# Apply for Financial Aid ## expand\_more The 2027-28 HDS Application for Financial Aid will be available in mid-January of 2027. All master of divinity (MDiv) and master of theological studies (MTS) applicants who have applied for admission by the admissions deadline will receive an email message from the HDS Office of Financial Aid with instructions on how to log in and apply. Applications will be due in mid-February 2027. **On occasion, emails have been known to go to junk or spam folders**, so please check those folders to ensure that you haven’t missed any HDS notifications. If you completed your application for admission and have not received an email with login instructions by January 31, 2027, please [contact the Office of Financial Aid](mailto:financial_aid@hds.harvard.edu.). Although you are not required to submit the [HDS Application for Financial Aid](https://aid.hds.harvard.edu/NetPartnerStudent/) to be considered for merit-based institutional grants, you must do so to be considered for need-based institutional grants. Therefore, **we strongly encourage all applicants to complete the HDS Application for Financial Aid**. U.S. citizens and permanent residents must also submit the [Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)](https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa) to be considered for need-based aid. The deadline to submit both the FAFSA and the HDS Application for Financial Aid will be mid-February 2027. ## Applicants to the MDiv and MTS programs U.S. citizens and permanent residents are eligible for HDS need-based institutional grant support and federal aid. Submit both the: - [Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)](https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa). This can be submitted generally in late October. **Please be sure to use the HDS School Code of E00210**. If you use the general Harvard University code, your FAFSA will not reach us. **Helpful hints for completing the FAFSA:** - If you have not done so already, you will need to create an [FSA ID](https://studentaid.gov/fsa-id/create-account/launch) in order to submit a FAFSA. If you are married, your spouse will need to create their own [FSA ID](https://studentaid.gov/fsa-id/create-account/launch). You will need a social security number and an e-mail address to create the FSA ID. **THE FSA ID takes 1-3 business days to process so please request the ID ASAP.** - All applicants eligible to submit a FAFSA must agree to using the IRS data retrieval tool. - **If you are married your spouse will also be required to agree to use the IRS data retrieval tool. Your spouse’s tax information is required if you are married at the time you fill out the 2027-28 FAFSA but were not married during the 2025 tax year. You will also need to include your spouse’s assets on the FAFSA.** - When filling out the FAFSA please pay special attention to the questions regarding degree program and year in the program. **Please make sure that you are selecting graduate program and that your year in the program is at least a first-year graduate.** - **Graduate students are considered independent for financial aid purposes. Therefore, you do not need to provide parental financial information on the form.** - It takes a couple of business days for the FAFSA to process. If you have already submitted the FAFSA we will not be able to begin loading those into our system until the end of January. - [HDS Application for Financial Aid](https://aid.hds.harvard.edu/NetPartnerStudent/). You will need your 2024 tax information to complete the FAFSA. Please consult your email notification from the HDS Office of Financial Aid for instructions on logging in to the HDS Application for Financial Aid. International students are eligible for HDS merit and need-based institutional grant support. To apply, complete the [HDS Application for Financial Aid](https://aid.hds.harvard.edu/NetPartnerStudent/) **by mid-February 2027.** Please consult your email notification from the HDS Office of Financial Aid for instructions on logging in to the application once you receive it in January 2027. Applicants to the MDiv and MTS programs are not required to apply for financial aid to be considered for merit-based institutional grants, but they must apply to be considered for need-based grants. Therefore, **we strongly encourage all MDiv and MTS applicants to apply**. If an applicant does not receive merit funding and did not apply for need-based institutional aid by the deadline, there is a strong possibility that need-based aid will not be available. Admitted applicants will receive either merit-based institutional grants or need-based institutional grants. They will not be awarded from both pools of funding. ### ThM program U.S. citizens and permanent residents are eligible for federal aid only. To apply, complete the [Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)](https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa), available generally in late October. You will need your 2025 tax information to complete the FAFSA. Once you have submitted the FAFSA and have been admitted into the program you can contact the Office of Financial Aid to start the process for requesting loans and/or federal work-study if you are eligible. International ThM students are not eligible for HDS institutional grant support or federal aid. ### Master in Religion and Public Life (MRPL) Institutional (HDS) financial aid is not available for the MRPL. U.S. citizens and permanent residents are eligible for federal aid only. To apply, complete the [Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)](https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa), generally available in late October. Once you have submitted the FAFSA and have been admitted into the program you can contact the Office of Financial Aid to start the process for requesting loans and/or federal work-study if you are eligible. ## Continuing students Continuing MDiv and MTS students will receive re-application instructions in early March. If you are applying for HDS institutional aid, the Office of Financial Aid must receive the required financial aid documents by the appropriate deadlines. Failure to meet the deadlines may diminish your opportunity to receive institutional funding. *It is Harvard Divinity School policy that students currently in default on a previous Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP), Stafford Loan, or Perkins Loan are ineligible to receive institutional or federal financial aid.*