Financial Requirements For Graduate Applicants

The University of St. Thomas is required by the United States government to examine the financial documentation of F-1 and J-1 students to observe the financial support is sufficient in order to issue an I-20 or DS2019. An international student at UST will need to show official proof of sufficient funds to cover tuition and fees, books and supplies, room and board, health insurance (required by state law), and personal expenses.

Documentation of financial support will need to show the amount listed for the appropriate graduate program and needs to cover an entire academic year of estimated expenses.

Official proof of funding cannot be more than 3 months old at time of application.

Cost of Attendance

Click here to view estimated expenses for the 2013-2014 academic year (PDF).
 

Documentation of Financial Support

Documentation of financial support must meet the following criteria to be considered "official proof:"

• Funding can be from personal funds, funds from the student's family/sponsor, scholarships, fellowships or sponsoring agencies or governments.
   
• Funding needs to be in liquid assets only. Property is not an acceptable source of funding. Retirement funds will be reduced by 40% due to penalties and taxes for early withdrawal, if used before maturity.
   
• Funds do not need to be in U.S. dollars.
   
• Documentation of funds needs to be on original bank letterhead stationery with a signature of the bank official in ink or a photocopy of the bank statement will need to be stamped by the issuing bank in original stamp ink and have a signature of a bank official in ink.
  Faxes, scanned copies, notarized copies and photocopies (without the original stamp/signature) are not acceptable documentation.
  Bank statements can not be dated more than three months prior to the date of application.
  Original documents will be returned with the decision letter to the student for visa appointment.
   
• All statements not in English must be accompanied by an English translation by an official translating agency with the stamp and signature of the translating and contact information of translating agency.
   
• If funding will be provided by a family member or individual sponsor, their signature is required on the bottom of the financial certification form (PDF). If a signature cannot be obtained on the financial certification form, a signed letter from the family member and/or individual sponsor is required. The letter must include the student's name, the family member or individual sponsor's name, the amount the family member or individual sponsor is willing to fund per year, and the length of time the funding will be available.
   
• As part of the application process, all students are required to complete and return the financial certification form (PDF). Please read all of the instructions on the financial certification form carefully.

Before obtaining a visa, the student must have appropriate funds available in U.S. currency. The University requires all F-1 and J-1 students to purchase the University's health insurance plan.

An additional $6,000 per year should be added to the proof of support for an accompanying spouse and $3,000 per year for each child. This amount does not include costs of round-trip travel expenses.