Undergraduate Students

The Brown 20th Century Loan may be offered to undergraduate students with high financial need.  Students may apply with the Office of Financial Aid to be considered for need-based university loans.  The Office of Financial Aid will determine eligibility and can answer questions about being awarded the Brown 20th Century Loan. 

Once the loan is awarded, Student Financial Services will instruct students on how to accept the loan, complete the required promissory note and entrance counseling requirements, and will disburse the loan funds to the student account. These loans are repaid directly to Brown University Student Financial Services. Review the Loan Process to learn more about how to apply and receive loans.

Grace Period

• 6 months; begins when enrollment ends or drops below half time

Interest Rate

• The fixed interest rate is 5%.
• Prior Years Interest Rates: 4.7% for 2020-2021; 6.4% for 2019-2020; 6.9% for 2018-2019; 6.4% for 2017-2018; 5.7% for 2016-2017; 6.2% for 2015-2016

Donations

The Brown 20th Century Loan fund is available based on generous donations:

• Alumni Loan Fund (est. 1900)
• Charles W. Brooks
• Mary D Chafee
• George Champlin
• Charles of the Ritz
• Class of 1928
• Class of 1982
• Arthur Francis Ballou
• Alexander Graham
• S. Jansen Hunt
• Inland Steel-Ryerson Foundation
• James Stanton Kenyon
• Sylvia Magaziner
• Morris Morgenstern
• Pembroke Dean's Fund (est 1930)
• Plantations Fund
• Rand Aid
• Alfred and Ernest Reiss
• C. Semenoff
• Milton and Elizabeth Stuart
• Teavy and Holly Udis
• Pembroke College (est 1958)

Graduate Students Urban Education Loans

The Graduate School Education department determines students' eligibility for the Brown University Urban Education Policy Loan or the Brown University Urban Education Teacher Loan. Urban Education Loan awards are made at the time of admission to the MAT or UEP program. Awardees must be eligible for federal financial aid in order to be considered for the Urban Education Loan (loan forgiveness program). This program is overseen by Brown University Education Department in conjunction with the School of Professional Studies, Office of Financial Aid, and Student Financial Services. Selected students will be awarded and notified by the Education Department. 

Students who accept and borrow the Urban Education Loan will be contacted by Student Financial Services to complete the required promissory note and loan entrance counseling for each academic year of the loan award. After accepting the loan, students must complete a promissory note and loan entrance counseling at the time of acceptance and complete loan exit counseling at the end of the degree program. After graduation, borrowers are responsible every year during the three years of service for filing a deferment form that documents they are employed in a qualifying position (typically in the fall). At the end of the three-year period, qualified borrowers can file a cancellation form to have 100% of the loan’s principal cancelled. Review the Loan Process to learn more about how to receive loans.

Purpose & Goals

In response to the 2006 Slavery and Justice Report, Brown University created the Urban Education Fellowship program, pledging up to ten forgivable loans each year for admitted students in the Education Department’s Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) or Urban Education Policy (UEP) masters’ program who committed to three years of teaching or educational policy work within Providence or the Rhode Island urban core. It addressed the report’s recommendation to “use the resources of the University to help ensure a quality education for the children of Rhode Island,” particularly those impacted by the history of Brown’s involvement in slavery. In its official response to the report, the university established the goal of the program as “to improve schools that serve especially disadvantaged populations” and it has defined that as schools with greater than 30% low-income students and organizations directly involved in creating policies and practices that improve the quality of education for students in low-income families. Improving quality, opportunity, and equity in education, especially for low-income and historically marginalized students in urban schools, is the guiding principle of the program. This program is intended to contribute to this goal.

Loan Terms & Repayment

The Urban Education loan enters a grace period of 4 months once enrollment ends or drops below half-time status.  Once the grace period ends, interest begins to accrue on the loan. The fixed interest rate is 5.0%. 

Loan repayment begins when the grace period ends and lasts up to 10 years. Borrowers are responsible for making the monthly payments unless they have an approved deferment on file. 

Qualifying Position

A qualifying position meets both of the following criteria, subject to the approval of the Chair of the Education Department and Student Financial Services office:

• The position must be a full-time position with a public school system, non-profit entity, or public sector educational organization serving the Providence/Rhode Island urban core region, defined as communities with a high concentration of students from low-income families.
• The position must be one that has a substantial focus (30% or greater) on improving the quality of education for low-income students specifically which means:
  • A teaching position qualifies if it is located in a school with an enrollment of 30% or greater students from low-income families. Schools listed in the Teacher Cancellation Low Income (TCLI) Directory qualify. Others may also qualify with evidence about enrollment demographics.
  • A policy position qualifies if a substantial portion of its work (30% or more) supports providing direct service or developing policy to improve the quality of education for students from low-income families. This is determined both by the organization’s mission and by official position description provided by the employer. Additional information or justification may also be requested for approval.

Qualifying Service 

Complete three (3) consecutive years of service in a qualifying position as described above.

Apply for Loan Deferment

Borrowers who are completing their qualifying service may delay repayment by applying for deferment. Borrowers must request deferment at the beginning of each year of qualified service.  

While the loan terms call for three years of consecutive service in a qualifying position, borrowers may request up to one year of deferment in special circumstances, including difficulties in securing a local position or health, personal, or family circumstances that impact continuous employment. Deferment can also be requested for enrollment at least half-time at an institution of higher education. Please be in touch with Student Financial Services at sfs@brown.edu. as early as possible to discuss this possibility if the need arises.

Tip: File the initial deferment application promptly (within 3 months of enrollment ending, and annually for each of the 3 years of qualifying service) to avoid interest from accruing on your loan and avoid being required to pay the monthly loan installment. Loan cancellation does not include interest charges that accrued or monthly loan payments that have been made. Failure to satisfy the terms of the loan will result in the borrower being responsible for repaying the full amount of the loan.

Borrowers should refer to their signed promissory note for additional details. 

To apply for deferment, borrowers must complete the Urban Education Deferment form, have their employer certify the form, and email the completed form to Student Financial Services at sfs@brown.edu. Additional information on how the position meets the requirements of the program may be requested, such as school demographics data for schools not listed in the TCLI Directory or more information on the organization’s mission and position activities.  

NOTE: Employment at Providence Public School District, Central Falls School District, or the Rhode Island Department of Education do not require further documentation.

Apply for Loan Cancellation/Forgiveness

At the end of three years of qualifying employment, borrowers can request cancellation of up to 100% of the original loan amount (principal).  

To qualify for cancellation, borrowers must meet the following criteria: 

• Borrower has obtained a Brown University MAT or UEP degree.
• Borrower has completed three years of consecutive service in a full-time qualifying position with the Rhode Island urban core and has filed deferment paperwork on the loan each year.
• Borrower completes the Urban Education Loan Cancellation Request Form and provides required documentation, including certification from the employer that the Borrower was employed in that position for the years indicated and how it meets the terms of the loan.

Borrowers should refer to their signed promissory note for additional details. 

To apply for cancellation, borrowers must complete the Urban Education Cancellation form, have their employer certify the form, and email the completed form to Student Financial Services at sfs@brown.edu. All required documentation must be submitted by the student to Brown University Student Financial Services and be approved by Brown University in order to receive loan forgiveness. 

Medical Students

Several university loans may be offered to medical students with high financial need.  Students may apply with the Alpert Medical School Office of Financial Aid to be considered for need-based university loans.   

Once the loan is awarded, Student Financial Services will instruct students on how to accept the loan, complete the required promissory note and entrance counseling requirements, and will disburse the loan funds to the student account. These loans are repaid directly to Brown University Student Financial Services. Review the Loan Process to learn more about how to apply and receive loans.

Grace Period

• 6 months; begins when enrollment ends or drops below half time

Interest Rates

• The fixed interest rate is 5%.
• Years prior to 2022-2023:The fixed interest rates for Casperson, Ellwood, Kaplan, and Medical loans were 7%; for Plitt/Anderson Loan was 5%.