Fee Waiver Information and Eligibility
The University of Maryland Graduate School waives application fees to eligible students in participating programs. If you have participated in any of these programs, then simply follow the instructions at the bottom of the page and The Graduate School will prompt you with an email asking for verification of participation when and if needed. Always contact The Graduate School (gradschool@umd.edu) with questions about fee waiver eligibility or to obtain additional information about the programs listed below.
Please request your application fee waiver once you have started your application. Contact The Graduate School for all application fee waiver questions and concerns.
The Graduate School waives the application fee for applicants from the following organizations and/or preparatory programs:
McNair Scholars should fill out the McNair Verification Form with their directors and email it to gradschool@umd.edu before submitting their application. Access the McNair Verification Form.
- Institute for the Recruitment of Teachers (IRT)
- Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP)-Bridge to the Doctorate Program
- Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE)
- Research Institute for Scholars in Education (UMD Project RISE)
- National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE)
- Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Program (MMUF)
- Summer Research Opportunities Program (SROP)
- Leadership Alliance Summer Research Early Identification Program (SR-EIP)
- UMBC-Meyerhoff Scholars Program
- Moore Undergraduate Research Apprentice Program (MURAP)
- American Political Science Association – Ralph Bunch Summer Institute
- UNC-Summer of Learning and Research Program (SOLAR)
- UMD-BSOS Summer Research Initiative (SRI)
- SOARE (formerly AGNR SROP)
- Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS)
- Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS)
- UMD-SPH Summer Training and Research - UM STAR / ADAPT
- GEM Scholar
- Big Ten+ Grad School Expo
- American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES)
- Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD)
- FreeApp
FreeApp is designed to increase access to graduate education for students who possess qualities and experiences that enhance the diversity of the intellectual, cultural, and social environments at Big Ten Academic Alliance universities. Eligible students with financial burden that qualify for FreeApp should fill out the form in the link above and email to FreeApp@umd.edu with the subject line: FAFSA FreeApp Eligibility and provide documentation of need from your FAFSA in your email.
To obtain the application fee waiver:
- Applicants need to start their online application, but do not submit the application until the application fee has been waived.
- The Graduate School is sent a request for the waiver (choose ‘Diversity Program Application Fee Waiver’).
- The applicant sends proof of participation/membership in that organization/program (typically a letter from the program/organization director, documentation, verification form, etc).
- The Graduate School will send verification of the waiver by email.
- This should be done well in advance of the program’s application deadline (application deadlines vary)
- The applicant can submit the application without paying the $75 fee once an email reciept has been sent stating that the application fee has been waived.
Please note: Any student that has attended IRT, ABRCMS or SACNAS, should send an email to gradschool@umd.edu with subject: [conference name] attendee fee waiver. In the event that proof of participation may be needed, the Graduate School will inform the applicant.
Follow-up questions regarding application fee waivers can be sent to Office of Graduate Diversity and Inclusion (OGDI) Director Christopher Pérez (cperez6@umd.edu).