National Scholars Award

Scholarship Sponsored by The University of Arizona

Introduction
These terms apply to scholarships first offered for the 2025–2026 academic year. If you received a scholarship offer for an earlier year, refer to the Terms and Conditions for that original award year via the Scholarship selection menu. Each scholarship has its own eligibility rules (for example, residency classification, campus, location, or modality); review each award’s specific criteria. All scholarships depend on available funding.

Award amount
- National Scholars: includes National Merit Finalists.
- The National Finalist Merit Scholarship total reflects any combination of college-sponsored, corporate-sponsored, and National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC)-sponsored awards included in the offer. Students must respond to NMSC by NMSC’s deadlines to accept any portion of these awards.
- Arizona residents: $18,000 per academic year.
- Non-Arizona residents (domestic, out-of-state): award equals the value of the original Arizona Tuition Award plus a $3,000 National Scholar Award. See “Arizona Tuition Award” for details about merit review and offer amounts.

Selection
- This award is offered to National Scholars identified through the PSAT/NMSQT taken in high school. The Office of Admission will be notified when a student attains National Scholar status.
- National Merit Finalists who wish to be considered must designate the University of Arizona as their first-choice institution with the National Merit Scholarship Corporation by NMSC’s deadline. Visit the NMSC website for details.

Duration and permitted use
- Standard undergraduate duration: four consecutive academic years (eight semesters), applicable to fall and spring semesters only, subject to academic-year renewal requirements. This award cannot be used for Arizona Online programs.
- Students who complete their bachelor’s degree in fewer than eight consecutive semesters may apply any remaining semester(s) of merit tuition toward Arizona graduate tuition only in the semester immediately following undergraduate completion. To do so, students must be admitted to an Arizona graduate, degree-seeking program and enrolled full-time; notify the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid (OSFA) after admission.
- Certain professional programs that do not require a bachelor’s degree (for example, the PharmD program) may qualify for use of remaining undergraduate merit semesters after the student finishes undergraduate coursework and is admitted to that professional program. Contact OSFA for full eligibility details.
- Architecture exception: students enrolled in the College of Architecture, Planning & Landscape Architecture’s five-year Bachelor of Architecture program receive five consecutive academic years (ten semesters), for fall and spring semesters only, subject to renewal requirements.

Application
- Submitting a complete University of Arizona Admission Application for Fall 2025 serves as the application for this scholarship.

Deadlines and funding availability
- All scholarships are contingent on available funds.
- For maximum scholarship consideration (subject to fund availability):
- Non-resident (domestic, out-of-state) applicants should apply by the priority date of December 2, 2024.
- Resident applicants should apply by the priority date of May 1, 2025.
- Check the University’s application deadline pages for the most current information.

Eligibility requirements
1. Citizenship/immigration status: Be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, demonstrate lawful immigration status, or be a qualifying non-citizen Arizona high school graduate receiving in-state tuition under Proposition 308.
2. Degree objective: Be pursuing a first bachelor’s degree as an undergraduate.
3. First-time, full-time, degree-seeking enrollment: Enroll at the University of Arizona as a first-time, full-time, degree-seeking student (meaning you did not attend any postsecondary institution—community college, university, or international postsecondary institution—after high school graduation).
- Notes: Summer enrollment immediately before matriculating in fall does not affect first-time status. Dual enrollment (college courses while in high school) and participation in non-credit programs during or after high school do not affect eligibility. However, any attempted postsecondary credit taken after high school at accredited or non-accredited institutions does affect first-time eligibility.
4. Award start term: The award must be used beginning in the Fall 2025 semester.
5. Funding dependency: Scholarships are awarded only while funds remain available.
6. Program exclusions: Arizona Online and Near You Network campuses are excluded from first-year awards.
7. GED/high school equivalency: Applicants whose credential is a GED or other high school equivalency test are not eligible for first-year awards.
8. Non-graded high schools: Applicants from high schools that do not use traditional grades (for example, Mastery Transcript) may still be considered for first-year awards but will require additional review and possibly supplemental documentation.
9. Homeschool applicants: Homeschooled applicants are eligible for first-year awards when evaluated using the equivalent unweighted core GPA standards applied to traditional high school graduates.

Questions or further clarification
Contact the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid (OSFA) for any questions about full eligibility requirements, deadlines, or using remaining semesters toward graduate or professional programs.