Online Graduate Programs

William & Mary offers several online graduate programs. Financial aid for these programs is available in the form of federal or private student loans. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is required to determine federal loan eligibility. Certificate programs are ineligible for federal aid, however, there are private loan options available.

Watch our pre-recorded webinar for helpful information about financial aid for online program students.

School of Business

School of Education

Online Master of Education in Counseling (clinical mental health, school, and military and veterans)

School of Law

Online LL.M. in American Legal Studies

* Pre-requisite course eligibility is up to a maximum of $12,500 in a Direct Unsubsidized loan for all required pre-requisite courses regardless of timeframe of completion. Note: if you must retake a pre-requisite course after the first attempt, aid eligibility remains capped at $12,500, without any additional unsubsidized loan availability. Private loans are an available option for this scenario.

FAFSA Filing and Additional Forms

You may be required to submit documents in addition to the ones listed below.

FAFSAs for online programs
Program Start	FAFSA to File	Form to Complete
Spring (January)	2024-25	24-25 Enrollment
Summer (May)	2024-25	24-25 Enrollment
Fall (August)	2024-25	24-25 Enrollment

Disbursements

The chart below shows the format of a William & Mary online semester (A/B modules) compared to a regular semester for a residential student. Disbursement dates will differ between students’ aid eligibility and which program they may choose to enroll in each term.

Semester breakdown
Residential Students' 16 Week Semester
Online Session A	Online Session B

Example 1

An online counseling student has enrolled in 3.0 credit hours for session A and 3.0 credit hours for session B. The student meets all eligibility requirements and has completed all required loan documents. The loan will be released to their student account at the start of session B since the minimum enrollment requirement for a graduate student is 4.0 credits. This student will not meet that threshold until the start of session B. The Bursar’s Office will process the refund within 7 days after disbursement by either direct deposit or an issued check.

Example 2

An online business student has enrolled in 4.0 credits for session A and 4.0 credits for session B. The student meets all eligibility requirements and has completed all required loan documents. The loan will be released to their student account on the second Friday after the start of classes. The Bursar’s Office will process the refund within 7 days after post-disbursement by either direct deposit or an issued check.

Example 3

An online student has enrolled in 1.5 credits for session A and 1.5 credits for session B. The student has accepted their federal loans and is also receiving a departmental scholarship. Since this student will only be enrolled in a total of 3.0 credits for the semester, they are ineligible and will not receive a loan disbursement. The departmental scholarship will be paid on the date requested by the awarding department.

Sample Cost of Attendance (COA)

For those enrolled in an online program, please keep in mind that you will also have a cost of attendance calculated with both direct and indirect costs as seen in your myW&M portal.

What you will be billed (direct costs):

Tuition and fees
Housing and food (if on campus)

What you will have an allowance for (indirect costs*):

Books and supplies
Transportation
Miscellaneous/Personal

* These allowances provide an estimated cost for the nine-month academic year to allow you to borrow loans for your basic educational and living expenses while enrolled at least half-time.

Keep in mind that online programs have rolling admissions — if you start in the spring or summer, your cost of attendance will be lower (than a full academic year). Additionally, the amount of offered loans for each semester would differ based on when you begin your online program.

To illustrate, using 2024-25 costs for online counseling, if you started in the fall with the intent to take a course each session, your COA for three semesters/two 3.0 credit sessions each semester could look like this:

Three semester costs
B+S	Books and Supplies	1,575.00
BORD	Food Costs	9,150.00
MISC	Miscellaneous	3,780.00
ROOM	Housing Costs	19,500.00
T+F	Tuition and Fees	13,950.00
TRAN	Transportation	3,300.00
	Total	$51,255.00

Your loan(s) would be split among three semesters (fall/spring/summer) so a $20,500 federal direct unsubsidized loan would be split three ways with roughly $6800 applied to each semester.

However, if you start your online education program in the spring semester, your COA would only account for two semesters/two 3.0 credit sessions each and could look like this:

Two semester costs
B+S	Books and Supplies	1,200.00
BORD	Food Costs	5,980.00
LOAN	Loan Fees	331.00
MISC	Miscellaneous	2,430.00
ROOM	Housing Costs	12,290.00
T+F	Tuition and Fees	7,980.00
TRAN	Transportation	2,120.00
	Total	$32,331.00

Your loan(s) would be split between two semesters (spring/summer) so a $20,500 federal direct unsubsidized loan would be split two ways with roughly $10,250 applied to each semester.

Lastly, if you begin in the summer semester, your COA would account for the summer semester only/two 3.0 credit sessions and could look like this:

One semester costs
B+S	Books and Supplies	600.00
BORD	Food Costs	2,990.00
LOAN	Loan Fees	165.00
MISC	Miscellaneous	1,215.00
ROOM	Housing Costs	6,145.00
T+F	Tuition and Fees	3,990.00
TRAN	Transportation	1,060.00
	Total	$16,165.00

Your loan would be up to your summer cost, and with the entire amount disbursed for the summer semester. Please keep in mind that the following fall, with the start of a new academic year, your financial aid offer will be for the year and divided among three semesters.