Must be enrolled full-time (at least 12 hours for undergraduate and 9 hours for graduate school) at the end of the second week of classes each fall and spring semester.
Must complete at least 24 OU credit hours each academic year.
If you do not successfully complete 12 credit hours in a semester, you will need to enroll in and successfully complete enough hours in the following semester to have received 24 hours over the academic year. You will receive course credit for a grade above an F.
F’s, “incomplete”, advanced standing credit, audited classes, distance learning courses, independent study, and correspondence courses do not count as hours earned.
If it is your graduating semester and you will not be enrolled full time, you must contact the Office of Admissions & Recruitment so that we can determine your scholarship eligibility.
The GPA requirement to maintain the National Merit Scholarship are as follows:
100% of the resident tuition is waived for students enrolled in a minimum of 12 credit hours.
Duration: Five consecutive academic years during the fall, spring, and summer semesters.
Must maintain a cumulative GPA of 2.0 at the end of each academic semester.
Funds will be deposited into a student’s Bursar account the week before classes start.
Note: If tuition increases while in school, the resident tuition waiver will continue to cover the increased amount.
100% of the non-resident tuition is waived for students enrolled in a minimum of 12 credit hours.
Annual partial resident tuition waiver of $2,000; $1,000 each fall and spring semester.
Duration: Five consecutive academic years.
Must maintain a cumulative GPA of 2.0 at the end of each academic semester.
Funds will be deposited into a student’s Bursar account the week before classes start.
Note: If tuition increases while in school, the non-resident tuition waiver will continue to cover the increased amount.
The National Merit scholarship CANNOT be applied to self-supporting OU-related programs such as distance learning courses, OU Online, Advanced Programs courses, College of Professional & Continuing Studies course, self-paced courses, correspondence courses, independent study, OSLEP and non-reciprocal study abroad programs.
Annual cash stipend for the fall and spring for four consecutive academic years. Funded by the University of Oklahoma and is subject to change.
Must maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.25 at the end of each academic semester.
Funds will be deposited and disbursed by semester (fall and spring) into a student’s Bursar account after the second week of classes.
National Merit Finalists are offered one of three possible awards:
College Sponsored (OU Sponsored): Students will receive $1,250 per year over four years ($625 per semester) in funding, total value of $5,000.
National Merit Sponsored: Students will receive a one-time $2,500 scholarship from National Merit their first-year fall semester. OU will award an additional $2,500 for scholars during their first-year spring semester, total value of $5,000.
Corporate Sponsored: Awards can vary in duration and value. Scholars receiving less than $5,000 will receive supplemental funding from OU to ensure a total value of $5,000.
Must maintain a cumulative GPA of 2.0 at the end of each academic semester.
All four-year National Merit awards are good for eight semesters (fall/spring) or until the completion of an undergraduate degree, whichever comes first.
National Merit Scholarship Corporation will send you an annual renewal form at your home address whereby you will report your academic progress either online or by mail. If National Merit discontinues your stipend for any reason, you must contact them to apply for reinstatement.
Scholarship only available for a student’s first-year while living in OU Campus Housing.
Students must be living on campus in approved OU Campus Housing for both the fall and spring semesters their first year to receive this award.
Funds will be deposited and disbursed by semester (fall and spring) into a student’s Bursar account after the second week of classes. Full-time enrollment is also required (at least 12 credit hours).
The one-time stipend must be used within your five consecutive years as an enrolled student (starting from the term you enter OU) for an approved undergraduate for-credit research experience or as a one-time travel-study stipend when you enroll full-time (full-time enrollment over summer term not required) in one of OU’s many partner universities worldwide.
For the semester in which you are enrolled in a research experience, you must be enrolled in a total of at least 12 hours fall/spring or a minimum of three hours summer semester.
REQUIRED FORM: This stipend is not automatic. You must complete and submit a Research and Study Abroad Stipend Request Form by the deadlines listed below.
The form must be submitted by April 15 for Summer and Fall Semesters and November 15 for Spring Semesters. Any request form received after this date will not be processed. Your stipend will be deposited directly to your Bursar account within two weeks of the April 15 or the November 15 deadline.
If you have banked hours for the summer, your National Merit tuition waiver will cover the difference in tuition charges, if you choose to enroll in more hours than you have banked. If you have been approved for an exemption from the flat-rate tuition and mandatory fees program, your tuition waiver will automatically be applied for any number of hours you choose to enroll in for Summer Session, if you are eligible for your waiver during the current academic term.
Oklahoma Academic Scholars Summer Funding
Summer OAS Funding Option:
Students can use a portion or a semester of their eight-semester cash funding from the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education.
Part-Time: Students enrolled in 6 to 11 credit hours over summer.
A student enrolled in 6 to 11 credit hours may elect to ‘borrow’ from their 8 semesters available.
Part-time payment made for the summer term will count as one-half of a semester used in the program.
Full-Time: Students enrolled in 12 or more credit hours over summer.
Full-time payment made for the summer term will count as a full semester used in the program.
Eligibility: To qualify, students must have earned 24 hours combined from the prior fall and spring semesters. Students who receive part-time awards for summer must enroll in at least 6 credit hours and must complete a total of at least 30 credit hours during the full academic year (fall, spring, summer). Students who receive full- time awards for summer must enroll in at least 12 credit hours and must complete a total of at least 36 credit hours during the full academic year (fall, spring, summer).
National Merit cash stipends are not available for summer session.
REQUIRED FORM: If you wish to use a portion or a semester of your eight-semester cash funding from the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, you must complete and submit a Summer Scholarship Application by May 15.
NOTE: You will not receive a resident tuition waiver as a non-resident student in the summer. The resident tuition waiver is only available to non-resident National Merit Scholars in the spring and fall semesters.
If you have banked hours for the summer, your National Merit tuition waiver will cover the difference in non-resident tuition charges, if you choose to enroll in more hours than you have banked. If you have been approved for an exemption from the flat-rate tuition and mandatory fees program, your tuition waiver will automatically be applied for any number of hours you choose to enroll in for Summer Session, if you are eligible for your waiver during the current academic term.
Summer OU Cash Funding:
Summer OU Cash Funding Option:
Students can use a portion or a semester of their eight-semester OU cash funding over the summer.
Part-Time: Students enrolled in 6 to 11 credit hours over summer.
A student enrolled in 6 to 11 credit hours may elect to ‘borrow’ from their 8 semesters available.
Part-time payment made for the summer term will count as one-half of a semester used in the program.
Full-Time: Students enrolled in 12 or more credit hours over summer.
Full-time payment made for the summer term will count as a full semester used in the program.
Eligibility: To qualify, you must have earned 24 hours combined from the prior fall and spring semesters. Students who receive part-time awards for summer must enroll in at least 6 credit hours and must complete a total of at least 30 credit hours during the full academic year (fall, spring, summer). Students who receive full-time awards for summer must enroll in at least 12 credit hours and must complete a total of at least 36 credit hours during the full academic year (fall, spring, summer) (pdf).
National Merit cash stipends are not available for summer session.
REQUIRED FORM: If you wish to use a portion or a semester of your eight-semester cash funding, you must complete and submit a Summer Scholarship Application by May 15.
If you are within the duration of your OU Cash funding or tuition waiver and plan to apply either award toward graduate or professional program, you must complete and submit a Transfer of Scholarship to Professional or Graduate School. Forms should be submitted prior to the start of the first semester of the graduate or professional program.
The graduate program must be consecutive to completion of your undergraduate degree. Full-time graduate school enrollment is 9 or more hours.
Eligible students may take a leave of absence from the program for a period, up to one year, during which you are not enrolled in college courses. We will review Leave of Absence requests on a semester-by-semester basis. A leave of absence may not be used to remedy a grade point average or credit hour deficiency.
If you wish to request a Leave of Absence, you must complete and submit a Leave of Absence Request Form. Forms should be submitted prior to the start of the first semester of the leave of absence.
Leave requests are not automatic and must be reviewed/approved by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education. Failure to get a Leave of Absence approved may result in termination of scholarship.
If a student’s cumulative GPA and/or enrolled credit hours fall below the GPA or enrolled credit hours requirements for the tuition waiver and/or scholarship stipend, they may be placed on scholarship probation. Students may be notified by OU Admissions & Recruitment and must adhere to the student success plan as detailed below for continuation of their scholarship.
You will need to submit a request form/application if you are needing to accomplish any of the following:
You are enrolling in summer courses at OU and want to use your tuition waiver or cash funding for the summer.
You are starting an OU graduate or professional program and would like to ensure your scholarship transfers to that program.
You are needing to take a leave of absence from OU.
You are transferring from OU to another institution (only for Oklahoma State Regents Academic Scholars and Institutional Nominee Scholarships).
To view specific scholarship amounts from previous years, visit the Incoming Freshman Scholarship page.
Contact the Office of Admissions & Recruitment via email at scholar-recruitment@ou.edu.
Scholarship Administrator: Lou Thomas, lthomas@ou.edu
