Speech-Language Pathology Scholarship and Financial Aid

Saint Luke's College of Nursing and Health Sciences Dean’s Scholarship

The Saint Luke's College of Nursing and Health Sciences Dean’s Scholarship awards two eligible students entering the Speech-Language Pathology master’s program $10,000 each, which will be dispersed equally over the two years of the program. Application details are made available upon acceptance to the program.

Athletics graduate assistant

We have several openings for Athletics graduate assistants. Reporting lines vary depending on sport or assignment. GAs will report to a coach, athletic trainer, or administrator.  Specific opportunities vary from year to year, but in general, we may have GAs serve in the following areas:

Coaching: Contact the sport’s head coach to inquire about opportunities
Strength and Conditioning, CSCS: Contact Assistant AD for Sports Performance and Student Wellness/Head Athletic Trainer
Administration: Contact Associate Director of Athletics Michael Koehler to inquire about these opportunities in event management, event marketing/promotion, and event production.

Use the Athletics Staff Directory to contact the coaches or administrator. All GAs must coordinate expectations and schedules with the academic and clinical faculty.

SLP student work opportunities

Assistantships: Departments within the Saint Luke's College of Nursing and Health Sciences offer paid assistantships to students who need assistance with faculty research, administrative tasks, departmental initiatives, or teaching.

Paid Work Study: Undergraduate and Graduate students can qualify for work-study funds and assist with faculty research, administrative tasks, departmental initiatives, or as a TA.

Positions are typically open for applications at the beginning of each semester. Please contact the department directly for more information on openings.

Financial aid

Most students need financial assistance to fund a graduate education. There tend to be fewer scholarships and grants for graduate education compared to undergraduate education. Most students borrow money to help pay for their education while in our SLP program. The following information details the basics of borrowing money to fund your graduate studies.

Cost of Attendance Students can apply to borrow enough money each year to cover the total cost of attendance. Cost of attendance is an estimate of the sum of the following:

Tuition and fees
Books and supplies
Housing and food
Transportation
Personal miscellaneous expenses

Although it is possible to borrow up to the cost of attendance, we strongly encourage you to borrow only as much as you need to fund your education and avoid incurring extra debt if possible.

Student loans

Graduate students typically borrow money to support their education through the Federal Direct loan program and the Federal Grad PLUS loan program.

Students can borrow up to $20,500 annually in Federal Direct Unsubsidized loans. Some students borrow additional money from the Federal Grad PLUS program.

Money borrowed through the Federal Direct Loan program is loaned at lower interest rates. Interest begins accruing while the student is in school, but the student is not responsible for principal or interest repayment until after graduation. Loans through the Grad PLUS program are similar; they have lower interest rates and accrue interest without an obligation to begin repayment until after graduation. The Grad PLUS program does require a credit check to determine eligibility. That interest rate is not based on credit score. It is only used to determine the initial approval of the student to borrow the Grad PLUS loan.

For more information on these two federal programs, see studentaid.gov.

Students can also seek out private student loans through banks and credit unions. These are credit-based, and interest rates vary on individual credit scores. Students apply for these loans on their own through the bank or credit union websites.

Free Application for Federal Student Aid: FAFSA

If you have never applied for financial aid before, you will need to submit a FAFSA so that Rockhurst can verify that you are eligible for financial aid. You can start the process online at studentaid.gov. Students entering Rockhurst for the fall 2025 semester should submit the 2025-2026 FAFSA, which becomes available on December 1.

Financial aid for your first semester at Rockhurst, summer, will be covered by the prior year’s FAFSA, while financial aid for fall, spring, and next summer semesters will be covered by that upcoming year’s FAFSA.

External scholarships

FastWEB (Financial Aid Search Through the Web) is the largest and most complete scholarship search on the Internet. It provides free access to a searchable database of more than 400,000 private sector scholarships, fellowships, grants, and student loans. Students are encouraged to seek scholarship funds from outside of Rockhurst.

Internal scholarships and non-loan financial aid

At this time, our department offers a few internal scholarships. Most are $500-$2,500 and none are available prior to enrollment.

Be smart, be frugal, plan ahead

Our Financial Aid office encourages students to take out as few loans as possible. We encourage students to think ahead about how much they will have to budget each month after graduation to make loan payments. Websites like studentaid.gov and BankRate.com have calculators to help estimate monthly payments if you know:

How much money you have or will borrow
How many years you will have to pay off your loans, typically anywhere from 10 to 25 years
How often you will make payments on your loan, typically monthly
What interest rate you will pay on your loan amounts

To answer questions about what criteria are needed to renew federal, state, and institutional awards, view Eligibility and Scholarship Renewal.