Direct Loans for Graduate Students

CU Boulder participates in the Federal William D. Ford Direct Loan program (known as Direct or Stafford Loans). The lender is the U.S. Department of Education rather than a bank or other financial institution. You are automatically considered for a Direct Loan after submitting your FAFSA.

Less than full-time enrollment

Starting Fall 2026, federal student loan amounts will be adjusted if you enroll less than full time. You must enroll at least half time (3 credit hours for graduates; 5 credit hours for law) each semester to receive federal student loans. Check your enrollment status.

Loan features

Unsubsidized; interest begins to accrue on the loan as soon as it is disbursed.
Loan origination fee is 1.057%.
Repayment begins 6 months after you graduate, drop below half time or withdraw. Federal Student Aid has more information about managing repayment.

Fixed interest rates

Date of First Disbursement	Interest Rate
7/1/26 to 6/30/27	8.07%
7/1/25 to 6/30/26	7.94%
7/1/24 to 6/30/25	8.08%

Loan limits

New borrowers

Graduate students: First-time borrowers after July 1, 2026 are limited to $20,500 per year. Total aggregate borrowing limit per student is $100,000.
Professional degree: First-time borrowers after July 1, 2026 are limited to $50,000 per year. Total aggregate borrowing limit per student is $200,000.

Pursuing multiple programs

Effective July 1, 2026, new borrowers who are both graduate and professional students at some point in their educational careers may only borrow up to $200,000 in total toward their graduate and professional degree programs.

Repeat borrowers

If you previously borrowed federal loans while enrolled in your degree program at CU Boulder, your borrowing limit shouldn’t change. Graduate and professional students who are continuing borrowers should continue to have an annual loan limit of $20,500 and a lifetime loan limit of $138,500.

Certain factors, like enrollment or degree program changes, could impact your legacy loan provisions. Learn more about these changes.

Audiology students: CU Boulder will keep borrowing capped at $20,500 each school year and $100,000 total until there's a final decision on how to classify your program. If you'd like more information, view our new federal loan limits article.