International Student Services
International Division

Funding Your Education

How to Use the Funding and Scholarship Reference Page:

The following information has been compiled by International Student Services (ISS) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Its purpose is to make easily accessible information regarding awards, scholarships, fellowships, grants, loans, and special programs available to international students.

If you are facing an unexpected financial need or concern, please feel free to visit ISS during walk-in advising hours to meet with an ISS advisor. ISS may be able to provide students with financial aid in the form of a short term loan in EMERGENCIES ONLY. (See the list below for criteria for an emergency loan.) Please be aware that, in most other cases, ISS advisors will simply refer you to the information on this website for other funding sources.

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Criteria for Emergency Assistance

  • a medical emergency involving loss of job and medical coverage
  • substantial and unexpected expenses
  • illness not covered by insurance
  • a family crisis requiring an unexpected round trip airfare home
  • fire or other destruction or theft of property
  • currency exchange rates interfering with money transfers from home
  • political turmoil or natural disaster in the home country
  • loss of financial aid or on-campus employment without fault on the part of the student
  • substantial fluctuations in the value of currency or exchange rate
  • inordinate increases in tuition and/or living costs
  • verifiable unexpected changes in the financial condition of the student’s source of support

None of the awards or loans detailed below are administered by ISS, but rather by private organizations or other offices on the UW-Madison campus. ISS does not endorse any of these programs, nor is more information available from ISS. Information will be added to this site and updated when possible.

Please note that U.S. federal or state financial aid is limited to US citizens/permanent residents. However, there are a number of sources of aid available for international students. The websites below will help you to get started on your search and will provide you with more information. Always check the websites given for the most up-to-date information and for details on the application process. In many cases, applications may be available online.

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Funding Search Engines:

Educational Loans:

There are some alternative loans for which international students are eligible. Most of them require a co-signer who has either US or Canadian citizenship/permanent residency. You can search for private loans using this link: FASTChoice  (From this list, international graduate students should consider Prodigy Student Loans. The company offers favorable loan options and has become a popular choice for many graduate students at UW Madison.)

Scholarships and Grants for Undergraduate and Incoming Students: (UW-Madison)

Scholarships and Grants for Undergraduate and Incoming Students: (Private Organizations)

Scholarships and Grants for Graduate Students: (UW-Madison)

Scholarships and Grants for Graduate Students: (Private Organizations)

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Additional Information on Grants and Awards:

The Grants Information Collection, located in the reference section on the 2nd floor of Memorial Library, offers a wealth of information on grants and awards.  With time and creative searching, you may be able to find funding sources you might otherwise have never discovered.  There are an especially large number of grants available to graduate students engaged in research.  Books and databases are available for all UW-Madison students to search.  Many of these databases can be accessed from anywhere on campus.

To view the databases which the Grants Information Collection has to offer, or with questions about how to conduct a search, visit the 2nd floor of Memorial Library, or make an appointment with the Grants Librarian at http://grants.library.wisc.edu/.

Information on Writing Successful Applications:

The Writing Center, located in 6171 Helen C. White Hall offers information on writing successful grant, scholarship and award applications.  Their staff can assist you at any step of the application process from searching for scholarships, grants and awards through writing the application.  They have several locations on campus and are available by appointment as well.  To contact the Writing Center, visit their website at writing.wisc.edu or call 263-1992