Scholarships

2013/14 College of Engineering Scholarship Application Process for Currently Enrolled Engineering Majors

The scholarship application process occurs just once annually, from December 1st until the third Friday in February. Applications are for the next academic year. All full-time engineering majors who will be sophomores, juniors, or seniors will be invited to submit a scholarship application. These engineering scholarships are independent of financial aid and are not meant as a replacement. Please check the University Financial Aid for website for their deadlines.

What Happens After You Apply

• Applications are reviewed — matched to criteria from donor.
• May be asked to interview for scholarships tied to internships.
• The scholarship committee, with representatives for each department, meets in June to begin selecting recipients.
• Notification emails are sent over the summer.
• If asked, you are required to complete a thank you letter for your scholarship donor and submit electronically to the Office of Development.
• Credit will be applied to your university bill (half fall semester and half spring semester) and will appear as an engineering scholarship.
• Scholarships may be affected if you plan to graduate at the end of the fall semester, decide to change your curriculum, or chose to work a co-op.
• If other scholarships become during the academic year, you will be considered and notified if you are selected.

Fast Facts

• The selections are made by a Faculty Scholarship Selection Committee.
• This one application makes you eligible for the hundreds of scholarships the college awards each year.
• More than 60% of UMass Amherst College of Engineering undergraduates qualify for need-based aid.
• 52% of students enrolled in the College of Engineering have a gap between their college expenses and amount of financial aid, which is often referred to as unmet need. The average unmet need is $5,878.
• The awards vary annually based on available resources. Click here to see a list of privately funded engineering scholarships that were available in 2012/13.
• Students who are currently freshman (but will be sophomores in fall '12) are eligible to apply, as are current sophomores and juniors.
• Different awards vary in their eligibility criteria. In general, academic performance (2.5 GPA or higher), financial need, and activities are the primary criteria for full-time students majoring in engineering. Some scholarships may be tied to internships with companies.
• You must be enrolled full-time as an engineering major at the University of Massachusetts Amherst to be eligible for any of these scholarships.

College of Engineering Scholarship Data from 2012/13

• 21% of the eligible engineering undergraduates applied for awards (see Fast Facts bullet #6 )
• We awarded 287 scholarships from 57 endowed scholarship funds and 79 annual scholarships.
• The average scholarship award was $1,480 (in addition to campus-wide financial aid)
• Over $425,00 in private scholarship funding was awarded

Please direct questions to:
Heather K. Demers
Director of Scholarship and Alumni Programs, College of Engineering
University of Massachusetts Amherst
130 Natural Resources Road
Office of Student Affairs, Marston 126
Amherst, MA 01003
Tel: 413-577-0231
demers@ecs.umass.edu