Waivers/Assistantships/Fellowships

Waivers, assistantships, and fellowships are gift assistance that in most cases are awarded based on a student's field of study and/or employment status. Click on the appropriate link on the left for general information about waivers, assistantships and fellowships available to UIC students.

Board of Trustees (BOT) Waivers are awarded by the Graduate College and individual graduate programs. The SFAS disburses the waivers but does not determine recipients. A student must be enrolled in a degree-seeking program at least 9 or more hours during the fall and spring semesters (3 or more during summer) at the end of the add/drop period for the waiver to pay. BOT waiver recipients must NOT have eligibility for a waiver from any other source (for example, an assistantship waiver) in order to remain eligible. If a student receives a waiver, his/her loan eligibility may be affected. For more information about Board of Trustees or Graduate College waivers, please see the Graduate College website.

Students must report wavers to the SFAS upon receiving their electronic financial aid notification.

The Child of Employee 50% Tuition Waiver (CETW) is available for undergraduate children of Illinois senior public university employees at participant schools. Fees and charges other than tuition are not included in this waiver.

Continuing students of UIC employees do not have to submit a new application each semester once the initial application is verified. We will work with UIC HR to confirm employment status after 10th day of subsequent semesters.  If the student drops out one semester or transfers from one campus to another, a new application will be required. ALL other Illinois Senior Public University employees must submit a CETW application with their campus Human Resource office for verification of employment every semester. The following Illinois Senior Public Universities are:

  • University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign
  • University of Illinois at Springfield
  • Chicago State University
  • Eastern Illinois University
  • Governors State University
  • Illinois State University
  • Northeastern Illinois University
  • Northern Illinois University
  • Southern Illinois University
  • University of Illinois
  • Western Illinois University

For detailed information about the policy, eligibility and application for the CETW waiver, please visit the Human Resource website.

The Children of Veterans Tuition Waiver is awarded for four consecutive years at the University of Illinois to natural or legally adopted children of service members who are veterans of World War II, the Korean Conflict, the Vietnam Conflict, the Southwest Asia Conflict, Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The following are limitations to the Children of Veterans Tuition Waiver:

  • One tuition waiver will be given per county, per war.
  • Candidates must be permanent residents of the Illinois County from which they apply.
  • Students must submit copies of ACT/SAT scores each year they apply, as prior year applications are not reviewed.
  • Students must complete the application by March 1 for the upcoming academic year.

Applications are available each December 1st and notifications are released by April 1st. All applications for the three University of Illinois campuses are reviewed in Urbana-Champaign and must be submitted accordingly.

The Senior Citizen Tuition Waiver is available for undergraduate and graduate students who are 65 or over, Illinois residents, live in a low-income household (see application for details), are admitted to UIC and have completed the waiver application. The waiver covers tuition only. The application can be found here.

  • This is a ONE TIME waiver of the 20/21 Incoming student 1.8% tuition increase.
  • This waiver applies to both Fall 2020 and Spring 2021 tuition only.
  • Only incoming Undergraduate students are eligible.
  • Full Time Status
  • No FAFSA/Alternative State Application Required
  • IL residents ONLY

Tuition and Fee Waivers at University of Illinois Chicago School of Law

The University of Illinois Chicago School of Law is a self-supporting college that does not receive any direct state appropriations. Accordingly, students who are also employees of the University of Illinois system are not eligible to receive tuition and fee waivers from the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law based on their employment status.   University of Illinois employees may be eligible to be considered for merit-based scholarships awarded by the Law School under the same eligibility requirements as other law school students.

Students with assistantship appointments may qualify to have tuition and some fees waived. To be eligible, the assistantship must be between 25%-67% and cover at least 91 continuous days of the fall or spring semesters (41 days for summer appointments). Visit the Human Resources website for more information. Students receive a monthly stipend from their hiring department that varies according to hours worked. Students must maintain enrollment in at least 8 credit hours for fall and spring and 3 hours for summer. For more information, see the Graduate College website.

Students must report waivers to SFAS upon receiving their electronic financial aid notification.