Graduate Student Loan Limits: How Much Can You Borrow?

If you’re planning to attend graduate school, you might need student loans to help cover costs.

Graduates who earn a master’s degree owe an average of $66,000 in student loans, according to 2016 data from the National Center for Education Statistics, while professional doctorate graduates carry an average debt of $186,600. And in the 2021-22 school year, graduate students borrowed an average of $17,680 in federal student loans, according to College Board research.

However, graduate student loans come with limits that affect how much you’re able to get. Here’s what you should know about graduate loan limits, and how much you can safely borrow.

Graduate loan limits for federal student debt

If you need to borrow money to pay for grad school, federal student loans are typically a good place to start. This is mainly because federal student loans offer benefits and protections that other types of borrowing generally don’t, such as income-driven repayment plans and forgiveness opportunities.

Graduate students can qualify for two types of federal loans: Direct Unsubsidized Loans and grad PLUS loans. Each comes with its own loan limits, interest rates, and other terms.

Direct Unsubsidized Loans

Direct Unsubsidized Loans loans are available to undergraduate, graduate, and professional students, regardless of financial need. Like most other types of federal student loans, you’re responsible for all interest that accrues on this debt.

There’s no credit check required, making Direct Unsubsidized Loans a good option if you want to get a student loan without a cosigner. Plus, everyone who qualifies receives the same interest rate. For loans borrowed during the 2023-24 school year, the interest rate is 7.05% for graduate students. There’s also a loan fee of 1.057% deducted from each disbursement.

Direct PLUS Loans

There are two types of Direct PLUS Loans: Grad PLUS loans for graduate and professional students, and parent PLUS loans for parents who want to cover their child’s undergraduate education.

As a graduate student, you can borrow up to your cost of attendance, as determined by your school. If you’ve received other aid, such as grants or scholarships, those awards will be deducted from the cost of attendance. The remaining amount is how much you can borrow in a PLUS Loan.

PLUS Loans come with a 8.05% interest rate for the 2023-24 academic year, along with a loan fee of 4.228%. Unlike Direct Unsubsidized Loans, PLUS Loans do require a credit check — though your credit score isn’t a major factor. Instead, you must show you don't have “adverse credit,” which includes things like recent foreclosures, repossessions, or loan defaults.

Private loan borrowing limits

If you’ve hit your federal student loan limits and have exhausted other types of financial aid like college scholarships and grants, private student loans can help cover any remaining costs. These loans are offered by private banks, credit unions, and online lenders and usually allow you to choose either a fixed or variable rate.

Most private lenders allow you to borrow up to your school’s certified cost of attendance, minus any other aid you’ve already received. Some lenders also impose lifetime limits, though these can vary depending on your degree program. Citizens Bank, for example, allows graduate students a maximum of $150,000, while MBA and law students can borrow up to $225,000.

Keep in mind that private student loans don’t come with federal protections, such as access to income-driven repayment plans or student loan forgiveness programs. However, they do offer some benefits of their own, such as:

• Might get a lower interest rate: If you or a cosigner have excellent credit and a stable income, you might qualify for a lower interest rate compared to federal student loans.
• Fewer fees: All federal student loans come with a disbursement fee, adding to your borrowing costs. While some private lenders charge similar fees, it’s generally pretty easy to find fee-free private loans if that’s a priority.
• Potentially higher borrowing limit: You can often borrow up to your school’s cost of attendance, depending on the lender.
• Faster application and disbursement timelines: Private student loans usually have a fairly simple application process, and require less paperwork than federal loans. Depending on when you apply, your loan money may also be distributed more quickly with a private lender.

You’ll generally need good-to-excellent credit to qualify for a private student loan. While some lenders might offer specialized student loans for bad credit, these typically come with higher interest rates compared to good-credit loans.

What’s included in the cost of attendance?

Both federal and private loans offer the chance to borrow up to your school’s certified cost of attendance (COA). The COA is an estimation of the total costs to attend the school for one academic year, including:

• Tuition and fees
• Textbooks, supplies, and other course materials
• Cost of housing, food, and other living expenses
• Transportation costs
• Reasonable miscellaneous expenses
• Child care costs

Most schools publish their COA on their websites, and update these estimates annually. There may be different COAs listed, based on whether you live on or off campus or if you’re an in-state or out-of-state student.

How much should graduate students borrow?

Even if you can borrow up to your school’s cost of attendance, ask yourself how much you really need to meet your expenses. The cost of attendance is just an estimate, and you may be able to get by on less. By borrowing the minimum amount needed, you’ll owe less when you graduate — and keep your future costs lower.

You should also work to maximize all scholarship and grant opportunities. These awards typically don’t have to be repaid, so every dollar you can win means you can borrow less.

When you are ready to borrow student loans, a common rule of thumb is to borrow no more than your estimated annual salary after graduation. The Bureau of Labor Statistics can help you estimate your potential future earnings, and a student loan calculator can estimate your eventual monthly loan payments.

If you find that you’ve borrowed more than you need, it’s not too late. If you return unused federal loan money within 120 days, you won’t have to pay interest or fees on the amount returned. Talk to your school’s financial aid office for more information.

Returned loan policies vary among private lenders, so contact your loan servicer for details. Some may waive interest costs if you return unused cash quickly, while others may only allow you to make a lump-sum payment for the amount you’d like to return.

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