UCLA
Dashew Center
for International Students & Scholars

Financial Aid

For students born outside the United States, financial aid and scholarships may be difficult to obtain, but there are resources and international scholarship assistance out there for your studies in the United States.

Before you do any scholarship searching, it's important to know that you should never have to pay to find or apply for scholarships. If a scholarship search engine or application asks you for a credit card or other financial information before you can use it, stay away. Reputable scholarships never charge to apply, and there are plenty of excellent free search engines.

Resources at UCLA

Undergraduate Students

Scholarship Resource Center (Covel Commons 233)

Counseling, writing assistance for applications and other workshops for all UCLA students (Undergrad. & Grad.)

Undergraduate Research Center – Sciences

Research opportunities for undergraduate students focusing on sciences

Departmental Scholarships

Contact your academic department for more information and opportunities

Honors Collegium

Scholarship opportunities for current College Honors students

Financial Aid TV

Video tutorials for general process of applying for financial aid (Info available for both Undergrad. & Grad.)

UCLA Scholarship Database

A UCLA-based database for scholarship and financial aid opportunities for undergraduate students

Kurnitz Foreign Student Creative Writing Award

A scholarship opportunity for current undergraduate students who are foreign born and non-US citizens

Graduate Students

Graduate Education Funding Search

Free database for scholarships, grants, fellowships and postdoctoral awards

Graduate Peer Mentors for Extramural Fellowships

Individual mentorship options for current and prospective graduate students

Graduate Writing Center, (SAC B11)

Funding application and thesis writing support, related workshops for graduate students

Scholarship Resource Center (Covel Commons 233)

Counseling, writing assistance for applications and other workshops for all UCLA students (Undergrad. & Grad.)

UCLA Graduate Student Financial Support

General information guide for graduate students

Financial Crisis Response

The Economic Crisis Response Team (ECRT) provides support and guidance to enrolled UCLA students who have self-identified, or are identified by UCLA faculty or staff, as experiencing a financial crisis that impacts their academic success at UCLA. We aim to efficiently, compassionately and discreetly:

  1. Provide a seamless and individualized response to UCLA students in extraordinary financial crisis.
  2. Develop proposals for actions to examine (and revise, when appropriate) university policies and office protocols in order to improve students' ability to manage their financial situations and avoid economic crisis.

ECRT can offer enrolled UCLA students in crisis support with:

  • Emergency Housing
  • Emergency Short Term Loan
  • Emergency Grant
  • Meal Vouchers
  • Support with navigating campus resources

If you are experiencing a financial crisis beyond your already available financial aid resources and want to request an assessment of available resources to assist with your needs, please contact the Economic Crisis Response Team (ECRT) by completing the ECRT Self Assessment Intake Form . Please DO NOT submit this form to request meal vouchers. If you are an enrolled UCLA student, experiencing food insecurity and have not received the quarterly maximum meal voucher limit, you can access meal vouchers at the locations and times below. If you have received the maximum meal vouchers, as well as utilized all of your financial aid options, but are still experiencing financial and food insecurity, please complete this form and provide details on your situation, budget and financial needs.

Other ways to contact ECRT:

Outside of UCLA

Covering education expenses can be hard. Although options for international students are limited relative to residents, there are still many resources international students can benefit from. When you are doing your research keep in mind that international students are, in majority of the cases, not eligible for financial aid given by the government. Since UCLA is a public school, you should be focusing on outside funds and double check the eligibility requirements for citizenship!

Scholarships and grants do not need to be paid back and they are awarded based on both need and merit. Loans, in other hand, do need to be paid back and will also include interest over time. Loans for international students are available through private lenders and will have different requirements than federal student loans.

You can use databases and search engines like below to look for financial aid options specific for you. Keep in mind that you should also look for resources from your home country. You can also meet with your academic counselor to learn the options best for your major/area of study.

Outside Scholarships