Undergraduate Admissions

Scholarships

Scholarship Opportunities at UMass Amherst

Every year, UMass Amherst awards millions of dollars in scholarships to undergraduate students. Many scholarships require no separate application, and students may also qualify for awards through their academic interests, financial need, or outside organizations.

Complete the FAFSA

Estimate Your Costs

How Scholarship Consideration Works

Getting started is simple:

Apply for Admission
Submit your application to UMass Amherst.
Complete the FAFSA (if eligible)
Submitting the FAFSA helps determine financial need, which is considered for many scholarships and financial aid programs.
Receive Your Financial Aid Offer
Admissions scholarships and other aid will be included in your financial aid package when applicable.
Explore Additional Opportunities
Many outside organizations offer scholarships beyond your initial award. The Scholarship Search Board allows current and prospective students to search available scholarships from a wide range of sources.
Keep Searching!
After you begin classes at UMass, use AcademicWorks to search for more scholarship opportunities specifically available to UMass Amherst students.

Scholarships for First-Year Students

Merit Scholarships

Incoming students are automatically considered for merit-based scholarships through the admissions process. These include:

UMass Amherst Flagship Award
UMass Amherst Dean's Award
UMass Amherst Chancellor's Award

Merit scholarships recognize academic achievement and other accomplishments. No separate application is required for many admissions-based awards.

Learn More About Merit Scholarships

Outside Scholarships

Many students supplement university aid with scholarships from:

Community organizations
Employers
Foundations
Civic organizations
Professional associations

Applying for outside scholarships can help reduce your overall educational costs. UMass Amherst's scholarship search board allows current and prospective students to search available scholarships from a wide range of sources.

Search for Scholarships

Scholarships for Continuing Students

UMass Amherst awards more than $8 million annually in scholarships to current students. After you've begun classes, you can use AcademicWorks for a streamlined scholarship search and application process. Individual schools and colleges also offer specific scholarship and funding opportunities to their students.

Academic Works

School & college Scholarships

Frequently Asked Questions

First-year applicants are automatically considered for merit scholarships during the admissions process. A separate application is not required to be considered.

MassTransfer applicants will automatically be considered for the Honors-to-Honors Scholarship, the Academic Honors Scholarship, and the Community College Academic Honors Scholarship, which are based on need as well as merit.

If we are able to offer you a merit scholarship we will communicate that information to you via your acceptance letter. You will not receive a separate notification.

We offer a range of merit scholarships. You can find the values for each on our website here.

No, you do not need to file a FAFSA to receive or continue to receive a merit scholarship.

Merit scholarships are automatically renewed so long as you continue to maintain full-time undergraduate enrollment and satisfactory academic progress as defined in the Academic Regulations, published by the University Registrar.

You can find renewability criteria for each merit scholarship on our website here.