Tuition + Financial Aid

Pacific Northwest College of Art awards merit-based graduate scholarships to all accepted domestic and international applicants for the following programs:

• MFA in Applied Craft and Design
• MFA in Collaborative Design / MA in Design Systems
• MFA in Creative Writing - Low Residency
• MFA in Print Media
• MFA in Visual Studies
• MFA in Visual Studies - Low Residency
• MA in Critical Studies

Recipients of merit-based scholarships are selected by the Graduate Committee composed of PNCA faculty and the individual program’s Chair.

PNCA is offering Scholarships for students who have shown a dedicated commitment to equity for Black, African American, Indigenous, and Non-Black students of color.

Equity scholarships are intended to remove financial barriers for students who have demonstrated a commitment to racial justice seeking to pursue a Graduate degree at PNCA.

Click here to learn more

Graduate Studies candidates who are admitted to an MFA, MA, or Post-Baccalaureate program for Summer or Fall 2023 become eligible for this award after participating in one qualifying event or engagement experience from each of three categories.

• Graduate Tour

• Personal Advising Session

• Graduate Studies Events

For full details on the Graduate Engagement Award and eligibility, click here.

• Laura Russo Scholarship (Visual Studies)
• Wilbur Larson Memorial Scholarship (Applied Craft + Design)
• Palmen Family Scholarship (Visual Studies)

No additional application is required for the named scholarships. Awards recipients are selected by the Program Head and selection committee.

Work-study is a way for students to earn money to pay for school through part-time on- (and sometimes off-) campus jobs. The program gives students an opportunity to gain valuable work experience while pursuing a college degree.

Unlike other types of financial aid, work-study earnings are not applied directly to your tuition and fees. Students who are awarded work-study receive the funds in a paycheck as they earn them, based on hours worked, just like a normal job. These earnings are meant to help with the day-to-day expenses that students have and are not meant to cover large costs like tuition and housing.

One of the benefits of earning income through a Federal Work-Study position is that those earnings do not count against you when you complete the FAFSA form.

Graduate students may be eligible to borrow up to $20,500 per academic year in the Direct Loan Program. Interest on the Loan begins to accrue from the date of disbursement. While a student is enrolled in school half-time, and for a six-month grace period after leaving school, no payments on the loan are due. Applicants must file a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to be considered for an Unsubsidized Stafford loan.

The interest rate for Direct Loans borrowed between July 1, 2019, and June 30, 2020, is 6.08%. The current loan fee is 1.059% deducted from the principal at the time of disbursement. The variable interest rate on most federally guaranteed student loans is readjusted annually based on the final 91-day T-bill auction prior to June 1 and is effective July 1.

The school will first apply loan funds to your student account to pay for tuition, fees, and other school charges. If any loan funds remain, you will receive a refund to help pay other education-related expenses.

Federal Graduate PLUS Loans are credit qualified funding available to graduate students. Students are eligible to defer repayment until six months after graduation. Graduate students may borrow up to the full cost of attendance minus any other financial aid. Applicants must file a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to be considered for a Graduate PLUS loan.

The current interest rate for Federal Graduate PLUS Loans borrowed between July 1, 2019, and June 30, 2020, is 7.08%. The current loan fee is 4.236% deducted from the principal at the time of disbursement. Loan fees are subject to change.

The school will first apply grad PLUS loan funds to your student account to pay for tuition, fees, room and board, and other school charges. If any loan funds remain, you will receive a refund to help pay other education-related expenses.

Graduate student borrowers with adverse credit history may not be eligible for the Federal Graduate PLUS Loan without a credit qualifying endorser (co-signer).

A borrower is considered to have adverse credit history having one or more debts with a total combined outstanding balance greater than $2,085 that is 90 or more days delinquent as of the date of the credit report, or that have been placed in collection or charged off (written off) during the two years preceding the date of the credit report. A borrower is also considered to have adverse credit history, if during the five years preceding the date of the credit report, they have been subject to a default determination, bankruptcy, foreclosure, repossession, tax lien, wage garnishment, or write-off of any federal student aid debt.

A private student loan is a non-government loan specifically for students borrowed through a private lender. You can borrow the remainder of tuition and fees, books and supplies, living expenses and transportation costs up to a yearly maximum amount. Private student loans do require credit approval, and many students need a co-signer to qualify.

Before you apply for a private student loan, you should explore all available federal student aid assistance by applying through the Free Application For Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). You may apply for federal student aid at www.fafsa.gov. The terms and conditions of federal student loan programs may be more favorable than that of private education loans. Be aware that while some private loan programs offer benefits similar to federal student loans, they are not always the same. If you choose to borrow a private student loan, make sure you understand the interest rate, fees, deferment options and repayment terms for the loan program you select. If you need assistance in reviewing your federal aid options or have questions about private loans, please contact PNCA’s Financial Aid Office.

Additional requirements:

• Most private loan programs require that you are attending at least half-time (6 credits) each semester that you receiving funding.
• You must credit-qualify with your selected lender before receiving private loan funding. Many students will choose to apply with a credit-worthy consigner to increase the likelihood of approval.
• The amount you can apply for depends upon the other aid you have received or will receive for the current academic year. Please check with the Financial Aid Office to make sure the amount you wish to borrow is within acceptable limits.
• Please borrow conservatively. College is expensive, but there may be alternatives to borrowing additional funds to meet your expenses. Make sure you are only borrowing private funding if it is absolutely necessary.

Private scholarships are a source of free money that can be found from a variety of resources. Companies, foundations, public organizations and other membership groups are the most common sources for private scholarships. You may use search websites specific to this purpose such as:

• FastWeb (www.fastweb.com)
• Scholarships.Com (www.scholarships.com)
• Student Scholarship Search (www.studentscholarshipsearch.com).
• Broke Scholar (www.brokescholar.com)
• FinAid (www.finaid.org)

You may also search based on artistic or scholastic merit, nationality, religion, employment, physical attributes, disabilities, hobbies or any number of special characteristics about you and/or your family. Contact PNCA's Financial Aid Office for additional scholarship resources.