Scholarships & Awards

There could be a seat for you at the scholarship banquet!

Swenson College of Science and Engineering Scholarships 

More than a million scholarship dollars were awarded to SCSE students for the 22-23 academic year!

Our college is fortunate to be able to provide scholarship support to students thanks to private gifts from alumni, friends and local businesses.  

Amounts of the scholarships range from $1,000 to full tuition and applying for scholarships is easy.

If you are an incoming freshman, most scholarships are awarded through Admissions and require students to submit an application for admission by December 15 and have a completed application file by February 1, 2024. This year SCSE will also offer two FIRST scholarships for incoming freshman.

Applying is Easy

If you are enrolled in the Swenson College of Science and Engineering and have enough credits to be considered a sophomore or greater for the 24-25 academic year, you can apply for SCSE College Wide Scholarships. College wide scholarships are open to students enrolled in any of the SCSE departments. Here is a list of college wide scholarships available for the 24-25 academic year. Some scholarships will have more than one recipient.

If you are a UMD engineering student and have enough credits to be considered a sophomore or greater for the 24-25 academic year, you can apply for college wide scholarships and SCSE Engineering Scholarships. All engineering scholarships are in one application, so you won’t find a scholarship application on your department website. Here is a list of engineering scholarships available for the 24-25 academic year. Some scholarships will have more than one recipient. 

Students should also visit their department website to see what scholarships are available from their department.  Campus-wide scholarships are available to UMD students, and that information and applications can be found on the UMD One-Stop website.

Some scholarships require students to be registered fulltime for fall and spring semesters (12 credits is considered fulltime). 

Some scholarships have a requirement for financial need. This must be demonstrated through a completed FAFSA. Please take the time to complete your FAFSA. Many students miss out on awards because they did not complete a FAFSA. Students who complete a FAFSA (UMD school code 002388) by the following dates increase their eligibility for institutional scholarships:

  • Incoming freshmen: February 1
  • Returning and transfer students: April 1

SCSE College wide and SCSE Engineering applications will close on March 15, 2024. Students will be notified via email in the spring if they have or have not received a college wide or engineering scholarship.

Engineering Scholarship applications will be open on December 4 for the 24-25 academic year. Applications will close on March 15, 2024 at 4:30 pm.

College wide Scholarship applications will open on December 4, 2023 for the 24-25 academic year.  Applications closed on March 15, 2024 at 4:30 pm.

Tips for applying for SCSE College Wide and SCSE Engineering Scholarships

  • You will need your UMD login to apply
  • Complete your FAFSA application before the application deadline
  • You will be asked to upload a copy of your course work from APAS

You will be asked to type an essay 250-500 words summarizing your experience, honors, awards and  extracurricular activities. Include academic and personal achievements and aspirations.

SCSE College wide applicants will be asked to submit an essay for the Philemon and Baucis Scholarship. The essay should  demonstrated interest and activities in fields outside of immediate study objectives. These areas should involve society, nature or an interaction between the two. Evidence of this might include: volunteer work with the elderly, work in political campaigns or activist causes, mentoring programs, working in global warming causes, hiking the superior hiking trail acting as a guide for the elderly the incapacitated or youths without woodland experience.

Answer every question. Each question relates to a scholarship and is used to help determine if a student is eligible for the scholarship. Be honest with your answers - we do double check. 

Please be sure to go all the way to the end and submit your application  

Department Scholarships

Please contact the department you are associated with directly as the ones listed below have different application procedures.

Aerospace Studies: Air Force ROTC 
Biology
Chemistry and Biochemistry
Computer Science 
Earth and Environmental Sciences 
Mathematics and Statistics
Physics and Astronomy

Other Awards

More Information

For information on Swenson College of Science and Engineering scholarships contact Carrie Kayes, Scholarship Coordinator for the Swenson College of Science and Engineering at [email protected].