General Eligibility Requirements

Financial Aid recipients must be admitted to a degree-seeking program and must be enrolled in courses that apply directly to their degree plan.  Students with a non-degree seeking admission status, including those enrolled in Graduate Certificate programs only, or students enrolled in courses outside their degree plan, are not eligible for financial aid. To receive financial aid, including grants, loans, and college work-study, a student must:

  1. Be a United States Citizen or permanent resident.
  2. Be accepted by TWU in a degree program. Students admitted with non-degree seeking or certificate-only status are not eligible for grants, loans, or Federal Work-Study.
  3. Not be in default on an educational loan or owe a refund for an educational grant.
  4. Use all funds received through financial aid programs to meet educational costs directly related to attendance at the University.
  5. Have declared a major if beyond freshman classification.
  6. Meet satisfactory academic progress requirements in his or her course of study.
  7. Have a high school diploma or GED.
  8. Not have been convicted for possession or sale of illegal drugs for an offense that occurred while receiving federal or state student financial aid.
  9. Be enrolled at least half-time each semester for most financial aid programs.

International Students Financial Aid Eligibility

Students who are not citizens or permanent residents of the United States may apply for scholarships through the TWU Pioneer Scholarship System. In addition, these students can also apply for the Texas Public Education Grant (TPEG). Contact International Student and Scholar Services for instructions on applying for TPEG.

Enrollment Requirement for Financial Aid

To be eligible for most financial aid awards, students must be enrolled at least half-time in a degree at Texas Woman’s University. Six semester credit hours constitute half-time enrollment at the undergraduate and five hours constitute half-time at the graduate level, with the exception of the accelerated MBA programs, which require three hours to meet the half-time definition. Hours of enrollment at other colleges or universities cannot be considered to meet this enrollment requirement. Summer school applicants must be enrolled at least half-time within the summer term through any combination of one or more sessions to be eligible for most types of financial aid. Also, developmental courses count as enrolled semester credit hours for financial aid purposes only for freshmen students (29 or fewer semester credit hours). Developmental courses include ENG 1003, MATH 1113, MATH 1123.

Academic Scholarships Require Full-Time Enrollment

Twelve semester credit hours constitute full-time enrollment for undergraduate students. Nine semester credit hours constitute full-time enrollment for graduate students, with the exception of the accelerated MBA programs, which are full-time with six hours. Graduating students who lack fewer than the number of semester credit hours to constitute full-time enrollment may contact the Scholarship Office at scholarships@twu.edu or 940-898-3635 to request an exception to the full-time enrollment requirement for their final semester.

Graduate Half-time Equivalent Coursework Financial Aid Availability

The following graduate-level courses qualify for half-time financial aid for graduate students when enrolled in a minimum of three semester credit hours: NURS 6303; PSY 6913; COMS 5473; all graduate capstone, practicum, internship, student teaching, professional paper, theses, and dissertation courses; and all MBA courses, including all courses taken in the MHA/MBA program.  Please consult with the Financial Aid staff with questions and to ensure eligibility.