Doctoral Project Fees and Financial Aid

Doctoral Project Fees and Financial Aid

Dissertation Fee

Dissertation Extension Fee

Dissertation students who find that additional time beyond the eight quarters is necessary for completion of their dissertation must enroll in the extended four-quarter period. The fee for this four quarter period is half of the fee charged for the initial eight-quarter period. Students needing additional time beyond the extended four-quarter period can proceed on a quarter-by-quarter basis, and are billed $2,437 for each additional quarter beyond the four-quarter extension.

Note - A Quarterly Dissertation Agreement must be completed for the extension period.

Clinical Case Study Fee

Clinical Case Study Extension Fee

Clinical Case Study students who find that additional time beyond the four quarters is necessary for completion of their clinical case study must enroll in the extended four-quarter period. The fee for this four-quarter extension is the same as the fee charged for the initial four-quarter clock. Students needing additional time beyond the extended four-quarter period can proceed on a quarter-by-quarter basis, and are billed $2,437 for each additional quarter beyond the four-quarter extension.

Note - A Quarterly Clinical Case Study Agreement must be completed for the extension period.

Payment Plans and Due Dates

As part of the process of initiating the doctoral project period (also called the ‘clock,’) continuation students select a payment plan* and must stay with that plan for the entire academic year. Partial payments are not accepted; however, students may make payments in advance. There are two payment plan options:

• Full Payment - The full fee is due in full at the time of initiating the clock.
• Quarterly - One eighth (⅛) of the Dissertation Fee or one quarter (¼) of the Clinical Case Study Fee is due by the first day of each quarter (September 1, December 1, March 1, and June 1) Financial aid recipients will automatically default to this plan.

Pursuant to the Doctoral Project Agreement, Students are responsible for payment of the full initial agreement amount: Dissertation 8 quarters $19,500 and Clinical Case Study 4 quarters $9,750, which may be paid on a quarterly basis.  Completion of the Doctoral Project prior to the end of the initial agreement period does not reduce or eliminate the remaining quarterly payments.

Note that students whose direct costs (owed to Meridian) are entirely covered by a financial aid award still need to select a payment plan, in case they do end up with a balance not covered by financial aid.

Once a student's project status has reached "Content Approved" status, all remaining fees outlined in the Doctoral Project agreement will be accelerated and due on the 1st day of the next quarter. Non-payment will result in a hold on services until the balance has been paid. If Federal Student Aid is being utilized, the next disbursement will be applied to the balance due.

Continuation Student Registration Fee $1,550

Continuation students pay the Continuation Student Registration fee each year, due in full at registration.

A fee of $50 is assessed on late registration payments. Financial aid can cover these fees for the number of academic years that the student is inside their doctoral project clock. However, the continuation registration fee must be paid in full at registration even if financial aid is expected in the future. If the student later receives financial aid, these fees would then be subject to a credit balance refund to the student.

Financial Aid for Doctoral Project Fees

Students enrolling in the PhD/EdD dissertation eight-quarter period or the PsyD clinical case study four-quarter period may be eligible for the Federal Direct Loan program. Financial aid recipients are awarded aid on a borrower-based academic year for the doctoral project clock. In other words, from the time the eight-quarter PhD or EdD dissertation period begins (or the four-quarter clinical case study period for the PsyD), financial aid will cover four consecutive quarters for two years (dissertation) or one year (Clinical Case Study) This requires the student to complete the FAFSA for each borrower-based academic year. The borrower-based academic year clock is determined by the quarter in which the student begins the clock. The PhD (or EdD) dissertation clock, and the PsyD clinical case study clock can only start at the beginning of a quarter. For example: if the dissertation clock starts at the Fall quarter, financial aid will cover four consecutive quarters (Fall, Winter, Spring, and Summer), twice. Students may also consider a Grad PLUS Loan or a private Alternative Loan.

Federal regulations require all financial aid recipients to maintain satisfactory academic progress towards completion of degree requirements for continued eligibility.

Federal Student Aid is available for the extended four-quarter clock, however it is not available for subsequent quarterly extensions.

Federal Student Aid is not available beyond the second year of PsyD clinical case study work.

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Policy

The federal government requires that institutions approved to offer Title IV aid monitor each student's academic progress. This is done to ensure that students receiving financial aid are making what is called Satisfactory Academic Progress. To remain eligible for Federal Student Aid, students must meet all of Meridian’s Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) standards established for their specific enrollment status. These standards are separate from the academic standing policies set by the institution. Please review the Satisfactory Academic Progress policy to understand the requirements affecting students utilizing Dissertation and Clinical Case Study Financial Aid.