Financial aid at the graduate level comes from several sources:

Scholarships & Fellowships

Need-based and merit-based aid may come in the form of full or partial support for your tuition and required fees, or in some cases, an additional monthly stipend. The School uses awards from the federal government, the Commonwealth of Virginia, private foundations, and endowment and alumni gifts to fund these awards. Each year, the School awards more than $1.2 million in tuition/stipend support to graduate nursing students.

To be eligible, students must:

  1. Be enrolled in at least 6 credits per semester in a graduate degree program (MSN, DNP or PhD).
  2. Those enrolled in post-master's certificate programs are eligible for support from private scholarships but are not eligible for federal, Commonwealth of Virginia or UVA monies.

Merit Awards

Two merit awards (not based on financial need) are funded by the Nursing Alumni Association to students in any graduate degree program (MSN, DNP or PhD). Contact the Office of Admissions and Student Services for more information.

Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) Positions

The School selects and hires approximately 30 GTAs each year to assist with instruction primarily of the pre-licensure nursing students, with priority given to PhD students. GTAs receive full tuition support, health insurance subsidy, and a stipend. Eligible students must:

  1. Possess a MSN or have completed at least 24 credits of graduate level coursework in the subject you are teaching;
  2. Be able to work 10-20 hours/week as a GTA;
  3. GTAs must be enrolled for 12 credits per semester. GTA assignments are made in June of each year for the following academic year. Post-master's certificate students are ineligible to be graduate teaching assistants or graduate research assistants.

Graduate Research Assistant (GRA) Positions

There are a limited number of GRA positions. Priority goes to enrolled PhD students whose research interests overlap with the focus of the assistantship. GRAs usually receive a half-scholarship and stipend. PhD students will be contacted directly by funded faculty members if GRA support is available.

Nursing Faculty Loan Program (NFLP)

Graduate students considering full-time nursing faculty positions should consider applying for the Nursing Faculty Loan Program (NFLP). UVA administers this federal loan program to UVA graduate nursing students to develop future nursing faculty in the US.

  1. 85% of the loan principal cancelled for recipients who become full-time faculty within one year of graduation
  2. Ph.D. or DNP students enrolled in at least 6 credits/semester can borrow up to $35,500 per year, for up to five years, to cover costs associated with tuition, fees and books.