Genetic Counseling Financial Aid

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Financial Information for the Genetic Counseling Program

Genetic Counseling students pay full-time tuition rates for the fall and spring semester of their first year. During the summer, students' primary responsibility is their genetic counseling internship. Students are not typically enrolled in classes during the summer months and therefore, are not expected to pay tuition. In the fall and spring semester of their second year, students pay part-time tuition rates based on the number of credits in which they are enrolled (usually 4-5 credits). 

Students pursuing a dual degree program will have increased tuition costs due to the additional credit hours. 

For an estimate of tuition costs for the genetic counseling program, please see the Genetic Counseling Program Tuition Estimate.  For additional information, please see the school-level tuition and financial aid overview to review all options on financing your degree.

Work Positions and Scholarships

Genetic counseling students and dual degree students are eligible for part time student positions. In the past, our students have been successful in obtaining positions that involve working 20 hours a week for a faculty member at an hourly wage. Most students find positions that provide them with research experience that can be used for their Master's thesis. With these part time positions, pay is variable and depends on the faculty member's particular position. Tuition remission is not available.

Genetic counseling students may be eligible for select scholarships offered through the Graduate School of Public Health and/or the University of Pittsburgh.  When eligible, genetic counseling students have been successful in obtaining these scholarships in the past.  Scholarship funding varies by year. Please contact us if you have questions about scholarship availability for students participating in the current application cycle.

Scholarship Information for the Genetic Counseling Admissions Match

13310 2-Academic Yr- MS Program – Scholarship

It is expected that there will be two positions for this scholarship track.  This scholarship is made possible through the C.C. and Clara Li Endowed Scholarship program.  In general, the C.C. and Clara Li scholarships are in the range of $1000 to $2000 and are based on available endowment income.  The scholarship can be used to support tuition, travel, or other educational expenses.  Applicants do not need to apply for the scholarship.  All applicants who interview with the Genetic Counseling Program are considered for this track.

13312 2-Academic Yr- MS Program – Diversity Scholarship

The University of Pittsburgh is committed to the continued growth and improvement in the areas of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion/belonging. The Department of Human Genetics has diversity scholarships available to incoming genetic counseling students that are registered fulltime. The goal of this scholarship is to improve opportunities for those who are underrepresented in the genetic counseling profession. Eligibility for these scholarships are based upon self-described diversity status. Students can apply for consideration of the scholarship after they have matched with the program. Information on how to apply will be sent out in a post-match acceptance email. The scholarships are available for full-time students in the amounts of $4,000 per semester for in-state students and $6,000 per semester for out-of-state students.

Both MS Genetic Counseling and MS/MPH Dual Degree students are eligible for both of these scholarship tracks.