Financing Your Graduate or Professional Degree at Regis

We are here to support you through the financial aid application process and advise on alternative funding options. Students enrolled in our master's degree programs are eligible to apply for financial aid in the forms of loans and work study. Students enrolled in our second bachelor or bachelor completion programs are eligible to apply for undergraduate federal student aid.

In order to be eligible for financial aid, you must be fully accepted into a program and in most cases enrolled in at least six credits. If you have not received an acceptance letter, or have not yet applied to a graduate program, please contact the Office of Graduate Admission at 781.768.7330 or graduatedepartment@regiscollege.edu.

You can contact the Office of Financial Aid to schedule an appointment in person or by phone at 781.768.7270 or email us at finaid@regiscollege.edu. We look forward to hearing from you!

Graduate Financial Aid

The process of financing a college education can be challenging, and the Office of Financial Aid is committed to making this process as manageable as possible. The information shown here will help you understand our financial aid application process and your options for financing a Regis education. Applications for financial aid are considered a few months before the start of every semester. It is recommended that you file your financial aid forms at least two months prior to the start of the academic year to allow time for processing.

Financial Aid Application

  • Students must be accepted into a degree program at Regis. If you have not applied or have not been granted acceptance, please contact The Office of Graduate Admission – 781.768.7330.
  • File a FAFSA at studentaid.gov (school code 002206)
  • Complete the financial aid documents: Entrance Counseling and Master Promissory Note (MPN) for Unsubsidized Loans for graduate students on studentaid.gov.
  • You must be enrolled at least half-time (minimum of three credits) to be eligible for Federal Direct Loans. At Regis, six credits is full-time and three credits is half-time. Beginning July 1, 2026, students enrolled less than full-time will have their loan eligibility reduced in proportion to their enrollment (see “New Federal Loan Limits” below).
    • Upon receipt of the FAFSA, our office may require additional information from you. Students who will need to provide additional documents will receive a missing information request via Regis e-mail from the Financial Aid Department letting you know which documents are needed. Please submit the documents as soon as possible to expedite your award.
    • Processing of your award may take up to two weeks once all your materials are received.

Financial Aid Awarding

  • Graduate students who have filed a FAFSA will automatically be awarded a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan for up to $20,500 for the academic year, prorated if enrolled less than full-time (fewer than six credits). To be eligible, students must not have reached the applicable aggregate borrowing limit (see below), must be United States citizens or eligible non-citizens, and must be in loan repayment good standing.
  • The loan is accepted by default. To review your award, please
    • Log into Hub
    • Under “my awards” in the financial aid section of the Hub, you can view the loan(s) and change the amount requested or leave as is.
  • The Federal Graduate PLUS Loan has been eliminated for new borrowers as of July 1, 2026. Students who borrowed a Federal Direct Loan for their current program before July 1, 2026, and who remain continuously enrolled in that program, may qualify for a limited “legacy” exception and can continue to borrow Grad PLUS (up to the cost of attendance, less other aid) for up to three academic years or the remainder of the program, whichever is less. Legacy borrowers keep the prior loan limits. Students who change programs or start a new degree after July 1, 2026 are subject to the new limits.
  • If approved for a Graduate PLUS Loan under the legacy exception, you will need to complete the Master Promissory Note (MPN) and Entrance Counseling for the Federal Graduate PLUS Loan. Questions should be directed to finaid@regiscollege.edu.

New Federal Loan Limits (Effective July 1, 2026)

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (signed July 4, 2025) established new borrowing limits for Direct Unsubsidized Loans that apply to students who are not covered by the legacy exception. Please contact the Financial Aid Department to confirm how your program is classified.

Borrower / program type Annual limit Aggregate limit

  • Graduate students (all programs not classified as professional) $20,500 per year, $100,000 maximum unsubsidized direct loans during graduate programs (excludes undergraduate loans). Professional students (as defined in federal regulation) $50,000 per year, $200,000 maximum unsubsidized direct loans (excludes undergraduate loans). Lifetime limit, all federal student loans — $257,500 (excludes Parent PLUS loans and legacy Grad PLUS loans)
  • Less-than-full-time enrollment: Annual loan amounts are reduced in proportion to the degree to which a student is enrolled less than full-time, using the Department of Education’s schedule of reductions. Students enrolled for six credits (full-time) are eligible for the full annual limit; students enrolled for three credits (half-time) are eligible for a proportionally reduced amount. Contact the Financial Aid Department to learn how your credit load affects your eligibility.
  • Repayment: Federal loans first disbursed on or after July 1, 2026 may be repaid only under the new Standard plan or the Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP). Borrowers with older loans who borrow again on or after that date will also be limited to these two plans. See studentaid.gov/manage-loans/repayment/plans.
  • Check your current federal loan history at studentaid.gov to see how much you have already borrowed.

Other Funding Options

  • Students can choose to pay their tuition with a private loan, which may help cover costs above the federal limits. Privately sponsored educational loans offer students the opportunity to finance the cost of education with terms and interest rates that suit preferences. In some cases, the student may be the primary applicant, although it may be necessary to obtain a creditworthy co-borrower. Further information about supplemental loan programs may be obtained from elmselect.com and searching for Regis College. Regis does not recommend one loan over another and is prohibited from doing so.
  • Students can browse the extensive list of Regis College partners. Students working in these institutions receive discounted tuition rate. Please check for partner information on the Regis College website. Also, one can email partnerships@regiscollege.edu.

Note: Federal loan limits and program definitions are subject to change based on Department of Education regulations and on going litigation. For the latest information, visit studentaid.gov/announcements-events/big-updates.

Financial Aid Information Sheets

Fact Sheet
Direct Entry Accelerated Nurse Practitioner BS/MS Non-Nurse
Accelerated Nurse Practitioner BS/MS in Nursing for Non-Nurse College Graduates

Schedule of Loan Reductions (SOR)

Following the Big Beautiful Bill implementation in July 2026, federal loan amounts will be recalculated periodically based on enrollment changes. The updates will occur throughout the semester, starting with awarding and always before disbursing (if applicable).

Please note that an enrollment change in one given semester impacts loan amounts in other semesters during the year. Loan amounts are calculated based on the number of credits in the semester divided by the sum of credits in the year.

Return of Federal Funds (Federal Loans)

Any student who cancels enrollment, withdraws, is dismissed, or leaves the institution without notice through non-participation will be subject to a return of federal funds calculation (i.e. Title IV Funds, i.e. federal loans) to comply with Federal Student Financial Aid policy.

When you withdraw, the Office of Financial Aid will perform the federal Return of Title IV Funds calculation that determines how much of your federal student aid you may keep and how much must be returned to the Department of Education based on your original financial aid amount and the number of days you were enrolled and participating at least part time.

These policies apply to on-campus masters’ students who discontinue enrollment in all classes, on, or after the first day of the term.

Additional circumstances applying to the return of federal funds for online master’s students:

  • Online master’s students are enrolled in modules. When one student does not complete all the calendar days in which he or she was scheduled to attend (in a semester) they are subject to a calculation of return of Title IV funds.

In other words, a return of federal funds is calculated when there is a period in the payment period when the student is not attending any classes and was originally scheduled to attend.

  • As an example, a student is registered to module A and C. If (s)he withdraws from A only, no return will be calculated as there is no break in the student’s attendance that semester. The module C spans the entire length of the payment period.
  • Another example is if a student had registered to A and B only and drops A after the first add/drop period, the school cannot assume (s)he will be back for B and a calculation for return of funds will be made, unless the student has specified, he will be back for module B on the withdrawal form.
  • To maintain eligibility for federal student aid, online graduate students must be actively participating in their coursework and be enrolled in at least a part time status.

To be considered active, students will be expected to login to their online course(s) in the Moodle Learning Management System (LMS) and participate on at least two (2) different days minimum each module and complete at least two (2) “Academic Activities” minimum in each weekly module.*

* Deadlines and number of activities available will vary by individual course at the discretion of the appropriate online program director.

“Academic Activities” may include but are not limited to any combination of the following:

  • Posting to discussion boards within the online course.
  • Turning in an assignment within the online course.
  • Taking a quiz, test, or other assessment within the online course.
  • Viewing video content or reading course materials.
  • Participating in asynchronous session via Zoom or other webinar tools.

A student who is unable to take part in a given module’s activities must contact the course faculty prior to any assignment deadlines. Make-up work is accepted at the discretion of the course faculty.

Students who fail to actively participate will be subject to a return of federal funds according to federal regulations.

Students who decide to withdraw from a course or from their entire program must complete the appropriate withdrawal form.

The forms are located in the SPIKE student portal under the graduate academic forms section; Course Withdrawal Form, Program Withdrawal Form and Leave of Absence Form.

If you intend to withdraw or are considering dropping a course and would like to know the consequences on your financial aid award, please contact the Office of Financial Aid at finaidonline@regiscollege.edu or call the Center of Student Services at 781.768.7270.

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)

To maintain eligibility for your federal student aid, Satisfactory Academic Progress must be met. The Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Policy for Title IV federal aid is based on the current Academic Standing policy that Regis follows.

To qualify for the degree, a graduate student must attain a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of at least 2.0. In addition to maintaining the required GPA, a student must complete a minimum of 67% of attempted courses.

Different graduate programs have specific requirements regarding what constitutes Satisfactory Academic Progress.

For instance, to progress in the graduate nursing program, students must maintain an overall GPA of 2.7 and cannot receive a grade below 2.7 (B-) in any nursing course. Any student who fails two nursing courses in the nursing curriculum will not be allowed to progress in the nursing major.” A second failure results in dismissal from the program”.

All federal aid eligible students will be reviewed at the end of each payment period for grade point average and rate of completion (qualitative and quantitative). If federal eligibility is lost, a student has the right to complete an appeal process to request re-instatement of federal aid.

The SAP appeal form can be requested from the Office of Financial Aid, please email finaid@regiscollege.edu.

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