Financial aid for your graduate business degree

Is a graduate business degree worth the investment?

A higher education requires a commitment of time and effort, but the cost is the key reason most students may choose not to pursue a graduate degree. However, with a higher degree comes a higher salary. BusinessBecause estimates that the average MBA graduate increases their salary by 77% after graduation. “In 2018, almost two-thirds of alumni cohorts more than doubled their salaries,” The Financial Times found. And those higher wages result in lifetime-earnings that far exceed the investment.

Cutting the cost of tuition

Last year alone, RIT provided over $27.5 million in financial support to approximately 2,500 graduate students. Each student is provided with a Saunders Financial Aid Representative in order to assist them with identifying potential financial aid sources, which include university-provided scholarships such as:

• 50% Scholarship for Saunders Leadership Fellows who complete their graduate school application by April 30 and include a short bio following the application essay 
• 50% Scholarship for RIT Honors Students
• Saunders Admissions Scholarships are awarded to a limited number of accepted students at the time of acceptance. The scholarship is determined after review of application materials, and thus applications must be complete before the award is determined. Scholarships are determined based on the order in which applications are received, so applicants are encouraged to complete their required materials as early as possible.
• 20% scholarship award for RIT students and 40% scholarship award for one accepted student from each of Saunders’ 4+1 partner universities who meets the full admissions requirements to the MBA program.
• Graduate Saunders Merit Awards to students with a minimum 3.70 GPA and nine graduate credit hours from RIT. Awardees must be enrolled in a Saunders College of Business graduate degree program. Executive MBA students are not eligible for Saunders Merit Awards.

For additional information and financial aid resources, visit the RIT Office of Financial Aid & Scholarships website.

Get paid while you get your degree

There are many opportunities for students to earn money while pursuing a higher education. RIT provides students with the ability to undertake on-campus employment, paid co-ops, and graduate assistantships. All of these serve as job experience as well as viable options to earn wages before you graduate.

We’ll help you get there!

Saunders College of Business provides students with a dedicated financial advisor to help you navigate the many financial aid and scholarship options. There are many resources available to help get you to grad school. For more information, please visit the Graduate Admissions Page.