts vary based upon hardship and need but will typically not exceed $1000 per student per term, and no more than $2000 per student per academic year (summer - spring).

Note for applicants:

  • Funding received through this award, in some instances, may be considered a financial resource. This could impact your ability to receive other forms of financial aid. This could impact the awardee's ability to receive others forms of financial aid. In these instances, the amount the applicant is awarded will be reviewed by the Office of Financial Aid to evaluate financial impact. If the award is considered a financial resource, the award amount is first applied to any outstanding student account balance. If funding from the award exceeds any amount owed, the remaining amount will be issued to the awardee directly in the form of a check or direct deposit, if already established with the university.
  • For awards not considered financial resources, the award amount will automatically be issued to the awardee directly in the form of a check or direct deposit, if already established with the university.

Eligibility

To be eligible, students must meet the following eligibility requirements:

  • The student must be currently enrolled in a graduate degree-seeking program at OSU, i.e., master or doctoral degree through any campus modality (i.e., Cascades, Corvallis, Ecampus, Portland Center)
  • The student must have successfully completed at least one academic term as a graduate student at OSU, and either (whichever is satisfied first):
    • at least 1/3 (one-third) of the total required credits towards a graduate degree (defined as total earned hours + credit hours in progress during the term in which the application is submitted), or
    • at least 24 completed OSU credits towards a graduate degree
  • The student must be enrolled in at least three graduate credits at OSU during (1) the term in which the application is submitted and (2) have registered or intend to register in the term immediately following the term in which the application is submitted. If an application is submitted in summer without summer term registration, the applicant must have been enrolled in at least three credits in spring and registered for at least three credits in fall for consideration.
  • The student must be making satisfactory academic progress toward their degree and in good academic standing as defined by their program and by the Office of Graduate Education (to be confirmed by the program director/major advisor), which includes a 3.0 cumulative graduate GPA at OSU.
  • The student must be currently experiencing unexpected and immediate economic hardship that significantly affects their academic progress in their current degree program at Oregon State University
  • The student must be able to provide convincing and appropriate rationale as to how this financial hardship will interrupt immediate academic progress

Fund restrictions

Students will be ineligible for the hardship grant if:

  • The student is enrolled only in a graduate certificate program. Certificate students enrolled in a concurrent doctoral or master's degree program are eligible.
  • The student is enrolled only in a professional program, e.g., pharmacy (PharmD), physical therapy (DPT), veterinary medicine (DVM). Professional students enrolled in a concurrent doctoral or master's degree program are eligible.

Request period

Requests are accepted on a rolling basis until available funds each term are exhausted. Requests open for the 2025-2026 academic year on Monday, June 23, 2025. Applications will close when funds are exhausted each term and re-open as posted. No applications will be accepted after 11:59pm on Sunday, June 7, 2026, which is the final closing date for the 2025-2026 academic year.

Request process and timeline

Requests must be submitted by the student directly through the online request form. Applicants will be notified of the final award decision within 7-10 business days of receipt of the completed application and any necessary next steps. In cases when awards are made, please allow 3-4 additional business days before funds are visible within the student account.

In the online request form, students will be required to answer two survey prompts describing (1) the current, unexpected financial emergency experienced and (2) the immediate impact of the financial emergency on academic progress. Applicants can prepare/upload a supplementary statement and/or documentation through the request form to support the responses.

Examples of situations that could affect academic progress may include but are not limited to housing insecurity, unexpected employment accessibility, documented health emergencies, unexpected family situations, access to academic materials/resources.

Tips for improving the outcome of the hardship request:

  • Requests are typically limited to documented financial hardships. Anticipated expenses or estimates of future hardship are usually not considered. Providing receipts, bills, and/or invoices in your documentation is helpful in demonstrating impact and need.
  • Applicants should clearly outline exact needs and associated monetary amounts that cannot be covered due to (an) unexpected financial situation(s).
  • The following requests are normally outside the scope of the award:
    • costs associated with tuition and fees, which are considered expected educational expenses;
    • expenses tied to international travel;
    • reimbursement for expenses already paid for with alternative funding;
    • expenses for conferences, membership fees, or professional development;
    • veterinary bills for a pet that is not your documented service or emotional support animal;
    • accumulated debt not tied to a specific financial emergency;
    • inflationary costs tied to ongoing living expenses (food and housing);
    • costs associated with dissolution of marriage or separation, except in cases of domestic violence, abuse, and/or other circumstances directly impacting the safety of the student.
  • The financial emergency must be connected to academic progress. As such, applicants must be sure the narrative demonstrates impact beyond the typical stress associated with being a busy graduate student.

Request Form

Submit a Request

Financial Impact Hardship Award Form Overview

Questions

For questions about this award, eligibility concerns, or any Office of Graduate Education administered awards please contact our Graduate Scholarships and Fellowships team.