Merit Scholarships for Undergraduate Students on Main Campus

Applicants will automatically be considered for merit (academic/artistic) awards when they apply for full-time undergraduate admission.

The following merit scholarships are awarded to students enrolled in programs at our main campus, at the discretion of the University of New Haven and, unless otherwise noted, require no special application. Students who qualify for these scholarships will be notified by the Office of Undergraduate Admissions at the time of their acceptance to the University. Please note that students receiving scholarships can also apply for traditional need-based financial aid programs.

These awards are renewable for a maximum of ten semesters and are applied only to tuition. The amounts indicated for the merit awards are based on awards offered per academic year. Each admitted student is eligible for a maximum of one merit scholarship.

Available to First-Time Students

  • All applicants are automatically considered for merit based scholarship when applying. Merit based scholarship varies depending on the students high school performance. Awards range from $15,000 - $32,000 per academic year.

    The Merit based scholarship is guaranteed for your first year and renewable each year provided you remain a full-time undergraduate student while maintaining the appropriate minimum cumulative GPA (CGPA) required by the scholarship. It is renewable for up to a maximum of ten semesters and applied only to tuition.
Available to Transfer Students

  • The Transfer Scholar Award is intended for full-time students who are transferring from another college or university and have completed 12 credit hours at their transferring institution and have a minimum GPA of 3.0. The scholarship awards vary depending on the student's GPA but range from $15,000 - $32,000.

    If a transferring student demonstrates academic success but has less than 12 credit hours completed, the student will be evaluated for a scholarship based on the First-Year academic scholarships.

    The Transfer Scholar Award is renewable each year provided you remain a full-time undergraduate student while maintaining the appropriate minimum cumulative GPA (CGPA) required by the scholarship.

  • A student who has been inducted into the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society may be considered for an additional $2,000 scholarship. This award is in addition to being considered for the Transfer Scholar Award.

    The PTK Scholarship is renewable each year provided you remain a full-time undergraduate student while maintaining satisfactory progress towards a bachelor's degree and a B (3.0) cumulative grade point average.

Additional Scholarships

  • Application for this program is by invitation and requires supplemental documentation. Students who are accepted will be notified and the scholarship amount will be additional to any merit based scholarship awarded. The Honors Scholarship is renewable if you maintain the requirements of the University’s Honors Program.

  • Interested students must express interest in the scholarship by March 1st of their senior year in high school by using one of the methods listed below. Eligible candidates must have completed their application and have been admitted by March 1st of their senior year in high school.

    To express interest in the Marching Band Scholarship you may either:

    In order to maintain the scholarship, recipients must be an active member of the University of New Haven Chargers Marching Band. This scholarship is renewable each year and up to four years as long as you remain an active member of the marching band. Currently enrolled students are not eligible for this award.

  • All students who submit portfolios and apply to one of the University of New Haven’s Art & Design and Music programs may be eligible for a portfolio scholarship. This scholarship is awarded to eligible students in addition to any other merit based award they have already received or will receive in the future provided they remain enrolled as a full-time student and remain in good academic standing.

  • Eligibility for this scholarship requires being enrolled as a full-time student in our Pompea College of Business. It is being awarded for your first year and renewable each year up to a maximum of ten semesters, provided you remain in good academic standing.

  • In addition to the aforementioned scholarships, our Financial Aid Office houses information about additional scholarships for University of New Haven students. The Financial Aid Office will automatically consider students for these scholarships after the student has completed the financial aid process. Students are also encouraged to look for scholarships in their local community or through their parent's employer.

  • The following schools or organizations have established partnerships with the University of New Haven that include special scholarship opportunities for admitted, first-time students to attend the University:

    • Ansonia High School (Ansonia, CT)
    • Engineering & Science University Magnet School (West Haven, CT)
    • Higher Heights YEP (New Haven, CT)
    • Horizons at Greens Farms Academy (Westport, CT)
    • John S. Burke Catholic High School (Goshen, NY)
    • Kolbe Cathedral High School (Bridgeport, CT)
    • New Haven Promise (New Haven, CT)
    • Notre Dame High School (West Haven, CT)
    • Sacred Heart Academy (Hamden, CT)
    • Waterbury Promise (Waterbury, CT)
    • West Haven High School (West Haven, CT)

    These scholarships are awarded by the Office of Undergraduate Admission prior to the start of a student's first year, and are not able to be awarded to students that do not receive them for their first year. These partnership scholarships cannot be combined with the traditional merit scholarships listed above. For more information on our partnership scholarships, please email admissions@hrfjk.com.

    College Access Programs
Application Process
  • To be considered for one of our academic scholarships, all you need to do is apply for full-time undergraduate admission. If accepted, you will automatically be considered for an academic scholarship.
  • Students who are admitted under Early Decision or Early Action will receive a guaranteed minimum of $18,000 in annual merit scholarship.
  • Award decisions will be based upon your academic credentials at the time of your admissions decision.
  • Students must have a completed application for admission on file by May 1 for the fall semester or January 1 for the spring semester in order to be considered for an academic scholarship.
  • Awards are based upon the availability of funds.
  • Recipients of tuition exchange, tuition benefits, or tuition remission are not eligible to stack a merit scholarship on top. Admitted students receiving tuition exchange scholarships, tuition benefits from an employer, any or all tuition remission benefits, ROTC scholarships, or Vocational Rehabilitation benefits will have their institutional aid, including grants and merit scholarships, replaced or reduced by the awarded tuition benefit.