American University of Sharjah (AUS) has launched two new partial scholarships to help ensure applicants can acquire quality higher education and pursue their dreams. The Distinguished Student Scholarship and the Academic Accomplishment Scholarship are now being offered to qualified high school students applying to the university. These are in addition to the many grants and scholarships already offered at AUS.

First-time students who have achieved distinction by achieving a minimum cumulative average grade score of 95 percent or its equivalent in the final year of their secondary education may be eligible for a Distinguished Student Scholarship, which is automatically renewed as long as the conditions for maintaining the scholarship are met. Granted by semester, this scholarship covers 20 percent of both tuition and the lab/technology fees.

Students who have not met the conditions for maintaining the Distinguished Student Scholarship may be considered for an Academic Accomplishment Scholarship. This scholarship is awarded to first-time students who demonstrate academic excellence by achieving a minimum cumulative average grade score between 90 and 94.99 percent or its equivalent in the final year of their secondary education and covers 10 percent of both tuition and the lab/technology fees.

The new scholarships add to the many others available at AUS, such as the Active Student Scholarship which is awarded to talented students as a gesture of the university's support and acknowledgement of student achievements in the extra-curricular field; and the Athletic Scholarships offered to student-athletes. AUS also provides grants such as the Family Tuition Grant for families with more than one daughter/son enrolled simultaneously at AUS as full-time undergraduate students; and the Financial Grant for full-time undergraduate students who demonstrate limited financial resources.

The university also awards a number of graduate assistantships to qualified graduate students. The Graduate Research Assistantships provides students with opportunities to develop research experience by working with a faculty member on research-related activities and through the Graduate Teaching Assistantships, students gain teaching-related experience through part-time employment in positions such as lab assistants. Both are awarded on a competitive, semester-by-semester basis.

"We are pleased to announce these two new scholarships for first-time students," said Ali Shuhaimy, Executive Director of the Office of Enrollment Management. "As a not-for-profit institution of higher education, AUS has always been committed to providing scholarships, grants and financial relief to qualified students pursuing higher education at the university and channels a great portion of its revenue back into the university in order to do so," he added.

Other scholarships and grants include the Chancellor's Scholars Award, the Study Tour Grant, the Academic Accomplishment Scholarship, the Chancellor's List Scholarship, the Dean's List Scholarship and the Sharakah School Scholarship.