The Office of Financial Aid and Scholarship has a longstanding commitment to assisting students as they pursue their educational goals.
Needs-based assistance
Various loans, grants, and programs are offered to make a Syracuse education affordable to those in need of financial assistance. Please visit the SU Office of Financial Aid and Scholarship Programs to learn more about the programs and download the appropriate forms.
academic merit
Syracuse University awards academic scholarships to eligible students based on the student’s admission application – there is no application for merit scholarships. Selection is by the Admissions Committee and eligibility is based on a student’s academic credentials, performance on standardized tests, class rank, portfolio or audition results (if relevant), community and extracurricular involvement, and overall citizenship and character.
Students who receive a University-funded scholarship must maintain a minimum cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) of 2.75 and complete at least 12 credits per semester to continue eligibility. However, students will need to take an average of 15 credits each semester to graduate in four years.
Students have three semesters to meet the GPA requirement. If a recipient’s GPA falls below the required GPA, a University-funded scholarship will not be renewed. Scholarships are renewed annually and are dependent upon the length of the student’s program and status (year in school) at the time of admission to Syracuse. Students must also meet the University’s Academic Integrity Expectations and student conduct expectations.
Scholarships are awarded to first-year students for up to eight semesters of undergraduate enrollment. If you are enrolled in an approved five-year program, you will receive awards for up to 10 semesters. Scholarships are offered for the academic year only with half of the award amount applied to each semester: half for fall and half for spring. They do not extend to non-standard academic terms (summer sessions, Winterlude, etc.) Students who enroll for only one semester will receive half of the annual award amount.
Academic scholarships are awarded regardless of financial need. To be considered for an academic scholarship or to have it renewed, students do not have to file a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), CSS/PROFILE, or any other application.
Syracuse University scholarships are tuition specific and may be combined with other tuition specific awards (including those outside of Syracuse University), not to exceed the amount of tuition for each year.
If you are a Syracuse University Dependent Tuition Benefit (DTB) eligible student receiving less than 100 percent benefit, your SU merit-based scholarship may be combined with your Dependent Tuition Benefit, up to the cost of full tuition. If you are a Tuition Exchange eligible student, your SU merit-based scholarship may be combined with your Tuition Exchange award. If you receive 100 percent tuition benefit from the SU DTB program, you will receive a merit-based scholarship in name only, as your scholarship is already included in your Dependent Benefit funding.
merit and talent-based scholarships
Syracuse University’s Office of Admissions offers several scholarship awards, all of which recognize academic, personal, and creative achievements and consider the barriers a student overcame to achieve success. There are three cornerstone merit scholarships to recognize academic achievement for top students in programs across the University and include—The Founders’ Scholarship, Chancellor’s Scholarship, and Dean’s Scholarship. All merit awards are determined at the time of admission.
More information on scholarships is available from the Financial Aid and Scholarship Office.
If you have questions about these scholarships, please contact the Office of Admissions at orange@syr.edu or 315-443-3611.
