New Freshman Scholarships

2023-2024 Academic Year

The University of Texas at Tyler offers several different types of academic scholarships for incoming first-year freshmen through both merit and competitive holistic review. We seek to enroll high-performing students with demonstrated potential that will engage with The University of Texas at Tyler in meaningful ways. These students will graduate and go on to contribute through career success to our East Texas communities and beyond.

The admission application is available at ApplyTexas.

To secure scholarship offers, admitted students must confirm intent to enroll on or before May 1.

If you have questions about our competitive or academic merit awards, please email us at admissions@uttyler.edu or call us at 903.566.7203.

Competitive Awards

The highest-level scholarship recipients will be determined through a competitive process that places emphasis on the whole applicant, not just empirical data. Competitive scholarship applicants who meet deadline requirements will be reviewed for scholarships but may not be selected. All applicants must submit official documents to be reviewed for competitive scholarships. Students that do not submit documents by the posted deadlines will not be considered.

Honors Scholars Scholarship

• Amount: $10,000
• Honors Scholars have the opportunity to live on campus in the Honors Living Learning Community
• Admission and Scholarship Application Deadline: December 1
• Scholarship Criteria: 3.75+ high school GPA
• The following documents must be submitted no later than December 1:
  
  • Must submit ApplyTexas Admission Application
  • Must submit Honors Scholarship Application
  • Must submit official high school transcripts
• Additional Requirements:
  • Interview required for selected students.
  • Students selected for the Honors Scholars Scholarship will be members of the UT Tyler Honors Program https://www.uttyler.edu/honors/
  • Please be prepared to have a 500-word essay for the following prompt: Aristotle is attributed as saying, "It is the mark of the educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." What do you think Aristotle meant by this statement and do you believe it to be true?
• Funding is Limited: Not all students that are reviewed will be selected

 

• Renewal Requirements:
  
  • Full-time enrollment, demonstration of progress toward degree completion at UT Tyler for the semester(s) awarded
  • Maintain at least a 3.2 GPA at UT Tyler
  • Remain in good standing with Honors Program participation requirements
  • Scholarship has 4 years of total eligibility if renewal requirements are met

Patriot Scholarship

• Amount: $1,000-$5,000
• Admissions Application Deadline: December 1
• No scholarship application required
• Scholarship Criteria: 3.5+ high school GPA.
• The following documents must be submitted by March 1:
  • Official high school transcripts
• Funding is limited. Not all students that are reviewed will be selected.

 

Academic Merit Awards

Academic merit awards are based solely on GPA, class rank and/or region. All applicants must submit official documents to be considered.

Academic Excellence Scholarship

Amount: $2,000

• Admission Application Deadline: December 1
• No scholarship application required
• Scholarship Criteria:
  • Rank within the top 25% of high school graduating class with 3.0 minimum high school GPA, or Minimum 3.5 high school GPA for homeschool students, non-ranking high schools, and international students
• The following requirements must be met by March 1:
  • Must be admitted
  • Must submit official high school transcript
• Funding is limited and awarded on a first come, first serve basis

Valedictorian Scholarship

Award Amount: Last Dollar Award Covering Full Tuition, Fees, Books, Room & Board

*For more on Last Dollar, see "Last Dollar Meaning" below.

• Scholarship Criteria: Must be valedictorian from a high school located in Smith County, the cities of Palestine or Longview, or other qualifying High Schools with a UT Tyler College Readiness Coach - see below list for verified schools. Schools not listed below may still be eligible, please reach out to admissions@uttyler.edu if you believe your school qualifies but is not listed.
• No scholarship application required
• The following requirements must be met by May 1:
  • Must contact Undergraduate Admissions to be reviewed for the scholarship
  • Must be admitted
  • Provide official high school transcript showing the student is a valedictorian. A review of the final high school transcript with graduation date and rank will be required to verify award
• US Citizens and Permanent Residents must submit a FAFSA by May 1
   

Salutatorian Scholarship

Award Amount: Full Tuition & Fees

• Scholarship Criteria: Must be valedictorian from a high school located in Smith County, the cities of Palestine or Longview, or other qualifying High Schools with a UT Tyler College Readiness Coach - see below list for verified schools. Schools not listed below may still be eligible, please reach out to admissions@uttyler.edu if you believe your school qualifies but is not listed.
• No scholarship application required
• The following requirements must be met by May 1:
  • Must contact Undergraduate Admissions to be reviewed for the scholarship
  • Must be admitted
  • Provide official high school transcript showing the student is a salutatorian. A review of the final high school transcript with graduation date and rank will be required to verify award
• US Citizens and Permanent Residents must submit a FAFSA by May 1

Valedictorian and Salutatorian Eligible Schools

• Arp HS
• Athens Senior HS
• Brownsboro HS
• Bullard HS
• Chapel Hill HS
• Grand Saline HS
• Jacksonville HS
• Lindale HS
• Longview HS
• Mineola HS
• New Summerfield HS
• Pine Tree HS
• Quitman HS
• Rusk HS
• Troup HS
• Tyler HS
• Tyler Career & Tech
• Tyler Early College HS
• Tyler Legacy
• University Academy (Tyler, Longview, & Palestine)
• Van HS
• Winona H

Competitive and Merit Scholarship Renewal Requirements

Unless otherwise noted above, renewal requires completion of a FAFSA every year, full-time enrollment, demonstration of progress toward degree completion at UT Tyler for the semester(s) awarded, maintaining a minimum 3.0 GPA at UT Tyler and remaining in good standing. Scholarship has four years of total eligibility as long renewal requirements are met.

GTF Scholars Program Scholarship recipients follow separate renewal and eligibility requirements. For more information, visit the GTF Scholars Program website.

Honors Scholars recipients follow separate renewal and eligibility requirements noted above. For more information, visit the Honors College website.

Patriot Promise

Award Amount: Last Dollar Award Covering Full Tuition and Mandatory Fees

*For more on Last Dollar, see "Last Dollar Meaning" below.

• Admission Application Deadline: May 1
• Program Criteria:
  • Be a member of a household with adjusted gross income up to $80,000.
  • Enroll as a full-time student at The University of Texas at Tyler. Patriot Promise will assist in covering up to 30 credit hours per year.
  • No separate application required.
• To qualify students must meet the following requirements by May 1:
  • Must be admitted.
  • US Citizens and Permanent Residents must submit a FAFSA .
  • Must be a Texas resident for tuition purposes.
• Additional Requirements:
  • Graduate from a Texas high school and enroll at The University of Texas at Tyler within seven months of graduation, or transfer directly from another college.
  • US Citizens and Permanent Residents must complete a FAFSA every year.
  • Gift aid (scholarships and grants) offered must be less than the total tuition and mandatory fee charges, as Patriot Promise is non-refundable, last-dollar funding.

• Renewal Requirements:
  • Must maintain full-time enrollment.
  • US Citizens and Permanent Residents must submit a FAFSA yearly and continue to meet income criteria.
  • Must maintain a minimum cumulative 2.5 GPA.

For additional information on the Patriot Promise program, you may visit the Patriot Promise webpage.

Last Dollar Meaning

A last dollar award is an award that applies after all other gift aid has been added to a student's account. Gift aid refers to all scholarships, grants, exemptions, and waivers provided by the institution, by the state government, and by the federal government to a student. If existing gift aid would otherwise cover a student's entire balance, no amount of a last dollar award would be applied to that student's account.