Financial Aid and Scholarships

Located in the Mezzanine floor in the Main building, the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships provides a range of aid packages that help undergraduate students finance their education.   Students may apply for financial aid regardless of their race, gender, religion or national origin. Applications for financial aid and scholarships may be collected directly from the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships (Main Building MM01E, MM01G, MM01J, MM01K, MM01H) .   For more information, please call 515 2055/5152060/5152072.    AUS students studying abroad at universities with which AUS has a semester exchange program may continue to use their AUS-granted aid or scholarship for that semester abroad.

Chancellor’s Scholars Award

First-time students with limited financial resources may apply for the highly competitive Chancellor’s Scholars Award.  The award applies to student’s tuition.  Applications for the Chancellor’s Scholars Award must be submitted by July 31 for the Fall semester and is offered for new students for the Fall semester only. The scholars granted in this category generally range from 75% to 100% of the tuition fees. 
Applications should meet the following requirements:

• Outstanding personal qualities and leadership abilities in school and the community.
• Scientific or literary contributions to the community.
• Special school or community honors or awards.
• Community services and school extracurricular activities.
• A minimum average grade score of 95 percent or the equivalent in the last three years of secondary education.
• Limited financial resources.

Rules for Maintaining Chancellor’s Scholars Award:

• Achieve a minimum semester GPA of 3.0. in each Fall and Spring semesters.
• Achieve a minimum cumulative semester GPA of 3.3 in each Fall and Spring semesters.
• Maintain full-time student status with a minimum of 15 registered credits in each Fall and Spring semesters.
• Not to be suspended or placed on conduct probation.

Family Tuition Grant

For families that have more than one daughter/son enrolled simultaneously in AUS as full-time undergraduates in a degree program, a tuition discount of 25 percent is given to each sibling after the first. If any sibling drops below 12 credits or is dismissed from the university, the family grant will be discontinued.     To receive the family tuition grant , students must complete an application available from the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships. Applications must be received by the end of the first week of classes. Family tuition grant is awarded for the fall and spring semesters only

Financial Aid

Financial aid is normally disbursed for the fall and/or spring semesters. As of Summer 2007 AUS offers financial aid in the summer session as well, provided the student was on financial aid in the previous spring semester and is registered for credited summer session courses at AUS. Financial Aid normally applies toward student’s tuition. Students on financial aid who live on campus in double or sharing rooms for men and in sharing rooms for women may be granted partial assistance toward their residential hall fees.

First-time Students
First-time students with limited financial resources who demonstrate academic excellence by achieving a minimum cumulative average grade score of 85 percent or the equivalent in the last three years of secondary education may apply for financial aid ranging generally from 15 percent to 55 percent of the tuition fees.  To be eligible for this aid, students must be admitted and have paid the required seat reservation deposit  by the deadline specified on the letter of Admission. The amount of the aid granted depends on the financial need and academic qualifications of the applicant.  Financial aid applications for new students must be submitted to the Financial Aid Office by July 31 for the Fall semester and December 17 for the Spring semester.

Enrolled Students
Enrolled full-time students with limited financial resources who have completed a minimum of 12 credits at AUS and who achieve a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.25, may apply for financial aid. The amount of the aid granted ranging generally from 15 percent to 55 and it depends on the financial need and the academic qualifications of the applicant.  Financial aid applications must be submitted to the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarship by May 15 for the Fall semester and November 25 for the Spring semester.

Conditions for Maintaining Financial Aid
Financial Aid is awarded for the academic year. Students who wish to maintain their financial aid must resubmit an application each year by the above deadline(s) for enrolled students.
In order to maintain their aid for an upcoming year, students on financial aid must meet the following conditions:

• Achieve a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.25 in each Fall and Spring semesters.
• Maintain full-time student status with a minimum of 12 registered credits in each Fall and Spring semesters.
• Not to be suspended or placed on conduct probation.

Scholarships

University Athletic Scholarship

Athletic scholarship is offered by the Office of Student Affairs with the aim of providing assistance to AUS student-athletes with limited financial resources who demonstrate athletic excellence and outstanding sports qualities. This program also aims to achieve athletic excellence and a distinguished reputation comparable to the academic prestige of AUS. Athletic scholarships are granted to eligible student-athletes on a renewable semester basis subject to terms and conditions of the AUS Scholarship program. For more information on this scholarship, please contact the Office of Student Affairs.

University Dean’s List Scholarship

Subject to available budget, students placed on the dean’s list at the end of the fall or spring semesters are eligible for a Dean’s List Scholarship, which provides a tuition remission of up to 5 percent. This remission is applicable to the semester immediately following the semester when the student was placed on the Dean’s List, provided that the student is receiving no more than 90 percent of student aid and/or scholarship from AUS and other external sponsors.  Application forms are not required. The Dean’s list scholarship is awarded during the third or fourth week of classes of fall and spring semesters only; it is not available in the summer.

University Merit Scholarship

First-time students who demonstrate academic excellence by achieving a minimum cumulative average grade score of 95 percent or the equivalent in the final year of their secondary education may apply for a Merit Scholarship. The scholarship granted in this category is 10 percent of the tuition fees and is granted by semester. This Scholarship may be granted for summer session provided the conditions of earning it are met at the end of the spring semester. Scholarship applications must be submitted by July 31 for the Fall semester and December 17 for the Spring semester.

Conditions for Maintaining Merit Scholarship Award:

• Achieve a minimum semester GPA of 2.50
• Achieve a minimum cumulative semester GPA of 3.0.
• Maintain full-time student status with a minimum of 12 registered credits.
• Not to be suspended or placed on conduct probation.

Petrofac Endowment Scholarship

The Petrofac Endowment scholarship provides assistance for junior and senior students in the AUS College of engineering who have limited financial resources and who demonstrate academic excellence and exemplify the hallmark traits that characterize American University of Sharjah-honor, integrity, leadership and service to others.  This scholarship provides up to 50 percent of tuition and is awarded yearly in the Fall semester. This scholarship does not cover AUS residential hall fees or summer session courses. Students applying for this scholarship must hold the “passport nationality” of a country in which Petrofac operates. A list of these is available from the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships.

Conditions for Maintaining a Petrofac Endowment Scholarship:

• Achieve a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.25.
• Maintain a full-time student status (minimum of 12 registered credits).
• Not to be suspended or placed on conduct probation.

Sheikh Khalifa Scholarship

The Sheikh Khalifa Scholarship awarded to junior and senior students recognizes the academic excellence, leadership potential, service to community, demonstrated talent in the field of study and participation in extracurricular and university activities.  This scholarship is awarded through an annual competition conducted within each college/school. It is granted for up to four consecutive semesters or until graduation requirements are complete, whichever occurs first, provided the continuation conditions are met. It is not awarded for the summer session.

Conditions for Maintaining the Sheikh Khalifa Scholarship:

• Achieve a minimum semester GPA of 3.25
• Maintain full-time student status (minimum of 12 registered credits).
• Not to be suspended or placed on conduct probation.

Exeter Scholarship

The university of Exeter Scholarship recognizes academic excellence, community service and leadership potential in students. It covers the tuition fees for one AUS or university of Sharjah graduate enrolled in any of the one-year master’s degree programs at the university of Exeter in England. A list of these degree programs can be found at:www.ex.ac.uk/postgraduate/degrees.  Applicants for this scholarship should meet the following criteria:

• Graduate by June of the application academic year.
• Achieve a cumulative GPA of 3.5.

Applications for this scholarship should be e-mailed to the head of the student’s department.  Students are encouraged to apply no later than March 1 of each year.

External Sponsorship

Some students are sponsored by government organizations, public institutions or private individuals. These sponsors are sent schedules twice a semester and academic transcripts at the end of each semester for students under their sponsorship. Students under such sponsorship and sponsors may contact Student Accounts at 515 2233 for more details if required.

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