The College of Science Emergency Grant is for College of Science undergraduate and graduate students seeking financial assistance due to temporary hardship or unforeseen emergencies.

Students must meet with Financial Aid to confirm eligibility and access this fund. Prior to that meeting, closely review the process and criteria below.

Student eligibility requirements

1. Seeking a graduate or undergraduate degree in the College of Science.
2. Currently enrolled at Oregon State University for the term of the application.
3. Experiencing an unexpected emergency that resulted in financial hardship (see Eligible expenses below).
4. Have not already requested emergency assistance this term.

Eligible expenses

Emergency funding is only able to go toward the following unexpected expenses. If it is determined emergency aid was provided for circumstances other than what is defined below, the funding is reversed from the student’s account.

• Housing and/or meals beyond expected cost of living
• Replacement and/or purchase of essential materials needed to complete coursework (not including expected costs like textbooks or access codes)
• Unexpected vehicle repair costs to get to classes
• Unexpected travel for a death in your family or other family emergency
• Healthcare and/or mental healthcare costs that were not planned
• Unexpected childcare costs

How to apply

Meet with a Financial Aid Counselor to review how you meet eligibility, what eligible cost you want to cover (not tuition), and the amount requested. If the Financial Aid Counselor confirms you are eligible, they will share the link to the Emergency Financial Assistance application.

To make an appointment, see the Financial Aid Contact Page for current information on drop in meetings, phone hours, scheduling an appointment and other contact information.

Expenses not covered

Funding can not cover items such as, but not limited to, the following

• Planned cost of attendance such as tuition, academic fees, course materials, etc.
• Study abroad, internships, conferences, memberships, professional development, etc.
• Personal bills or accumulated debt such as credit card, cable, cell phone, parking, etc.
• Fees and fines such as parking tickets, library fines, printing, etc.
• Inflationary costs tied to ongoing living expenses (food and housing)
• Costs associated with divorce or separation (except in cases of interpersonal violence)

If it is found that emergency aid funding was provided for one of these circumstances, the funding will be reversed from the student account.

Note

Review of requests is typically completed within seven business days. Decisions are made on a case-by-case basis. This grant ranges from $500 - $1,000 depending on the circumstances. Unfortunately, not all requests are funded due to limited resources.

The award disbursement process will follow the guidelines set forth by the Office of Financial Aid and Student Account Services.

Need help with this process?

If you would like to discuss how to best prepare for your meeting with Financial Aid, you can meet with the College of Science Student Success Coordinator to discuss eligibility and approach. Click here to schedule an appointment.

Other resources for financial support

If you’re not sure how to financially support your academics in the long run or where to begin planning, there are multiple resources to help. You are not alone.

• Free Financial Advising: The Center for Advancing Financial Education (CAFE) offers free 1:1 financial advising. They’re great at helping students plan for navigating financing their education (loans, work, scholarship), determining overall cost (tuition, bills, course materials), and how that translates to covering their needs.
• Basic Needs Center: The Basic Needs Center supports students in meeting their basic needs. They also help with navigating eligibility and applications for food assistance, textbook lending, laundry, and emergency housing.
• Accepting Financial Aid: The Financial Aid office is the best place to go to understand your aid that has been offered, conditions for it, and potential limitations. They are the only office with full access to your financial records and are the best place to go with questions about your financial aid.