Scholarships and fellowships offered by the College of Arts & Sciences and its departments/programs are merit-based awards established by donors that are given based on the strength of a student’s Scholar Dollar$ application, meeting the scholarship requirements, and availability of funds. Scholarship recipients are chosen by College of Arts & Sciences or departmental selection committees.

Each department/program in the College of Arts & Sciences has its own awarding culture, schedule, and set of scholarships they administer. Please check with the department of your major for details on their scholarships.

While some awards may require the recipient to have financial need, scholarships offered by the Arts & Sciences College and its departments/programs are not awarded based strictly on a student’s financial resources.

It is required to compile a Scholar Dollar$ application to qualify for most scholarships. Your application is a formal communication of your qualifications for each scholarship and determines your eligibility.

• Answer questions in complete sentences.
• Use correct grammar, punctuation and spelling.
• Answer essay questions thoroughly. If you are limited by words/characters, still give each essay answer a beginning, a middle and a closing.
• Take notice of department announcements for scholarships
• Submit all required documents

Asking for a Letter of Recommendation

In a letter of recommendation, your professor, supervisor, coach, or activity coordinator explains how they know you and in what capacity. Through this relationship, they demonstrate they can speak to your performance and how you stood out to them. They will also likely address how you interact with others and whether you show signs of being a leader. A faculty member might also have knowledge of your personal circumstances and what obstacles and challenges you have overcome to attend the university. A good letter of recommendation will also address the faculty member’s expectations for you going forward in the remainder of your education, and possibly into your career. Their evaluation gives reviewers a picture of whether you are a good investment of scholarship dollars.

Here are some things to consider as you decide which faculty member will be able to give you the best recommendation:

• A faculty member from the department of your major will be able to speak about your performance in your main area of study.
• You will probably have one or more faculty members in your major who have taught you in several classes. These faculty members will have had time to get to know you and will be able to provide a well-rounded recommendation letter.