The Peabody Conservatory offers both merit scholarships and need-based financial aid. Financial aid packages may include different types of aid such as scholarships, grants, student loans, and work-study, from federal, state, and institutional sources. Graduate students may also apply for assistantships through the Peabody Admissions Office. Domestic undergraduate students who qualify for need-based institutional aid will receive packages that consist only of grants and work-study if eligible, and will not have loans.
All prospective students are considered for merit scholarship at the time of their audition. Students who wish to be considered for need-based financial aid must complete the appropriate documentation, as outlined here.
Please see the financial aid submission deadlines here.
Approximately 90% of our incoming students are recipients of institutional gift aid.
Domestic undergraduate students (U.S. citizens, Permanent Residents of the U.S., and undocumented and DACA students) who wish to be considered for need-based financial aid at Peabody must submit both the FAFSA (with Peabody’s school code E00233) and CSS Profile application (code is 5532), being sure to meet the published deadlines.
Domestic graduate students who wish to be considered for need-based aid must submit the FAFSA and, for domestic DMA students, a supplemental JHU Graduate Financial Aid Application to be eligible for full-scholarship DMA funding.
International students are encouraged to complete the CSS Profile, or for full-scholarship DMA funding, the JHU Graduate Financial Aid Application.
Yes, all domestic undergraduate students (U.S. citizens, Permanent Residents of the U.S., and undocumented and DACA students) who have demonstrated financial need via the FAFSA and the CSS Profile will be eligible for need-based aid. Eligibility for financial aid is based on a variety of factors including family income, household size, number of undergraduate students in the household enrolled in college and housing status (on or off campus). We evaluate eligibility for financial aid every year and encourage families to let us know when there are changes to their family’s financial circumstances. If you are unsure, please contact our Office of Financial Aid.
All students—including international students—are considered for Peabody’s generous merit scholarship program at the time of their entrance audition. International DMA students are eligible for full-scholarship DMA funding once they have completed the JHU Graduate Financial Aid Application. International students are not eligible for federal aid, but increasing scholarship support continues to be an institutional and philanthropic priority for Peabody.
Peabody’s financial aid program offers several options to graduate students, including merit scholarships, graduate assistantships, fellowships, and work-study opportunities. Beginning in fall 2025, the Peabody Conservatory will offer all admitted Doctor of Musical Arts students full-tuition scholarships during the two-year full-time residency, and we offer several other scholarship programs that provide full tuition. While we are currently unable to meet 100% of need for graduate students, our Office of Financial Aid is available to help students understand and manage the financial aid for which they may be eligible.
Peabody Merit Scholarships are awarded by the Enrollment Management Committee in consultation with the faculty.
Peabody Merit Scholarships are awarded based on merit and talent. The Enrollment Management Committee, in consultation with the faculty, will consider the student’s entrance audition and faculty recommendation, as well as Peabody’s enrollment needs and institutional resources.
Undergraduate domestic students (U.S. citizens, Permanent Residents of the U.S., and undocumented and DACA students) with demonstrated financial need (as determined by the FAFSA and CSS Profile) will be considered for no-loan, need-based financial aid in addition to any merit scholarship awarded, and if eligible will receive a package that meets their need up to the cost of attendance.
An outside scholarship is a scholarship awarded by an organization other than the government or Johns Hopkins Peabody Conservatory. These awards must be reported to Peabody’s Office of Student Financial Services, since they can affect a student’s aid eligibility. Students may notify us online using the Outside Award Notice Form available in NetPartner. This form will populate custom data and document to indicate the student requires review by the Financial Aid Office.
Beginning with academic year 2024-25, Johns Hopkins Peabody Conservatory provides financial aid packages which meet 100% of a domestic undergraduate student’s demonstrated financial need. In many cases, we present a financial aid package to a student before she/he is aware of her/his eligibility for outside scholarships. Therefore, students should be mindful that every outside scholarship received affects the overall financial aid package.
When Peabody’s Financial Aid Office becomes aware of an outside scholarship either by the funds being received and applied to the student’s account or by the student reporting the scholarship award via the Outside Award Notice Form in NetPartner, we will review the student’s award package.
For students who have a need-based component in their financial aid offer and receive an additional outside scholarship, we will reduce aid in this order:
For students with only merit awards in their financial aid offer who receive an additional outside scholarship, we will reduce aid in this order:
Outside scholarship checks should be mailed to:
Student Accounts Operations
Johns Hopkins University
Garland Hall B076
3400 N. Charles Street
Baltimore, MD 21218
If the check is made out to the student, you need to endorse it by signing the back of the check before sending it to the Student Accounts Office.
All checks should also include the student’s 6-digit Hopkins ID (this is separate from their JHED ID, confusingly). Students can find their Hopkins ID in the upper right-hand corner of SIS Self-Service.
Students may also drop checks off at the SEAM office on the Homewood campus in Levering Hall, Suite 102.
For more information about other payment methods, the SEAM website is a good resource: please visit https://seam.jhu.edu/billing/pay-your-tuition/.
New students will be notified when they receive their acceptance email from the Admissions Office, on or around April 1. Early Decision applicants will be notified by December 15. Returning students will receive their aid packages in mid- to late-June.
All financial aid in your award package from Peabody, including Peabody Merit Scholarship, can be applied to all allowances in your cost-of-attendance budget, not just tuition. See our Tuition and Fees page for an explanation of how a cost-of-attendance budget is determined.
All students receiving federal financial aid must submit the FAFSA each year. Domestic undergraduate students receiving need-based institutional aid must apply for financial aid each year by submitting the FAFSA and the CSS Profile.
We strongly encourage all domestic undergraduate students to submit both the FAFSA (Federal Aid) and CSS Profile (institutional need-based aid), regardless of their family circumstances, and will meet any demonstrated need that you have in the form of grant aid (no loans).
No. You should use estimated figures on the FAFSA. It’s more important to meet Peabody’s deadline than to wait and file later.
Yes. Dependency status is determined by answering a series of questions on the FAFSA. A family’s financial circumstances will not determine dependency of the student.
The federal government selects a certain number of FAFSAs each year that schools must review for accuracy. The Financial Aid Office will collect additional documentation from selected students to conduct our review and verify the accuracy of information reported on the FAFSA.
Any financial circumstances not reported on the FAFSA and/or CSS Profile should be reported in a separate letter/email and submitted to the Peabody Financial Aid Office.
Prospective Students: Please contact the Peabody Financial Aid Office and speak to a counselor. We aim to make a Peabody education as affordable as possible. Prospective students may appeal to the Financial Aid Office for a reconsideration of their package. During this process, we may ask for additional information.
Current Students: Generally, scholarship awards that students receive at the time of their admission will stand for the duration of the degree program. However, Peabody does have an appeals process to reconsider students for any need-based financial aid in the event of significant changes in family financial circumstances. If you experience unforeseen financial hardship after you enroll, contact the Peabody Financial Aid Office to discuss your circumstances and how to appeal for additional financial aid consideration.
With the introduction in fall 2024 of the full-tuition DMA funding, DMA students in their second year in fall 2025 will have their scholarship increased to cover full tuition.
All students who receive need-based financial aid will have a work expectation as part of their package. Hundreds of student jobs are available at Peabody each year, meeting a wide variety of interests, skill sets, and schedules, and our LAUNCHPad office will work with students to help them secure a work-study position during their studies.
In limited circumstances, graduate students may have a graduate assistantship as part of their funding package. In these cases, the assistantship includes scholarships for tuition and a graduate stipend paid directly to the student through student employment. The total funding package may cover all or part of their tuition. DMA students who are receiving full-tuition scholarships may have, as part of their funding package, a graduate assistantship, in which case the stipend portion of the assistantship would be paid over and above tuition, paid bi-weekly through student employment.
Generally, scholarship awards that students receive at the time of their admission will stand for the duration of the degree program. Students cannot re-audition for new or increased scholarship. However, Peabody does have an appeals process to reconsider financial aid in the event of significant changes in family financial circumstances.
With the introduction in fall 2024 of the full-tuition DMA funding, DMA students in their second year in fall 2025 will have their scholarship increased to cover full tuition.
Given the already significantly reduced cost associated with the 13-month format of the Low Res MM program, Peabody will not offer institutional grants or scholarships for students who enroll in this program. However, federal and private loan options are available to students who qualify.
A portion of Graduate Assistantships are subject to U.S. income tax because they are awarded in part as payment for employment. Students will receive the 20% gradually over the academic year in the form of a twice-monthly paycheck. For more information see IRS Publication 970, www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p970.pdf chapter 1, or consult your tax preparer.
All the individual colleges that comprise Johns Hopkins University are decentralized for financial aid purposes. Students enrolled only at Peabody will receive their entire financial aid package from Peabody. Double degree students will receive their financial aid from the Krieger School of Arts & Sciences/Whiting School of Engineering (Homewood campus).