Acceptable Financial Documents

The following types of financial documents are accepted for purposes of I-20 or DS-2019 issuance:

• Bank statement(s) in Checking or Savings accounts, or letter(s) that indicate the availability of the required amounts. The document should specify an exact balance in USD or other currency. If a bank letter does not provide the exact balance, it should be issued by a bank officer confirming that the available balance meets or exceeds the amount required for your program. The statement or letter should indicate the account holder's name in English and be dated within the last 90 days.
• Financial aid award letters from Brown
• Scholarship or fellowship letters from Brown
• External scholarship or fellowship letters that indicate the recipient (student name), the amount of funds being provided, and that the funds are available to support the student's educational program at Brown*

The following documents are not accepted: tax documents, salary statements, property or real estate deeds, stock or mutual fund statements, retirement account statements, frozen funds, term accounts, time deposits, or certificates of deposit with future maturity dates.

Financial Sponsorship Declaration

If you are submitting a bank statement for an account that does not include your name, you must also include/submit a Financial Sponsorship Declaration form. The form must be completed by the account holder.

Certain students may be sponsored by an external government agency, such as their home government or by the Fulbright organization. External funding letters should clearly specify the student's name, the supported amounts, and the program of study.

If the student's sponsor requires J-1 visa status as a condition for receiving the award, your admission office and ISSS will work together to provide additional details on the J-1 visa process.

Form I-20 issued for the Brown / RISD program is five academic years in length rather than four.

The total cost of attendance for master's programs varies according to the program of admission. The total required amount that must be documented is calculated when you log into the ISSS Gateway to start the I-20 / DS-2019 request process. 

For reference, the standard per course tuition is $9,320 but certain programs (see below) have different per-course tuition rates. First year tuition requirements will vary, depending on whether the program requires two, three or more courses for the first year of study.

In addition to tuition, additional costs include required fees, living expenses (room and board), and other expenses. These are standardized across all master's programs. Please refer to the table at the bottom for these additional estimates.

If you will be accompanied by F-2 or J-2 dependents (legal spouse and/or unmarried children under 21), you must submit financial documents showing that you are able to meet the following coverage amounts.