Weitzman Emergency Fund

The Weitzman Emergency Fund is available to assist students with unexpected costs that may arise while they are enrolled at Weitzman School of Design. Students facing financial hardship who would not otherwise be able to cover the cost of these unanticipated expenses are invited to request a grant. Because funds are limited, financial need is a determining factor when an application is reviewed.

So that we can best assist students and provide emergency support in conjunction with other funding opportunities that may be available, the application review committee takes a holistic approach to determining student need and considers a number of factors, including, for example: financial need as determined by the FAFSA, overall loan debt, changes in financial circumstances, and availability of alternative funding sources.

Request Weitzman Emergency Funding through the online application.

Criteria for Receiving Emergency Funding

• Students must be enrolled at Weitzman in the term in which they apply for emergency funding.
• Expenses and costs being covered by emergency funding must have been incurred during the current term
• Qualified expenses are those that were a direct result of COVID-19 or are from an unanticipated emergency (see examples below)
• Ongoing routine expenses do not qualify for emergency funding, unless the need for funding is due to an unexpected change in circumstance

Examples of scenarios that could be eligible for emergency funding:

• Temporary housing for displacement due to fire, flood, the need to quarantine, safety relocation, etc.
• Housing or food insecurity resulting from a change in circumstance
• Emergency medical or dental expenses (e.g., broken bone or root canal)
• Travel costs related to unexpected crisis or death in the immediate family
• Cost of additional equipment needed to complete educational requirements via remote learning
• Medical expenses related to COVID-19

Examples of expenses that do not qualify for emergency funding:

• Tuition and fees
• Credit card debts
• Penalties, fines, parking or other tickets
• Ongoing, routine expenses

Grant Amounts

Grants may range from $100-$1000, and the final award amount will be determined based on the student’s financial need.

Application Review Process

Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis as long as funds are available. Requests for emergency funding are reviewed by the Weitzman Student Services and Weitzman Financial Aid offices; staff from these offices may request more information from students about their emergency situation in order to determine grant eligibility. Additionally, documentation and/or receipts of expenses may be requested.

Award Disbursement Process

The Weitzman Financial Aid Office will post the emergency fund credit to the student’s account. If a student has no balance due, a refund will automatically be issued via Direct Deposit in the next refund batch (run on Tuesdays and Thursdays). We strongly encourage all students with a U.S. bank account to enroll in Direct Deposit. You can update this by logging into PennPay and setting up your e-Refund information: https://srfs.upenn.edu/billing-payment/pennpay.