In order to receive your I-20/DS-2019, you must show that you have sufficient funding to support yourself and any dependents during your studies. All funding information must be less than 6-months old. Use the information below to provide appropriate proof of funding to request your I-20.
Your proof of funding must be enough to cover one academic year’s cost of tuition, living expenses, student fees, and health insurance. Listed expenses are estimates only and are subject to change. Proof of funding documents will not be returned to you. We advise all students to have a contingency plan in place in the event that overseas funds become inaccessible or devalued. If funding documents are found to be fraudulent, your UWM admission is subject to revocation.
Tuition and Fees are set by the University of Wisconsin system. Know that the actual costs of your attendance may not match these totals exactly. We have provided additional resources to encourage you to review all the information to get a sense of your actual cost of attendance.
Beginning Fall 2023:
| Expense | Bachelor’s Students |
| Tuition (2 semesters) | $20,455.00 |
| Segregated Fees & International Student Fees (2 semesters) | $1,769.00 |
| Living Expenses (12 months) | $15,000.00 |
| International Student Health Insurance (12 months) | $2,089.00 |
| AMOUNT YOU MUST SHOW: | $39,313.00 |
Beginning Fall 2023:
| Expense | Business Master’s Students | Other Master’s & PhD Students |
| Tuition (2 semesters) | $28,178.00 | $24,132.00 |
| Segregated Fees & International Student Fees (2 semesters) | $1,769.00 | $1,769.00 |
| Living Expenses (12 months) | $15,000.00 | $15,000.00 |
| International Student Health Insurance (12 months) | $2,089.00 | $2,089.00 |
| AMOUNT YOU MUST SHOW: | $47,036.00 | $42,990.00 |
Beginning Fall 2023:
You must upload your assistantship contract and any additional proof of funding documents as Proof of Funding in your I-20 request. The contract’s listed stipend will apply to the required proof of funding total; if the stipend does not cover the full requirement, you will need to provide additional proof of funding for the balance.
| Expense | Business Master’s Students with ≥ 33% contract | Other Master’s & PhD Students with ≥ 33% contract |
| Tuition (2 semesters) | $4,046* (Covered by Assistantship Contract $24,132.00) | $0 (Covered by Assistantship Contract $24,132.00) |
| Segregated Fees & International Student Fees (2 semesters) | $1,769.00 | $1,769.00 |
| Living Expenses (12 months) | $15,000.00 | $15,000.00 |
| International Student Health Insurance (12 months) | $0** (Eligible for Employee Health Insurance $2,089.00) | $0** (Eligible for Employee Health Insurance $2,089.00) |
| AMOUNT YOU MUST SHOW: | $20,815.00 | $16,769.00 |
*This number is based on enrollment of 8 credits or more per semester.
**Health Insurance: Since the assistantship appointment makes you eligible for employee health insurance, you do not need to show funding for health insurance; you need to be aware that you will be paying the employee portion of the health insurance premium out of your paycheck.
Note: All funding documents must be less than six months old.
- Personal Funds: Bank Letter or Bank Statement in your name
- Family Funds: Bank Letter or Bank Statement AND Affidavit of Support signed by a parent or spouse
- Private Sponsor (Relative, Friend, Company): Bank Letter or Bank Statement AND an Affidavit of Support signed by the account holder, and proof of company ownership, if applicable
- Scholarship: Award Letter
- Government Sponsorship: Award Letter / Financial Guarantee
- UWM Chancellor’s Award, UWM Fellowship, or other UWM Award: Award Letter
- UWM Assistantship: Letter of Appointment
Note: Assistantships of 33% or higher will cover tuition and significantly supplement the cost of health insurance if enrolled with the UWM Benefits Office within 30 days of the contract start date. Students who do not enroll with the UWM Benefits Office within 30 days of the contract start date will be required to pay the international student health insurance fee. If your stipend is less than the living expenses, segregated fees, and international student fee, you will need to submit additional proof of funding. - Education Loans
We advise all students to have a contingency plan in place in the event that overseas funds become inaccessible or devalued.
If funding documents are found to be fraudulent, your I-20 is subject to cancellation.
For your proof of funding documentation, we cannot accept accounts where the money is not immediately accessible, examples include:
- stock portfolios
- property ownership
- proof of salary
- insurance policies
- retirement accounts
- fixed deposit slips (a current statement of the available funds from a fixed deposit may be acceptable)
Please see the Acceptable Forms of Funding information above.
If your funding is coming from a private sponsor, such as a parent, family member, or friend, it must be accompanied by an affidavit of support. By submitting this document, your sponsor is attesting that these funds will be available to you to cover your expenses. Please have your sponsor fill out and sign the Affidavit of Support Template Document and submit it with his/her bank information. If you prefer not to use our template, a letter including the same pertinent information is acceptable.
You will need to provide additional proof of funding if you are planning to request any dependents (spouse and/or children) be added to your SEVIS record. We will issue you the F-2 I-20 which they will use to apply for their F-2 visa. Dependent proof of funding amounts are:
- $5,000.00 for your spouse
- $4,000.00 for each child
New students requesting dependent I-20s: You will complete the dependent I-20 request during your UWM Initial I-20 request.
Continuing students adding dependents to your current SEVIS record: You need to complete a request to add F-2 dependents to your record. See our Dependents page for more information.
- Tuition: Base tuition is determined by the University of Wisconsin system.
- Tuition and Fee schedule site: Tuition & Fees | One Stop Enrollment and Financial Services (uwm.edu)
- International students who have an F or J visa are classified as non-residents of Wisconsin.
- Segregated Fees: All students are charged segregated fees.
- Segregated fees are charges, in addition to tuition, assessed to all students for student services, activities, programs and facilities that support the mission of UWM. Segregated fees are per term and based on full-time status.
- Graduate students with assistantships are responsible for their segregated fees, they are not covered in the tuition remission.
- International Student Fees: International students are charged a $100 fee per fall and spring semesters.
- Living Expenses: This is an estimate based on average costs for rent, utilities, food, and minor expenses.
- This is a standard estimate that cannot be adjusted.
- You may use more or less than this estimation.
- International Student Health Insurance: All students are required to be enrolled in UWM’s International Student Health Insurance.
- More information on this can be found on the Health Insurance & Medical Records page.
- Differential Tuition:
- In addition to the base tuition of your program, specific departments charge additional tuition per credit.
- Refer to the UWM Tuition and Fees website for the “Additional/Differential per Credit Charges” document under the appropriate term for more information.
- Additional Course Fees:
- Many courses have additional course fees on top of the normal tuition charged per credit.
- You can use the following website to look up your courses and determine if and how much you will be charged in additional course fees: Course Fees by Term (uwm.edu).
- Note: These additional costs are not included in the required proof of funding tuition estimates.
If you are interested in Scholarship opportunities, see our Cost and Scholarships page for more information.