With a steady rise in tuition, many students are left wondering how they will be able to afford their college degrees.
UTM, among one of the lowest costing four-year universities in the state according to the Tennessee Board of Regents, has a variety of academic scholarships available for students.
“What we call our academic scholarships, University Scholar, Chancellor, Dean, McWhorter Freshman and Conner, are all provided by the institution; the University’s Admissions Office identifies those who are eligible and sends them an offer letter or application to apply. Someone will receive each scholarship,” said Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Dr. Jerald Ogg.
For the 2013-2014 school year, UTM awarded a sum of $3,333,348 in academic scholarships according to the UTM Scholarship Report for 2013-2014.
The University Scholars Program is available to students for four years. This is a $5,000 scholarship and the minimum requirements to obtain this scholarship are a 28 ACT and 3.5 GPA. The program is limited to 60 students total at one time, and 15 students are admitted every year.
According to UTM’s website, “students must maintain a 3.3 cumulative grade point average to continue in the program and participate in a special ten-semester hour curriculum for University Scholar students.”
For the academic scholarships, students have to receive them as incoming freshman to be eligible for them.
“[Students] can only receive [them] as incoming first-year students straight out of high school,” Ogg said.
The Chancellor’s Award is another scholarship the university offers to its students. This is a $3,000 scholarship available for four years. The minimum requirements for this award is the same as those for the University Scholars Program. There are a “limited number of awards” for this scholarship. For a student to be eligible for this scholarship, “the student must have a 3.2 GPA at the end of two semesters and each Spring semester thereafter. Recipients must be full-time students and participate in seminars and attend lectures with distinguished campus visitors.”
UTM also offers the Deans Scholarship, which awards $1,500 per year. The award is given all four years. While the 3.5 GPA requirement is the same as the previous two scholarships, a lower minimum of a 25 ACT is required to attain this scholarship. As with the Chancellor’s Award, there are a limited number of awards available.
For incoming freshmen, a Leaders-In-Residence scholarship is available. This is a $1,000 scholarship that is awarded only for students during their first year at UTM. The scholarship is “available to student council presidents, Beta Club, Honor Society President, Senior Class President and state officers in any student organizations and JROTC Batallion Commanders.” Recipients of this scholarship are required to “participate in a special leadership development program and live in residence halls.”
Incoming freshmen students are also eligible for the UTM McWhorter Freshman Scholarship/Workship. This is a $1,000 scholarship for the freshman year and a workship totaling $1,500. Students are required to have a 20 ACT and a 3.0 GPA. Applications for this scholarship/workship must be submitted by Feb. 1. Students are required to maintain a 3.0 GPA.
The Harold Conner Scholarship is available to Tennessee high school graduates. “Students must have a minimum ACT of 21 and a 3.25 high school grade point average.” In order to maintain the award, “the student must have a 3.0 GPA at the end of two semesters and each Spring semester thereafter.” Students who receive the award “must be full-time students and participate in seminars and attend lectures with distinguished campus visitors.”
Along with academic scholarships, several departments offer scholarships as well.
“Some departments do have their own scholarship applications, such as nursing and agriculture, so students should inquire with their own departments to see if an application is necessary to be eligible,” Ogg said.
Some departments offer a greater number and larger sum of scholarships than others.
According to the UTM website, departments on campus that offer scholarships include the “Agriculture, Geoscience, and Natural Resources, Chemistry and Physics, Health and Human Performance, History and Philosophy, Military Science, Music, Nursing, Travel-Study/Study Abroad and Visual and Theatre Arts.”
The university also offers Music and Band scholarships, which are awarded on an audition basis. Recipients of these scholarships are not required to be majoring in any specific area. The U.S. Army offers four, three and two-year Army ROTC Scholarships based on merit. In addition to the scholarship awarded by the U.S. Army, UTM will provide $2,000 per year dormitory scholarships to recipients of the ROTC Scholarships.
Along with academic scholarships, there are six alumni-sponsored scholarships available as well; Student Alumni Scholarship, Transfer Scholarship, Valedictorian Recognition Award, Alumni Andrew D. Holt Scholarship, Joe and Pat Johnson Scholarship and Elam Alumni Legacy Scholarship.
Along with scholarships through UTM, there are multiple free scholarship locator resources which can be found online.
For students requiring additional Financial Aid or scholarship help, contact the Financial Aid and Scholarships office at (731) 881-7040.
