A student must be fully admitted into an eligible degree program and be enrolled as a regular student in order to receive financial aid funds. A regular student is defined as someone who is enrolled or accepted for enrollment for the purpose of obtaining a degree or certificate offered by the University of Illinois Springfield. 

Graduate students are occasionally conditionally admitted to the University of Illinois at Springfield in order to allow them to complete specified prerequisite courses and/or due to a low undergraduate GPA before being fully admitted to their program.  Conditionally admitted graduate students may not receive graduate federal financial aid. Students must successfully complete their prerequisite coursework and/or meet all requirements as to be fully admitted as specified by their graduate program in order to be eligible for federal financial aid. 

In limited situations, students enrolled in undergraduate coursework may be eligible for undergraduate-level federal student loans for up to 12 consecutive months, based on federal regulations. This is dependent on many factors, including annual and aggregate lifetime loan limits.  At the end of the 12-month period, students are no longer eligible for this provision if they are still enrolled in undergraduate courses as a graduate student. 

In addition, graduate students may only receive federal student aid for the first two graduate, or master's, degree programs. Students pursuing a third master's degree, or beyond, are not eligible for federal student aid. Please see the Satisfactory Academic Progress policy for details.

Revised 11/21/2025