Brown School Student Financial Services

On this page, you will find information regarding:

• Tutition & Fees
• Financial Aid
• Bills & Payments
• Semester Enrollment Caps
• Summer Practicum Enrollment

It is very important you have a clear understanding of your tuition and fee expenses as well as how you will pay your bill each semester. If you have questions or need assistance, please contact the Brown School Office of Student Financial Services.

2024-2025 Tuition & Fees

Full cost of attendance breakdown can be found at Brown School Cost of Attendance.

Brown School students enrolled full-time (at least 9 credit hours) are assessed a flat, per semester tuition rate. Tuition is due at the beginning of each semester. The 2024-2025 tuition for full-time students is:

• Master of Social Work: $48,010 per year ($24,005 per semester)
• Master of Public Health: $42,640 per year ($21,320 per semester)
• Master of Social Policy: $48,010 per year ($24,005 per semester)

Students who are enrolled less than full-time (8 credit hours or less in the Fall or Spring semester) OR students who  are enrolled in our Part-Time MSW program will be charged tuition on a per credit hour basis per semester. If a full-time student enrolls in hours that exceed the semester enrollment cap (see below), the student will be charged additional tuition at the per credit hour rate for those additional hours. The  2024-2025 per credit hour tuition for MSW and MSP students is $1,600. The  2024-2025 per credit hour tuition for MPH students is $1,640. These per credit hour rates take effect in Fall, 2024.

In addition to tuition, all full-time students (regardless of when they first enrolled) are assessed the following yearly fees:

• Student Health Insurance fee: $2,500** per year (charged in full in the Fall semester)
• Health & Wellness fee: $646 per year (charged $323 per semester)
• Student Activity fee: $120 per year (charged $60 per semester)
• **Adjustments may be made for the 2024-25 academic year and will be announced in the summer**

Students are encouraged to contact the Habif Health and Wellness Center for more information about health insurance coverage and the Health & Wellness fee. Students will also be able to find information about how to waive the graduate student health insurance plan.

Financial Aid

There are three types of financial aid available at the Brown School: institutional scholarships, federal student loans and federal work-study. You may be awarded a combination of one or more of the programs based on academic credentials and financial need. To view, accept, reduce and/or decline your financial aid award package, please visit NetPartner in the Student Financial Services website.

If you have eligibility and intend to receive Federal Unsubsidized Loans or Federal Graduate PLUS  Loans, complete the following steps to finalize your loans.

1. Visit netpartner.wustl.edu. Use your WUSTL Key ID and Password to login to ‘Net Partner’. Select ‘Accept Offer’ in the top left side menu.
2. Provide all required documents listed in ‘Documents & Messages’.

You can decrease or cancel your Unsubsidized and/or Federal Graduate  PLUS Loan via Net Partner. Note, if you wish to cancel or reduce your loan amounts start with the Graduate PLUS Loan, since it has a higher interest rate and origination fee. Only decrease or cancel your Unsubsidized Loan amount if you have already cancelled 100% of the Graduate  PLUS Loan award.

If you accept all or part of the Federal Direct Graduate PLUS Loan that you have been offered, you still need to visit the Federal Student Aid website to apply and qualify to utilize those funds. You can apply for either a reduced amount of the loan or the maximum amount offered. Once you accept a Graduate PLUS Loan offer, that amount will show up as anticipated aid on your bill, but you must apply and qualify and complete the necessary documentation before actual funds can be disbursed to your student account.

Applying for Financial Aid

In order to qualify for federal student aid (loans and/or work-study), students must complete the FAFSA for every academic year in which they anticipate being enrolled.

Students do not need to re-apply for the scholarships they were awarded upon admission to the Brown School. Students need only maintain full-time status and a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0 in order to continue receiving these awards.

Scholarships

All Brown School scholarships are “flat dollar” awards meaning they are intended to be allocated over the course of your entire program. If you were awarded institutional aid upon admission to the Brown School, it will be allocated evenly across each semester. As a result, you do not need to re-apply for your scholarship for subsequent years. You must, however, maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0 and full-time enrollment in order to remain eligible.

If you were awarded a scholarship upon admission, it will be divided evenly over four (4) semesters: Fall and Spring of your first academic year, then Fall and Spring of your second academic year. For example, if you were awarded a $20,000 scholarship, you will receive $5,000 per semester ($20,000 ÷ 4 semesters = $5,000). The total for your first academic year would be $10,000. As a reminder, your scholarship award is not renewable should you choose to extend the duration of your program and may be modified should the duration of your program be shortened due to a change in program status.

Advanced Standing MSW students: If you were awarded a scholarship upon admission, it will be divided over two (2) or three (3) semesters: Fall and Spring of your first academic year, then Fall of your second academic year. For example, if you were awarded a $20,000 scholarship, you will receive $6,667 per semester for your first academic year. The final disbursement ($6,666) would be applied to Fall of your second academic year. All Advanced Standing students will be assessed the Bridge to Brown course fee in their first Fall semester which will increase their Fall semester tuition charge.

Dual degree students who are awarded both an MSW and MPH scholarship will see their funds disbursed over six (6) semesters. Please contact the Brown School Office of Student Financial Services if you are not sure how your scholarship funds will be allocated.

Federal Student Loans

When pursuing graduate school, financial aid can be a very important factor. It is important to understand your funding options and your eligibility. When utilizing federal student loans, we recommend keeping student borrowing to a minimum. Often this will be possible with slight lifestyle changes and implementing a reasonable budget. Please visit the federal loans page for more information about the types of loans awarded at the Brown School.

Types of Loans

Before borrowing loans, students should attempt to exhaust every other source of financial aid available (scholarships, work-study, tuition payment plan). Student loan borrowing should be minimized as much as possible by working with the Brown School Office of Financial  Services to accurately calculate how much financial aid is needed each semester.

The choice to take on a student loan debt burden is a serious decision and should take into consideration both potential future earnings and possible length of repayment. To explore student loan repayment options, please visit the Federal Student Aid website. You may also choose to take advantage of the loan repayment estimator to get a better idea of your potential monthly payments after you leave the Brown School.

Bills & Payments

Students can view their tuition charges and financial aid activity at any time by logging into WebSTAC. On the menu at the top of the screen is Billing & Bear Bucks. On the drop-down menu, students will see Account Inquiry and Pay/View My Bills. While these two options are similar, they serve very different purposes.

Pay/View My Bills

If you would like to make a payment toward your tuition charges, you will do so through Pay/View My Bills. You will also see the date tuition is due listed on Pay/View My Bills.

Important Note: This page may not reflect your most accurate and up-to-date activities and balance. Your bill will update only once a month, so any changes during that time will not be reflected until the next billing cycle. For the most accurate picture of your charges, financial aid disbursements and balance, click on Account Inquiry.

Account Inquiry

On Account Inquiry, you will see the most up-to-date and accurate information related to your tuition, fees, and financial aid. On this page, you will see your charges (tuition and fees) listed in black, as well as any credits (payments and financial aid disbursements) listed in red.

At the top of the page, you will see the Current Balance listed. This is how much you currently owe to the university. Below, you will see your ledger (charges and credits) and your Semester Total. Your Semester Total will be reflected one of two ways (figures below are only examples):

FL2021 Semester Total: $2,345.00 – charges
or
FL2021 Semester Total: ($2,345.00) – credits

In the top example, the student has a balance due to the university. In the bottom example, the student has a credit on his or her account which will be processed as a refund. Please contact Student Accounting for information about refund timelines. Refunds will not be available until the week before classes begin.

Semester Enrollment Caps

Full-time students (FL/SP semesters) are assessed a flat, per semester tuition rate if they are enrolled in at least 9 course credit hours. Starting in spring 2023, the MSW fall, and spring credit cap maximum will be 15 credits per semester and 6 credits in the summer semester. The credits may include coursework and practicum.

Brown School Semester Enrollment Caps

​Program	​Fall 1	​Spring 1	Summer 1	​Fall 2	​Spring 2	Summer 2	​Fall 3	​Spring 3
​MSW	​15 hours	​15 hours	6 hours	​15 hours	​15 hours	6 hours	​	​
​MPH	​14 hours	​15 hours	Practicum Enrollment	​14 hours	​15 hours	Practicum Enrollment	​	​
​MSW/MPH Dual	​15 hours	15 hours​	Depending on the prime program	14 hours​	​15 hours	Depending on the prime program	​14 hours	15 hours​

NOTE: Joint degree candidates in the MPH/MD and MPH/MSOT programs have a semester enrollment cap of 18 credit hours.

Students wishing to take credits in excess of the enrollment cap in semesters subsequent to the first fall semester have the option to do so, with the following stipulations:

• Students must contact the Brown School Registrar to request approval for additional credits.
• Students must be in good academic standing.
• Credits in excess of the semester enrollment cap will be charged additional tuition at the per-credit-hour rate of their prime program.
• No additional credits will be granted in the student’s matriculation semester.

Summer Practicum Credit & Tuition Adjustment

MPH Students

Fall or spring tuition can include up to a total of 3 practicum credits registered for during summer semesters by reducing the total credit enrollment in the fall or spring semesters adjoining the summer in which the credit is registered.

• Credits will be automatically applied to an adjoining semester so that summer tuition is not assessed.
• Examples: Typical Enrollment Cycle

​Fall 1	​Spring 1	​Summer 1	​Fall 2	Spring 2​	Summer 2(Optional)​
​Full Time	​Full Time	​Practicum Enrollment	​Full Time	​Full Time	​Practicum Enrollment

In Summer 1, a student who is enrolled in practicum can apply summer practicum credits toward the enrollment cap(s) of spring 1 and/or fall 2. 

This will then reduce the enrollment cap(s) of the semester(s) accordingly.

In Summer 2, (For students graduating at the end of the summer) a student who is enrolled in practicum can apply summer practicum credits toward the enrollment cap of spring 2 only. This will reduce the enrollment cap of Spring 2 accordingly.

Dual MSW/MPH Students

• Depending on the prime program, dual students who enroll in summer practicum will have different rules to follow.
• When primed to the MSW program, dual students may enroll in summer practicum without needing to apply the credits to any adjoining semester.
• When primed to the MPH program, dual students must apply summer practicum to an adjoining semester so that summer tuition is not assessed.

MSP

• Fall or spring tuition can include up to a total of 3 field-based credits registered for during summer semesters by reducing the total credit enrollment in the fall or spring semesters adjoining the summer in which the credit is registered.
• Credits are automatically applied to the credit caps of adjoining MSP semesters in the system so that tuition is not charged during the summer.
• These summer field-based credits must be registered for in the summer semester.

Important Note: During their tenure at the Brown School, students may apply up to 7 credits of field-based, practicum credits total toward the enrollment caps of other semesters as described above.

For planning purposes, please use the applicable Practicum Tracking worksheet to determine your semester enrollment caps determined by your expected Summer practicum enrollment.

MPH Joint Degree Students***

Fall or Spring tuition can include practicum credits registered for in a summer semester by reducing the total credit enrollment in that Fall or Spring semester in which you are prime to the Brown School. However, the student must work with Office of Financial Services to determine which semester credits will be applied.

*The student must be enrolled in at least 9 credit hours (full-time status) in the semester to which the practicum credits are being applied.

**Due to the nature of these joint degree programs, MSP, MPH/MSOT, MPH/PhD and MPH/MD students are not eligible for deferred tuition in the Summer

For more information…

• iGrad: Financial Wellness
  Join iGrad a personal finance program provided by Washington University in St. Louis. 
• External Scholarship Opportunities
  An updated list of external scholarship opportunities available to MSW and MPH Students.
• Work Study
  Information about the Federal Work Study Program.
• FAQs
  Answers too frequently asked questions about different loan programs.

Key Contacts