Scholarships
The College of Arts and Sciences (A&S) awards more than 800 scholarships each year to incoming first-year, transfer, continuing and graduate students with declared majors and/or minors in the Arts & Humanities, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences divisions.
Scholarships are awarded on academic merit, financial need, extracurricular activities, leadership experience or other considerations.
Students must submit CU Boulder’s scholarship application to be considered. The CU Boulder scholarship application allows you to both apply for multiple CU Boulder scholarships with a general application and gain access to additional scholarship opportunities. Additional opportunities may require supplemental essays, letters of recommendation or other materials to be submitted as part of their applications.
- Important Deadlines:
- CU’s General Scholarship Application Opens: Dec. 1.
- CU’s General Scholarship Application Closes (continuing/incoming first-year): March 15.
- CU’s General Scholarship Application Closes (transfer): June 15.
Some scholarships have alternative deadlines, so be sure to review scholarship details.
- Notification: Students selected to receive a scholarship will be notified by email.
- Continuing/Incoming first-year student: mid-April.
- Transfer students: Mid-July.
- Need-Based Eligibility: To be eligible for need-based scholarship awards, applicants must submit the Free Application for Federal Student AID (FAFSA)/Colorado Application for State Financial Aid (CASFA) to the Office of Financial Aid by the priority deadline of each calendar year. To remain eligible for need-based awards, FAFSA/CASFA results must be submitted each year.
- Important Details: Most scholarships require students to remain with their declared majors and/or minors and be enrolled full-time. A&S scholarships can be found on unit-specific websites or by viewing Our Opportunities. More information can be found on CU Boulder’s Scholarships website, including information about CU’s Automatic Consideration Scholarships.
Quick Links
How to Apply
The best way to apply for CU Boulder scholarships, including those in the College of Arts and Sciences, is by submitting the CU Boulder Scholarship Application.
This is a streamlined application that allows students to apply for multiple CU Boulder scholarships by completing a general application that includes questions and essays about extracurricular activities, community service, leadership and work experience.After submitting the general application, students may be prompted to complete supplemental applications, questions, and/or essays for additional recommended scholarship opportunities.
- Continuing Students: Complete the CU Boulder Scholarship Application in the Buff Portal. Follow this Step-by-Step Guide to the Scholarship Application for Continuing Students.
- Incoming First-year and Transfer: Complete the CU Boulder Scholarship Application, accessed through the Admissions Application Status Page. Follow this Step-by-Step Guide to the Scholarship Application for Prospective Undergraduate Students.
Once you have submitted the general application, you can browse through recommended scholarships matched to you (labeled “Recommended”), all CU Boulder scholarships (labeled “Ours”), and even external scholarships (labeled “External”).
Don’t forget to follow-up on those additional recommended scholarships by completing supplemental questions and submitting any required supporting documents by the scholarship’s deadline.
Scholarships Available
A&S scholarships can be found on unit-specific websites or by viewing Our Opportunities in AcademicWorks.
Search using the keywords “Arts and Sciences."