Tuition and financial aid
An affordable world-class education
The University of Illinois at Chicago is recognized nationally for its great value. UIC provides access to an exceptional education at the best possible cost.
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Are you an Illinois resident whose family earns $75,000 or less? You may be eligible for $0 tuition and fees at UIC. Free your mind from the stress of college debt and focus on where this exceptional education will take you. Earn a life-changing 4-year degree — 100% tuition-free — with the UIC Aspire program.
Financial aid
We believe money shouldn’t be an obstacle to reaching your goals. Funding your education can be complex, but we’re committed to making college affordable by helping you through the financial aid process.
There are four basic types of financial aid:
- Scholarships
- Student employment
- Assistantships and fellowships
- Loans
Getting started
Most students submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to receive funding. Funds are limited in many programs, so it’s important to submit your FAFSA before UIC’s priority deadline of February 15.
College scholarships and awards
We offer the following college-level scholarships and awards to our students.
A Mother’s Love Scholarship
For students enrolled in any AHS degree program who are Chicago Public School graduates with financial need. First preference shall be given to first-generation college students; additional preference shall be given to students with demonstrated experience in or commitment to working with historically underserved or underprivileged populations and those who contribute to the diversity of the college.
AHS Scholarship Award
Recognizing outstanding student leaders who maintain high academic achievement and demonstrate a commitment to volunteerism within the UIC community and greater Chicagoland area
Elena M. Zavos Isotita Scholarship
For support of AHS undergraduate, graduate and professional students with financial need and a demonstrated interest in, involvement with, or commitment to the transgender identifying community or to the broader LBGTQI+ population.
Scalzitti Scholarship
For undergraduate and graduate students with financial need and who demonstrate academic merit.
Vivette Ravel Rifkin Memorial Scholarship
For students who are blind or visually impaired who may be receiving accommodations and/or services for blindness or other vision impairment from the UIC Disability Resource Center.
W.E. Van Doren Scholarship
Awarded in fall and spring semesters to students in good standing and with financial need.
Department scholarships and awards
Our academic departments offer department- and program-specific scholarships and awards for academic achievement and financial need to enrolled students. Department and program scholarships and awards are not offered to applicants.
Biomedical and Health Information Sciences
- Beverly Fiorella Student Award in HIM and HI: Awarded to full-time or part-time students who demonstrate unmet financial need and are pursuing either a bachelor’s degree in HIM or a master’s degree in HI. Applied to tuition. Typically supports one to two students per academic year.
- Biomedical Visualization Diversity and Inclusion Scholarship: Preference is given to BVIS students who attended a minority-serving institution as defined by the Higher Education Act; first generation in one’s family to attend college or graduate school; graduated from a high school within the Chicago Public School system; demonstrated experience or commitment to working with historically underserved or underprivileged populations; are members of a federally recognized Native American tribe; contribute to the diversity of the BVIS program and profession; demonstrate a history of active involvement in high school, undergraduate, community or enrichment programs, or organizations focused on diversity, equity, inclusion and empowerment of populations that are underrepresented in biomedical visualization; and demonstrate a commitment to continued efforts to promote diversity and inclusion in the BVIS program and profession. Applied to tuition. Typically supports one to two students per academic year.
- Frank Armitage Scholarship: Awarded to BVIS students based on financial need. Applied to tuition. Typically supports one to two students per academic year.
- Geraldine Smothers Scholarship: Awarded to junior-year students in the undergraduate HIM program who demonstrate financial need, have a minimum GPA of 3.0, demonstrate service to the HIM program and/or HIM profession, UIC or community organizations. Typically supports one to two students per academic year.
- Health Information Management and Health Informatics Scholarship Fund/BHIS Scholarship: Awarded to HIM, HI, and BVIS undergraduate, graduate and professional students with financial need.
- Lillian B. Torrance Scholarship: The Lillian B. Torrance Scholarship award provides tuition and fee assistance for BVIS, OT and PT students who have expressed an interest in rehabilitative activities or studies.
- Rita M. Finnegan Academic Achievement Award: Awarded to students in the undergraduate HIM program with the highest grade-point average at the conclusion of their junior year. Applied to tuition. Typically supports one to two students per academic year.
- UIC HIM Class of 1974 Scholarship: Presented in spring. Award recipients must be students who demonstrate unmet financial need and are pursuing an HIM undergraduate degree.
- Lawrence M. Pawola Scholarship: Awarded to Health Information Management and BVIS students who display financial need.
- Anonymous Studies in Medical Illustration Scholarship: Awarded to BVIS students to support an incoming student in the field of medical illustration. Typically supports one to two students per academic year.
- Van Doren Scholarship: AHS students in good standing who demonstrate financial need are eligible for the Van Doren Scholarship. First preference is given to minority applicants. All applicants must have on file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form for need verification.
- Tom Jones Scholarship and Alice and Brian Katz Scholarship: These two BVIS awards are traditionally given to second year students during spring semester. Students don’t apply for these—they’re based on academic achievement and potential for success and are voted on by the BVIS faculty.
Disability and Human Development
- Ann & Edward Page-El, M.D. Scholarship
The Ann and Edward Page-El Scholarship Award recognizes academic excellence and supports educational opportunities for graduate students interested in social or medical aspects of neurological disabilities. - Anne Hopkins Scholarship
The Anne Hopkins Scholarship supports educational opportunities for graduate students interested in any of the following topics: Disability and Sex, Relationships and Dating; Social Model of Disability; and Social Entrepreneurship. - Carlos Drazen Memorial Scholarship
The Carlos Drazen Memorial Scholarship supports educational opportunities for graduate students interested in the intersection of race and disability. - Charlotte A. Tate Award
The Charlotte A. Tate Award for Multidisciplinary Research is awarded to an outstanding student in the Department of Disability and Human Development that demonstrates a multidisciplinary approach across health, society and disability. - DHD/OT Black and Latinx Student Scholarship
The DHD/OT Black and Latinx Student Scholarship is awarded to students in DHD and OT who have financial need. Preference is given to students who contribute to the diversity of each department, with further preference given to students that aim to serve or do research with Black and Latinx communities or that are involved in or interested in student organizations at UIC that promote Black and Latinx interests in society. - Ethel Louise Armstrong Endowed PhD Fellowship
The Ethel Louise Armstrong Endowed PhD Fellowship is awarded to a woman with physical disabilities on behalf of Margaret A. Staton, a disability advocate who has devoted her life to ensuring that no one will experience the disability prejudice, discrimination, and exclusion that she and her peers endured in the past. - Neal H. Gottlieb Memorial Scholarship
The Neal H. Gottlieb Memorial Scholarship award is awarded to a junior or senior undergraduate student in disability and human development who has a physical disability.
Kinesiology and Nutrition
- Asha Panwalker Scholarship
The Asha Panwalker Scholarship fund is awarded to undergraduate and graduate nutrition students who have financial need. - Helen M. Barton Estate Fund Scholarship
The Helen M. Barton Scholarship Fund is awarded to students majoring in kinesiology. - Kinesiology graduate assistantships
We offer assistantships in teaching, research, or a combination of both. Teaching assistantships are in the lab sections of anatomy and physiology, exercise physiology, motor control and learning, or the two undergraduate fitness assessment courses. Research assistantships are usually in the lab of your advisor or a faculty member pursuing research related to your own. Assistantships are competitive, so submit your materials early for full consideration. - Kris and Savitri Kamath Scholarship
The Kris and Savitri Kamath Scholarship is awarded for academic excellence to undergraduate and graduate students in nutrition. - Phyllis and Sam Bowen Endowed Scholarship
The Phyllis and Sam Bowen Endowed Scholarship is awarded to undergraduate and graduate nutrition students who demonstrate financial need. - Undergraduate Research Grant Scholarship
The department has set up a fund to support the presentation of research projects for Kinesiology and Nutrition undergraduate students. We have allocated up to $500 per student, to be distributed to five (5) Kinesiology and five (5) Nutrition students per academic year based on total applications. Applications will be accepted during the fall and spring semesters and awarded during each semester. All applications received will be placed into a lottery from which the student will be selected to receive the funds. Applications for Fall semester due by October 1st and applications for Spring semester due by April 15th. - Undergraduate Summer Research Fellowship
Promising kinesiology students of sophomore standing or above who have demonstrated an interest in the research of movement sciences faculty may be nominated to receive a Summer Research Fellowship. Recipients work closely with a principal investigator and graduate students in a movement sciences lab on a project designed by the student and faculty member. Depending on the length and nature of the research experience, the fellowship may include a stipend, tuition waiver, graduation credit, or some combination of the three.
Occupational Therapy
| Award/Scholarship | Amount of Award | How Many Awards/Semester Awarded | Who is eligible to apply? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Alumni Scholarship | $1,500 | 1 (Fall) | E-OTD (with no RA or TA) |
| 2. Rhoda Erhardt Scholarship | $2,500 | 2 (Fall& Spring) | E-OTD, P-OTD |
| 3. Class of 1979 Scholarship | $1,500 | 1 (Spring) | E-OTD (with no RA or TA) |
| 4. Lois Anderberg Koji Award | $1,000 | 1 (Spring) | E-OTD (with no RA or TA) |
| 5. Ruth Ann Halligan Watkins Scholarship | $1,000 | 1 (Spring) | E-OTD (with no RA or TA) |
| 6. Gail Fisher Scholarship | $2,000 | 1 (Fall) | E-OTD |
| 7. Barbara Loomis Scholarship | $2,500 | 1 (Fall) | E-OTD, P-OTD, PhD |
| 8.Winifred Scott Scholarship | $1,200 | 2 (Spring) | E-OTD, P-OTD, PhD |
| 9. Lillian Torrance Scholarship | $2,000 | Fall: 3-4 Spring: 3-4 Total: 6-8 |
E-OTD, P-OTD, PhD |
Physical Therapy
- Lillian B. Torrance Scholarship
The Lillian B. Torrance Scholarship award provides tuition and fee assistance for BVIS, OT and PT students who have expressed an interest in rehabilitative activities or studies. - UIC Donna Roach Award
The Donna Roach Award is presented to DPT students who demonstrate academic merit and financial need. - UIC Joan Wallace Lindsay Endowed Scholarship
The Joan Wallance Lindsay Endowed Scholarship is awarded to DPT students with financial need; preference is given to students who have caregiving and living expenses beyond the standard cost of attendance, such as childcare expenses.
University scholarships and awards
UIC offers many financial resources for incoming, transfer and continuing students.
Once you complete the UIC application, you’ll automatically be considered for most university and college scholarships and awards. Your application is reviewed to determine if any awards are a good fit.
UIC SnAP: View and apply for scholarships at UIC
Library/IT fee
A library/information technology fee will be assessed at the rate of $18 per credit hour and covers the following services: use of online Library and IT services such as Blackboard, UIC e-mail, software licenses, technology security, published works and periodicals through the Library database and others.
Full online access to the UIC Library of the Health Sciences
Library materials include 61,000 journal titles, monographs and audiovisual materials on medicine, nursing, pharmacology and other health professions
Student employment
On-campus jobs don’t offer tuition wavers, but they do provide a convenient location and work schedule. The UIC Student Employment Office can help connect you with departments that are hiring.
Assistantships
Most of our graduate programs employ graduate students as teaching (TAs), research (RAs) or graduate assistants (GAs). TAs help with classroom instruction, lab supervision, discussion sessions and grading. RAs work with faculty members in research activities. GAs generally perform clerical work in an academic department or administrative office.
An assistantship provides a stipend, tuition waiver, certain fee waivers and the option to buy low-cost health insurance. Most students find assistantships through their programs, so contact your Director of Graduate Studies for help.
Fellowships
The university and Graduate College both offer internal fellowships. These are awards aimed at recruiting outstanding students newly admitted to graduate programs at UIC.
Consider foundations and organizations outside UIC, for specialized and competitive fellowship opportunities like the Fulbright and DAAD grants.
We're here to help
We’re here to help
Still have questions? Contact the Office of Student Affairs and we’ll put you on the right track.
You can contact Eileen Doran at:
Email eileend2@uic.edu
Phone 312.996.2078
Address 1919 W. Taylor St.
516F AHSB (MC 528)
Chicago, IL 60612