There are several types of funding sources available to students at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar.  Most students at Georgetown have some combination of scholarship, financial aid loan, and self-funding.  It is possible that you could be eligible for one or more of the options listed below.  Please read through the information to learn what kind of financial aid may be available to you.

QF Loan (Hamad bin Khalifa Financial Aid Program): Qatar Foundation provides need based financial aid in the form of zero interest loans.  QF Loans may cover expenses such as tuition and fees, housing, travel expenses and study abroad.  Applications are submitted on a yearly basis.  Please note that Qatar Foundation will consider all scholarship amounts as ‘income’ in making financial aid (loan) awards.
There are two options for repayment of QF loans after graduation: standard repayment or paid service.  Under standard repayment, students can choose to commit to paying 15% of their monthly salary until the total of their loan has been repaid.  With paid service, students can choose to stay in Qatar and work at one of the QF approved centers for a period of one to six years, depending on the amount of loan borrowed.  Students can choose a combination of both options. Specific questions should be directed to Qatar Foundation.
Please email their office at fao@qf.org.qa.

Students should go to https://fas.qf.org.qa to register their account and begin the application process.  We recommend that students complete these applications well before any stated deadlines, and follow up carefully with the financial aid office in order to ensure a complete application and a timely response.

Ministry or Other Sponsorship: Qatari citizens may qualify for tuition sponsorship through the assistance of the Higher Education Institute. Student Finance at GU-Q bills the Higher Education Institute, on behalf of sponsored students, for all tuition and fees, except textbooks.  HEI sponsored students are required to make direct payment to GU-Q for their textbooks.  Other organizations in Qatar also sponsor GU-Q’s Qatari students.  The list is growing each year but currently includes Qatar Civil Aviation Authority, Qatar Petroleum, Doha Bank amongst several.

Merit Scholarship: Students admitted to Georgetown University-Qatar are eligible for merit-based partial scholarships (generally 1/3 to 1/2 the cost of tuition and awarded based on the strength of the application).  There is no separate application process for merit scholarship consideration.  Scholarship recipients are notified when they are informed of their admissions status.  A review of the each student’s academic standing will take place every semester.  This scholarship may be awarded to students in any year (freshman, sophomore, junior, senior) of university.

Qatar Foundation Student Fund Scholarship:  The Qatar Foundation student fund scholarship program is designed to target academic excellence. Eligbility is based on meeting the following criteria:

· Full time student

· Outstanding academic qualification with minimum overall GPA 3.6

· At least two letters of recommendation from professor and academic dean

· Renewal is subject to maintaining a minimum overall university GPA of 3.6

Student Fund scholarship awards covers tuition costs only.  This scholarship is based on top academic achievement alone; students are requested to complete an application form provided by QF financial aid office and provide official university transcripts showing an overall GPA of 3.6 or above, along with at least two recommendation letters (normally, one from a professor and one from an academic dean/advisor).

This scholarship will complement any partial scholarship including any merit scholarship awarded by the university (the QF and branch campuses matching scholarship).  This scholarship may be awarded to students in any of the following years of university: sophomore, junior, senior.

GU-Q and QF Work Study: GU-Q students may earn money and gain experience by working at GU-Q or elsewhere in Education City. Students may work up to 20 hours a week while classes are in session, and 40 hours during summer and winter semester breaks. Typical student wages range from 30 to 40 QR/hour (roughly USD10/hour).
Through the QF Student Employment Program, many students in Education City may work in any of the branch campuses or centers within Education City.  To qualify for this program, a student must be enrolled in one of the branch campuses, Academic Bridge Program or Qatar Academy.  Please see http://www.qf.edu.qa/output/page304.asp or contact Qatar Foundation for further information.
In addition, at Georgetown University-Qatar, individual units (such as the library, finance office, admissions office, faculty research projects, etc.) hire students directly as Georgetown student employees. Please contact the Office of Student Development, sfsqstudentaffairs@georgetown.edu, for additional information about on-campus work at GU-Q

FAFSA Aid (US citizens and eligible non-citizens only): Many Georgetown students meet a portion of their college costs by borrowing through federally funded and/or private student loan programs.  The primary source of these loans is the Federal Stafford Loan Program. Some students with exceptional need may qualify for a Federal Pell Grant.  For more information, please see http://finaid.georgetown.edu/how-aid-is-determined/loans/ or contact the Georgetown University Office of Student Financial Services at +1-202-687-4547.

For more detailed questions about any of the above options, please contact Sheena Martinez, Student Financial Services Advisor at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar, by phone at +974-4457-8412, or by email at srm57@georgetown.edu or at sfsqfinancialaid@georgetown.edu