Financial aid at SIL-UND

SIL-UND strives to keep its costs low, in effect providing an automatic scholarship to all students. If that's not enough, here are some options for additional financial aid.  

General scholarships

SIL offers some small scholarships (typically 30-70% of tuition and fees) each summer, which are awarded based on financial need, academic record, and evidence of committment to field research and service in local language communities. They are normally awarded in the middle of the summer session, although on request some decisions may be made prior to the summer. They are applied first against any amount that the student owes SIL-UND or UND, then any remainder is paid directly to the student.

Students interested in these scholarships must submit their pre-application ("Step 1") form to SIL-UND by March 15 and must complete their application by April 1 (submitting or postmarking the "Step 3" pre-arrival form and sending the "Step 4" tuition deposit). Those who meet these deadlines and who express interest in scholarships will be sent a questionnaire in early April which focuses especially on determining their financial need.

Literacy scholarships

SIL-UND has a special scholarship fund designated for students studying community-based literacy (the “Literacy Megacourse”) at SIL-UND. The amounts available are more generous than the general scholarships, often providing 50-100% of tuition and fees. In addition to the criteria for general scholarships (above), scholarships from this fund are awarded based upon evidence of a commitment to do work in community-based literacy in developing countries, such as:

• Stated interest in pursuing such work
• Affiliation with an organization that will facilitate a student's commitment to work in literacy
• Enrollment in a degree or certificate program at UND with a literacy emphasis
• Previous experience in the field
• Contribution to the professional discipline

Students who are enrolled in the Literacy Megacourse and who have applied for financial aid from SIL-UND are automatically considered for the literacy scholarships.

"Training the trainer" scholarships

SIL-UND wants to actively promote development of similar training programs in other parts of the world. Therefore, it provides extra scholarship help to people with the following characteristics:

• already have field experience in linguistics, literacy, or other language development activities with lesser-studied languages
• show promise for being an effective teacher
• are committed to being regularly available to teach in other similar training programs 
• are endorsed by a field organization that intends to use their services as teachers  

For details, please contact the SIL-UND Director.

“Final 7” tuition waivers for M.A. students

Tuition waivers for SIL courses are awarded routinely to students pursuing an M.A. in linguistics at UND who have completed 25 credits of their approved program of study. This waiver covers the cost of tuition for thesis (4 credits) and 3 other credits of the student's choice.

Federal student aid

U.S. Federal student aid (FAFSA) can sometimes be used to help pay for SIL-UND. To be eligible, you must be currently pursuing a degree at UND or another U.S. institution of higher education. You apply for FAFSA grants and loans through the financial aid office of the school where you are doing your degree (your 'home institution'). If that is not UND, then your home institution needs to be willing to transfer your FAFSA aid benefits to UND (some are willing, others are not), and at some point it will need to make what is called a "Consortium Agreement" with UND to arrange for that transfer.  When you reach that point, please contact the SIL-UND Director and he will walk you through the rest of the process.

Other sources of financial aid

We encourage you to pursue other options for financial aid from outside sources, such as independent scholarship funds, Americorps vouchers, GI Bill benefits, and payments from private individuals. If payments from these sources cannot be made directly to you, contact the SIL-UND Director for help in arranging for them to be made to SIL-UND and applied to your bill.