A description of the financial aid program awarded to incoming students in 2019 can be found below.   Carnegie Mellon is currently in the process of determining the financial aid program for students who apply during the 2019-2020 admission cycle.  This need-based aid program will consist of either grants or loans, or a combination of both.  The anticipated deadlines to submit the financial aid application will be November 15^th for Early Decision and February 15^th for Regular Decision.  Please stay tuned for further updates.

Carnegie Mellon began a new need-based grant program for students entering in August 2019*. The CMUQ QF need-based grant program was available to students of all nationalities through the Qatar Foundation. Grants (i.e. free aid with no repayment) of up to 100% of the cost of attendance were made to families based on their unique financial circumstances.

The CMUQ QF need-based grant program provided an outstanding opportunity for international students to receive funding for their studies at Carnegie Mellon.

* At present, the CMUQ QF grant program has only been approved for new students who entered in August 2019.  Further updates forthcoming for 2020 applicants.

Please note that U.S. citizens, and some non-citizens (ex. green card holders) are eligible for Federal Financial Aid (FAFSA) to support your studies at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar. There are different types of funding within FAFSA, including grants (no repayment) and loans.

We would advise all U.S. citizens to apply for FAFSA by following these instructions and filling out this Verification Worksheet. If you are not a U.S. citizen, but think you might be eligible, please check the information on this site to see if you could be eligible:http://studentaid.ed.gov/eligibility

If you are applying for need-based grants through the CMU-Q QF grant program, please understand that all US citizens will be required to apply for FAFSA aid before
CMU-Q will release the Final Award Letter. This is required to avoid students receiving more need based aid than they would be appropriately eligible for. Eligible FAFSA aid will be included into the Final Award Letter amount from CMU-Q.

Qatar Foundation’s scholarship program awards a limited number of full-tuition merit scholarships annually to students who have spent at least two semesters in one of the Education City’s branch campuses. Students who have achieved a 3.6 GPA or above during their studies in Education City are eligible to apply for the scholarship.

Selection is not guaranteed as the number of available scholarships changes each year and depends on the amount of donations awarded to the Qatar Foundation scholarship program by individuals, private, and public institutions each year. The application cycle is open from May 1 – June 15 for currently enrolled Carnegie Mellon students. For additional information, please contact the Qatar Foundation Scholarship Office.

Between four to eight merit scholarships are awarded annually by CMU-Q to the most academically promising applicants. These awards cover between 10 and 75 percent of tuition fees and can be combined with need-based grants from the CMU-Q QF grant program. To be considered for merit scholarships, students should submit the CMU-Q QF grant application. Students are notified of any merit scholarship awards at the same time they receive their initial Financial Award Letter from CMU Qatar. Awards are made in a similar manner to our admission decisions with a holistic process involving many factors.

For Qatari citizens and citizens of other GCC countries, government scholarships and/or company sponsorships typically cover the full cost of attendance. Qatari nationals should contact the Scholarship Office of the Higher Education Institute (HEI) at +974 4465 1173 or visit their website for further information.