Financial Aid and Scholarship Transfer

Using Your Financial Aid and Scholarships on Study Abroad Programs

Financial Aid and Scholarships:

Students are encouraged to contact their Financial Aid Counselor when considering study abroad before they apply to gain an understanding of their available financial aid options for different programs.

Once registered for study abroad, students must submit the Study Abroad Aid Request Form for consideration to use any financial aid abroad. This form should be submitted at least 60 days in advance of the expected departure date to allow time for processing. 

To request your financial aid for study abroad, please follow these steps:

  1. Request an Official Study Abroad Budget from the Education Abroad Office.
    • Instructions on how to request a budget sheet can be found in your Study Abroad Application Post-Decision Materials.
  2. After receiving your Official Study Abroad Budget Sheet, you must submit the Study Abroad Aid Request Form for consideration to use any financial aid abroad. Please read the instructions carefully. The form should be submitted at least 60 days in advance of the expected departure date to allow time for processing. The Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships cannot guarantee disbursement of financial aid before billing due dates if the form is not submitted on time. 

If you want to transfer your financial aid or scholarships, you must request an Official Study Abroad Budget from the EAO.

Your Official Budget consists of tuition, fees, room, board, airfare, passport, visa, and personal spending money. Instructions on how to request a budget sheet can be found through UMBC’s Study Abroad Application Post-Decision Materials.

  • You do not need to request this if you do not plan to use financial aid or scholarship funds.
  • You will be contacted when your budget is ready, please allow 4-5 business days for this to be completed.

For more specific instructions and information on the transfer of your aid, please contact your financial aid counselor.

You are encouraged to apply for outside scholarships.

For UMBC Merit Scholarships: Merit scholarships transfer for one semester only. You must apply prior to departure to have them transfer for more than one semester. Meyerhoff Scholars must take at least two science courses abroad.

For Federal or Maryland State Aid: Maryland State Aid can only be used for University System of Maryland programs.

For Private Scholarships you need to confirm requirements with the scholarship provider and contact the EAO if they require support documentation.

 

Tuition remission and study abroad

USM tuition remission may be used to cover the per-credit cost of tuition only for participation in UMBC tuition exchange programs or ISEP programs. The maximum hours of tuition remission are based on the eligibility of the employee or parent (if a dependent of an employee); please see the tuition remission website for more information.  Mandatory UMBC student fees and/or program fees associated with the exchange program are the responsibility of the employee and/or student. In addition, tuition remission does not cover program fees associated with faculty-led study abroad programs.

 

Using VA benefits and study abroad

It can be possible to use your VA benefits to study abroad. Each case is different, however, you will need to check with the VA office if you intend to use your VA benefits to study abroad. The VA office has provided a brief summary of how benefits work with studying abroad.