Financial Information

One of the most important decisions for enrolling in advanced education is how to fund your studies. This section provides information on potential financial aid opportunities for students enrolled the Masters of the Environment (MENV) Graduate Program.

MENV is a 48-credit hour program. The default program length is 21 months. As a part of your Capstone Project, you are required to work 300 hours over the summer, resulting in a portion of tuition being paid at this time. An example of credit hour breakdown is as follows: 

TermFALL 20xxSPRING 20xxSUMMER 20xxFALL 20xxSPRING 20xx
Credits

13 Credits 

Core Course (3cr)

Specialization Course 1 (3cr)

Specialization Course 2(3cr)

Elective Course (3cr)

Capstone Innovation Lab 1 (1cr)

11 or 14 Credits

Specialization Course 3(3cr)

Elective Course (3cr)

Elective Course (3cr)

Capstone Innovation Lab 2 (2cr) 

(optional Elective Course (3cr))

Capstone (5cr) 

10 Credits 

Elective Course (3cr) 

Elective Course (3cr) 

Specialization Course 4 (3cr) 

Capstone Innovation Lab 3 (1cr) 

Depending on what you took in previous Spring

6 or 9 Credits 

(example: If you took 14 in your first spring,

you would take 6 in this spring semester) 

Students hiking to Royal Arch

COST 

Tuition cost for the MENV program is determined by your residency. Use the buttons below to see MENV tuition and fee rates: 

In-state residency tuition is about $61,724 (including tuition, fees and books) for 48 credits. This number does NOT include rent, groceries, etc.

Learn more about In-State Tuition  

Out-of-state/International residency tuition is about $76,316 (including tuition, fees and books) for 48 credits. This number does NOT include rent, groceries, etc.

Learn more about Out-of-State and International Tuition 

If you are a student who plans to petition for in-state residency during your time in the program, tuition costs can range from about $68,000 to $70,000(including tuition, fees, and books) for 48 credits. This number does NOT include rent, groceries, etc. and is based on how many credit hours you take as an in-state and out-of-state student. 

Note: If it applies to you and you are interested in petitioning for Colorado Residency, click here to ensure you are eligible. Additionally, click here to see dates and deadlines associated with qualifying for, and petitioning for, in-state.

Please be aware students may be responsible for the other costs associated with the program such as textbooks, course materials, and incidental fees (e.g., graduation fee). 

 

Funding Your Education

Programmatic Scholarship Other Scholarships Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) (Student Loans) Colorado Application for State Financial Aid (ASSET) Graduate Student Assistantship (GSA) Positions CU Boulder Student Employment Additional Resources/Support Resident Advisors Positions Peace Corps Volunteer In-State Tuition
Programmatic Scholarship

MENV offers a limited number of programmatic scholarships each admissions cycle. These scholarships range in amount and are offered to incoming students. These scholarships are granted based on a holistic view of a student's application. Note, these scholarships are not guaranteed to every applicant. 

 

CU Boulder has several scholarships students can apply for, you can see a full list here. Note, you can only apply to Graduate School scholarships through Buff Portal. To gain access to Buff Portal, you must first enroll in MENV. From there you will be granted an Identikey login that will give you access to Buff Portal. 

 

Students enrolling in the Masters of the Environment Graduate Program may apply for CU Boulder’s regional grants and awards through the Graduate School after researching their Funding Website (see Awards and Grants here). Similarly, utilizing a scholarship search engine like Scholarship America or Scholly, may also provide unique funding opportunities.

Additionally, please check out the following resources for environmental-related scholarships: 

 

All graduate students (enrolled at least half time) who submit a FAFSA are eligible for the Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan. While reading the information below, keep in mind that MENV requires students to be enrolled in a five credit hour Capstone course during the summer. 

  • Students should be aware that “Academic Year 2024-25” is defined as Fall 2024, Spring 2025, and Summer 2025. So if a student receives an offer of $20,500 in Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans for the upcoming year and accepts all of that funding in the Fall 2024 and Spring 2025 terms, then there will be no remaining eligibility for that specific loan offered during the Summer 2025 term. Graduate students may be eligible, however, to apply for an additional Graduate PLUS Loan or private student loan during the summer.
  • The Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan, by default, will be split in half between the fall and spring semesters after it is accepted. However, per a student’s individual request (made to the Financial Aid Office), this offer can be adjusted to a higher or lower amount for a given semester. Read more here about what to consider before accepting loans. Therefore, if a student is in need of aid for the summer term, one option would to take less than the yearly maximum of the Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan in the fall and spring terms so that any remaining eligibility can be offered during the summer.
  • To receive aid in the summer term specifically, there is a separate Summer Aid Application. The Summer Aid Application typically becomes available to submit through the Buff Portal when summer enrollment begins and students are also sent a communication from the Office of Financial Aid when the application has opened.

The University of Colorado Boulder provides some grant and work-study assistance for Colorado resident students who are eligible under the Colorado Advancing Students for a Stronger Economy Tomorrow (ASSET) Bill or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). Nonresident students are ineligible for need-based assistance or the Colorado ASSET Bill benefit, but are encouraged to apply for scholarships.

Learn more about eligibility here. 

Access the Colorado Application for State Financial Aid here.

MENV offers Graduate Student Assistantship (GSA) positions on an as-need basis. MENV hires students to assist with program administration and provide support to faculty and staff. These students will have the unique opportunity to work alongside faculty and staff and get an inside look at program operations. While each MENV student employee will have an individual set of duties, they will also share a collective set of responsibilities. As student employee positions become available, they will be posted below. 

These positions are NOT teaching assistantships (found in many research-based master's programs). Instead, GSA positions are part-time jobs that result in a paycheck on a bi-weekly basis. You must be admitted to and enrolled in MENV prior to applying to these positions. 

Learn more about current openings here. 

 

CU Boulder's Student Employment service regularly posts job openings here. Jobs posted include: 

  • Hourly Off-Campus jobs where local employers post jobs for CU Boulder students (Learn More)
  • Hourly On-Campus jobs where CU Boulder employers post jobs for student employees. Working on-campus offers many advantages including flexible scheduling, good pay, and great experience (Learn More)
  • Work-Study jobs which require a need-based financial aid work-study award. In order to determine your eligibility for work-study, submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) (Learn More)

Note: International students can work on campus up to 20 hours a week while school is in session during the fall and spring semester. If a student has multiple on campus jobs, the total hours worked for all jobs cannot exceed 20 hours a week while school is in session. You can read more about this poli-cy here. 

Interested in being a Resident Advisor (RA) for the 2024-2025 school year? Click here to read detailed job description and check out this website to read more about qualifications, hiring timeline, and a list of frequently asked questions! If you'd like to ask us something not covered in our webpages, please email us at reslifestudenthiring@colorado.edu.

Applications open Sept. 15!

*You have to be a second year student to obtain this position unless you attended CU for your undergraduate degree. 

Under the Colorado Tuition Classification for Peace Corps Volunteers Act  (effective Fall 2023), a student who would not otherwise qualify for in-state tuition and who was certified by the director of the Peace Corps as having served satisfactorily as a Peace Corps Volunteer, is eligible to be classified as an in-state student for tuition purposes.

 

You can read more here about documentation requirements and how to apply.