Financial Assistance

ID regularly provides fellowships and scholarships to offset the cost of tuition. All newly admitted MDes and PhD students are automatically considered for fellowships and scholarships, with early admissions considered first.

All awards are based on merit and are typically announced at the time of admission. No additional materials beyond the application are required for consideration. Please direct any questions regarding fellowship and scholarship consideration to your contact on the Admissions team.

Merit Fellowships

Fellowships are funded by generous patrons who share in our commitment to improving the world through advanced design theory and practice. Fellowships are awarded to newly admitted MDes, MDes+MBA, MDes+MPA, and PhD students.

ID Alumni Graduate Fellowships
Funded by the contributions from the ID alumni network, this fellowship aims to continue to build the community of design leaders by supporting students of outstanding promise. Awards vary.

Grace Colby Fellowship
Funded by ID alumna and former board member Grace Colby (BS 1985), this fellowship supports a PhD student of outstanding promise.

Sam Farber Fellowship
Created by friends and family to honor the legacy of Sam Farber, the former CEO of Copco, who brought human-centered design to food preparation by launching the OXO brand of kitchen implements, this fellowship provides partial tuition to a student of outstanding promise.

Charles Harrison Fellowship
Funded by ID Board of Advisors Chair Emeritus Robert C. Pew and Susan Taylor in honor of the contributions of ID alum Charles Harrison to the field of design, this fellowship provides financial support to US residents from underrepresented backgrounds who bring distinct intellectual and creative perspectives to ID.

Carole and Gordon Segal Fellowship
Endowed by Carole and Gordon Segal, the Segal fellowship supports an ID student of outstanding promise.

Robert Skyer Fellowship
Funded by Susannah Skyer Gupta in honor of her late father, Robert Skyer (BS 1958), the Skyer Fellowship provides financial support to an ID student with a preference for underrepresented students in the design community.

Merit Scholarships

ID Scholarships
Tuition scholarships are funded by ID to recognize students of particular merit. All admitted MDes, MDes+MBA, MDes+MPA, and PhD students are considered.

Nate Thomas Public Service Scholarship
The Nate Thomas Public Service Award is a partial-tuition scholarship for domestic degree-seeking graduate-level students at Illinois Tech. In pursuit of its mission to diversity and inclusion, Illinois Tech has a limited number of merit-based and need-based scholarships available to financially disadvantaged graduate students who are committed to leveraging their careers in focusing the advancement of socio-economically underrepresented or disadvantaged populations. To be considered for the Nate Thomas Public Service Scholarship, a separate scholarship application must be submitted after admission is granted by ID. Learn more about the award and application process.

Additional Financial Aid

Please visit Illinois Tech’s financial aid website for additional guidance on financing your education. They can be reached at 312-567-7219 or finaid@iit.edu. To expedite the process, all domestic students should complete a FAFSA application. Alternate funding options are available for international students. Download this guide for a list of financial aid resources.