Paying Fees & Disbursement

Graduate Student Fees

Tuition and registration fees can be found on the Registrar's website every year. For future academic years, please anticipate 3% inflation. Fees for each academic year is generally available late Summer. Tuition and fees are assessed on a quarterly basis (Fall, Winter, Spring) for all students, even if a student is expecting financial support to pay their tuition and fees. The only time fees are not posted, or are reversed, is if a student is on an approved leave of absence, graduates, or does not continue the program.

Registration Fee Payment

Registration fees are assessed quarterly via BruinBill and payment is due on the 20th of the month following the posting date of the charge. If the 20th falls on a weekend or a holiday, the due date is the last business day prior to the 20th. In addition to awarded fellowships, acceptable modes of payment are: check, credit card (Visa, MasterCard, Discover), or cash. Payment may be made online via your BruinBill using a credit card. Questions regarding fees should be directed to the Registrar's Office at 1113 Murphy Hall, (310) 825-1091.

If fees are not paid in full by the deadline, enrolled courses will be automatically dropped within 3-4 days and a late fee will be posted. The student must reenroll in courses if this occurs. If fees are not paid in full by the Friday of the second week of classes, enrolled courses will be automatically dropped. If fees are not paid in full by Friday of Week 10 and the student is not enrolled, the student will be considered lapsed - equivalent to an informal withdrawal from the program - and must reapply for admission to continue and reenroll. Thus it is the student's responsibility to pay fees on time and ensure that enrolled courses are intact.

Please note that regardless if you sign up for BruinDirect or not, disbursed funds will first pay for any registration fees that are unpaid on BruinBill before being deposited into a bank account/mailed as a check. For example, if a student is receiving a $5,000 award for living expenses but has a $1,000 fee balance at the time of disbursal, the amount the student will receive would be $4,000 as the award would cover the existing fee balance.

Award Disbursement

The disbursement of awards varies depending on the unit awarding the fellowship. Typically, awards from the Department and the Division of Graduate Education will be disbursed before or on the fee payment deadline as long as the student officially accepted the fellowship and is enrolled in the minimum number of units required to receive the award. Please check with the awarding unit if you are unsure if a minimum unit requirement exists. To ensure eligibility, students should enroll in 12 units every quarter, which is also a Department requirement.

Most awards for living expenses are disbursed monthly during the 9-month academic year (October to June). Disbursals are as early as 10 business days before the stipend month as long as the student is enrolled in the minimum number of units required to receive the award. For example, an October award would disburse as early as September 20, and a November award would disburse as early as October 20. 

BruinPay Plan

Students can choose to pay their fees in 3 quarterly installments if they are eligible for the BruinPay Plan (BPP). For more information and enrollment deadlines for the BPP, please visit UCLA Student Accounts. Please note that enrollment is on a quarter-by-quarter basis.

Loan Disbursement

Loans are typically disbursed 1-2 days before the fee payment deadline. Loans are disbursed only if the student is enrolled in the minimum number of units required to receive the loan. The minimum for federal loan eligibility is 4 units each quarter, however please note the Department requires all students to enroll in at least 12 units. Students not enrolled in the minimum number of units will  result in a delay of loan disbursement, increases the chances of being automatically dropped from courses, and possibly a cancellation of the loan.

For more information, please see Student Loan Services and Collections.

BruinDirect

The default disbursement method of funds is a mailed check. It is highly encouraged to sign up for BruinDirect via BruinBill. It is the fastest, most secure way to receive funds (fellowships, awards, loans) directly into a bank account.