Emergency grants of up to $500 may be available to graduate students to help relieve acute, temporary and unexpected problems related to an unforeseen emergency.
Evaluation will take into account how the emergency has impacted your ability to meet your basic needs.
Emergency grants are extremely limited and may not always be available.
Eligibility
In order to apply, students must:
- be currently enrolled full-time in a graduate degree program in the term the emergency grant is requested.
- have been assessed the Student Equal Access to Learning (SEAL) Fee in the term in which the request is made. Emergency grants are funded by the SEAL Fee.
- have an acute, temporary financial hardship resulting from an unforeseen emergency.
- provide a detailed explanation and documentation of financial need.
- have not received this emergency grant in the last 12 months.
Note: For students taking out federal education loans, an emergency grant will be applied toward their Cost of Attendance (COA). This means that students who have already reached their COA are ineligible for an emergency grant.
Additional Resources
Applicants may be connected to other resources. We encourage applicants to explore additional resources including:
- Resources from the Office of Student Financial Aid, including student loans and short-term loans.
- Resources from the Office of Dean of Students, including:
- The Basic Needs Office which can help connect to resources for food, housing and utilities and free/sliding-scale healthcare, including medical and dental services.
- Office of Off-Campus Community Living, which can help with challenges with landlords.
- Student Legal Services, which can provide consultations, advice, representation, and education to students on a variety of legal issues.
- Champaign County Health Care Consumers Hospital Financial Assistance information, which walks through how to request discounts or a sliding scale from Carle and OSF Hospitals.
Graduate College Emergency Grant Application Form
If you have questions, contact gradsuccess@illinois.edu.