Financial Aid

The Bard Center for Environmental Policy is committed to assisting qualified students whose personal financial resources are insufficient to meet the expenses of graduate study. A limited number of fellowships are available. Financial aid is awarded on the basis of achievement and promise as well as financial need, according to criteria determined annually by the Office of Financial Aid of Bard College using either the student's Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or International Student Financial Aid Application and Certificate of Finances. Awards are made without regard to sex, sexual orientation, race, color, age, marital status, religion, ethnic or national origin, or handicapping conditions.


All applicants are strongly encouraged to research external sources of funding and to apply for scholarships and grants that will support the costs of tuition and living expenses of the program, including the internship and Master's Thesis research. International applicants are encouraged to seek support for educational expenses from their governments, foundations, or private agencies. External awards can be held concurrently with a BCEP fellowship. Application for financial assistance must be made annually.


The Center's deadline for consideration of financial aid is February 1, 2010 for early applicants and April 1, 2010 for regular applicants.


Those applying on or before the deadline receive first consideration. Applications postmarked after this deadline are considered in order of receipt until all assistance funds are committed. Students in default of a federal student loan or owing a refund on a federal grant are not eligible for federal financial aid.

Applying for Financial Aid (U.S. citizens)

All students who are U.S. citizens seeking financial aid should complete the FAFSA form, available online at www.fafsa.ed.gov or by request from the Bard Financial Aid Office (845-758-7526).


Applying for Financial Aid (non-U.S. citizens)

International applicants are not eligible for financial assistance from the U.S. government but may qualify for other sources of aid, including BCEP fellowships. International applicants seeking financial aid should fill out the International Student Financial Aid Application and Certificate of Finances, both available online at www.bard.edu/financialaid/international/ or by request from the Bard Financial Aid Office (1-845-758-7526).


Additional information about financial aid for international students can be found at www.bard.edu/campus/international/finaid/


Financial assistance is not automatically renewed. Students completing the first year must reapply by May 1 in order to be considered for any form of financial assistance in the second year, whether a fellowship, loan, or grant. Second-year awards reflect academic performance in the first year of the program and are based on merit, need, and efforts to secure outside funding. Second-year loans and grants depend on good academic standing and the continued demonstration of financial need.



TYPES OF ASSISTANCE


Fellowships, Federal Loans, and other External Funding

Financial assistance is available in the form of merit-based or need-based institutional fellowships and federal, state, and private loans and grants. Federal Stafford Loans and, for New York State residents, the New York State Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) are described briefly below. Applicants are also encouraged to investigate other sources of financial assistance. Many states sponsor loan programs.


Fellowships

Fellowships are awarded on a competitive basis to students who show uncommon promise and commitment to graduate studies in environmental policy. These awards are made by the Financial Aid Committee to incoming and returning full-time students on the basis of merit and need. Students must apply to be considered. Fellowships may be given in combination with campus employment, federal loans, and TAP. An applicant's financial need relative to the cost of the degree program is determined from data submitted on the FAFSA form. The recipient must reapply for financial aid for the second year. Second-year tuition fellowships are determined using the same aid-to-tuition ratio as the first-year awards.


Types of Fellowships

Luce Fellowship

The Luce Fellowship, a part of the BCEP Learning Across Borders program funded by the Henry Luce Foundation, offers a partial tuition and housing award to international students selected in coordination with academic institutions and other professional organizations in their home countries. The fellowship is for the one-year course of study resulting in a professional certificate. Students wishing to continue study at the Center for the second year must secure external funding for tuition and living expenses.


Bard AmeriCorps Fellowship

Awarded to exceptional AmeriCorps volunteers who have successfully completed their term of service, this fellowship assists public service-oriented individuals to continue their work as professionals in environment-related fields through advanced educational training in the BCEP Graduate Program.


Milner's Fund Fellowship

The Milner's Fund Fellowship in Population Studies is awarded to a student who demonstrates outstanding ability and serious commitment to the study of the environment and related aspects of human population growth and demographic dynamics.


Nancy Mathews '64 Internship Fund

This fund offers assistance to a student who accepts an unpaidinternship in the nonprofit or public sector. Priority is given to applicants at an internship in the greater Hudson Valley region who have demonstrated efforts to secure external funding for the internship. The fund honors the memory of Bard graduate Nancy Mathews, a lifelong environmentalist with deep roots in upstate New York and the Hudson Valley. A naturalist and enthusiastic birder, she approached environmental problems with careful research, attention to the many dimensions of an issue, and an infectious sense of excitement. A major contributor to the fund is the Lawson Valentine Foundation, in support of students accepting unpaid internships in the nonprofit sector.


Luce Foundation Internship Grant

The Learning Across Borders Project includes funding for qualified candidates to undertake internships arranged in collaboration with partner institutions in Argentina, Brazil, China, Hungary, Kenya, Mexico, Nepal, Poland, South Africa, and South Korea.


Federal and State Loans and Grants

Federal Stafford Loans

After the FAFSA has been filed, a student is eligible to borrow through the Stafford Loan program. Stafford Loans are available as subsidized or unsubsidized loans. To qualify for a subsidized loan, the student must demonstrate financial need. The federal government pays the interest on the subsidized loan while the student is enrolled; the student begins repaying the loan principal and paying interest six months after enrollment ends. In the case of an unsubsidized loan, a student may qualify regardless of financial need. The student is responsible for paying interest charges on the unsubsidized loan while enrolled in the graduate program. Interest payments begin 60 days after the loan is disbursed. As with the subsidized loan, repayment on the loan principal begins six months after the student ceases to be enrolled. Payments of interest and principal on an unsubsidized loan may be deferred, but interest will accrue and compound. The federal processor requires that a student first apply for a subsidized loan before applying for an unsubsidized loan.

A student may be eligible to borrow up to $8,500 annually through the subsidized Stafford Loan program. The student may be eligible for a supplemental, unsubsidized Stafford Loan (in addition to the $8,500 of the basic, subsidized Stafford Loan) of up to $12,000 annually. The total amount of assistance cannot exceed the annual cost of the graduate program. An origination fee of 3 percent and a loan warranty fee of 1 percent are deducted from the proceeds of all loans. The procedure for filing a loan is explained when the student is notified of eligibility.

Loans are disbursed in two equal payments, one each semester, provided all Financial Aid Office requirements have been fulfilled. Electronic disbursements are credited to the student's account when they are received. Check disbursements are sent to the Student Accounts Office; the student must sign the loan check before it can be credited to his or her account. If the check is not signed within a designated period, the Student Accounts Office is obliged to return it to the lender for cancellation. In such a case, the student becomes responsible for the entire account balance and is charged a $100 penalty fee for late payment and duplication of the loan-disbursement procedure. For more information, contact the Office of Financial Aid.


Federal GradPLUS Loans

Graduate students can now access the Federal PLUS Loan Program to pay for the cost of education not covered by other financial aid. This loan is guaranteed by the federal government and may be deferred while the student is enrolled at least half-time. A credit check is required. These loans are disbursed in the same way as the Federal Stafford Loan.


TAP

The New York State Tuition Assistance Program provides nonrepayable grant assistance of up to $550 annually to New York State residents enrolled in a New York State graduate school. Awards are based on the net New York State taxable income and the number of full-time college students in the family. Graduate student eligibility may depend on the amount of funds allocated by the state in a given year.

Students applying for a New York State TAP award must submit the FAFSA to the federal processor. Once the FAFSA is filed, a TAP application will be sent to the student. The Bard Center for Environmental Policy's college code for the TAP application is 5745. Further information about the program can be obtained from the New York State Higher Education Services Corporation website at www.hesc.com/bulletin.nsf.