Scholarships and Awards

• Most awards are divided evenly across the two academic semesters. In keeping with the Office of Student Financial Aid eligibility requirements for aid, students will receive scholarships when taking at least 12 credits of coursework, full-time, on campus. Thus, you do not qualify for the semester amount of a CoE/Department scholarship(s) while on co-op. You will receive the semester amount during the term you are NOT on co-op. We encourage students to apply for scholarships for the following academic year during the CoE Continuing Student Scholarships Application period. 
• Students who are recipients of outside scholarships will need to check with the outside scholarship administrator for eligibility during their co-op.
• We encourage students to connect with the Office of Student Financial Aid regarding any other aid or awards. However, generally, students must be enrolled in at least 6 credits to be eligible for aid administered by OSFA.

If you are graduating in December and were awarded a CoE/department scholarship for the upcoming academic year, you are still eligible to accept the fall installment of your scholarship.

Students must be enrolled in at least 12 credits to be eligible to receive CoE/department scholarships. There are two cases in which exceptions may occur. 

• If you are in your final semester of your degree, and need less than 12 credits to graduate, you may still be eligible to receive CoE/department scholarships. You will maintain your eligibility, so long as you are enrolled in at least 6 credits, and apply for part-time permission with the CoE Dean’s office and get approval. 
• If you are enrolled in at least 6 credits, and are not in your final semester, but have part-time permission from the dean’s office, please reach out to coescholarships@engr.wisc.edu to discuss further. 

It is very exciting that you are considering studying abroad! Your CoE and department scholarships can apply to the semester you are studying abroad, so long as you are participating in a UW-Madison Study Abroad Program, in which you are taking a full-time course load studying engineering, that allows you to make progress towards your engineering degree.

Most scholarship awards are provided through the UW Bursar office, and are applied to your current UW ebill.  You will not need to handle the funds, or worry about losing a check. This will be done in August (for Fall semester) and in January (for Spring semester).  If you have a credit balance after any payment due date, this amount may be refunded to you through either of several Bursar procedures.  

For most students, awards will be applied directly to your tuition. If you are here on a visa, and do not complete the post acceptance process before the stated deadline, the payment process and timeline may be different for you. We will reach out if additional action is needed in these cases. For general questions regarding your scholarship, please contact coescholarships@engr.wisc.edu.

Yes, you can apply for scholarships outside of the College of Engineering throughout the year! To learn about other scholarships offered on campus aht you may qualify for, please complete the General Application in WiSH to be matched with other scholarships across campus that you meet the eligibility requirements for. 

We also advise browsing through this database of external engineering scholarship opportunities to see if there is anything listed there that you may be eligible to apply for this year: External Engineering Scholarship Opportunities.

We are sorry to hear about your current financial circumstances and can only imagine that the situation is placing additional stress on your experience as a College of Engineering student. Please consider one or all of the options below. 

• Submit an emergency financial support request through your MyUW Student Center. Instructions on how to do so are here: https://financialaid.wisc.edu/emergencysupport/

• Contact the Office of Student Financial Aid to discuss the possibility of submitting a Special Circumstances Request, to have your FAFSA data adjusted and your financial aid package reevaluated. More information on how to do that can be found here: https://financialaid.wisc.edu/applying/#SpecialCircumstance
• If you haven’t already, it’s also a good idea for you to meet with a financial aid advisor in general, to discuss whether there are any other sources of aid you could be eligible for through UW-Madison. You can schedule a meeting with their advisors by using the Starfish tool in the MyUW portal.
• The College of Engineering does have a short-term loan of up to $1000 but it cannot be used for tuition. Email engracademicdean@engr.wisc.edu for additional information and support.

• The Office of Student financial Aid has organized many resources both on and off campus to support students’ basic needs. They have dedicated Basic Needs Assistants to support you through identifying and accessing the available resources. Visit https://financialaid.wisc.edu/success/basic-needs-resources/ to learn more.
• You can also consider contacting the Dean of Students Office to participate in the BadgerFARE program, which supports students experiencing food insecurity, by adding $75 onto your Wiscard. More information can be found here.