Scholarship Policies

The following policies assist the Office of Student Financial Assistance in administering Miami University scholarships in a fair and equitable manner to all university students.

The policies on this page apply to all Miami scholarships except the Ohio Resident Scholarship (ORS) and the Ohio Leader Scholarship (OLS). For information on those exceptions, see Policies for the Ohio Resident and Ohio Leader Scholarships.

General

  • Students must enroll full-time to receive their scholarship.
  • Students are expected to write a thank you note to the donor of their scholarship.  Failure to do so could result in the temporary or permanent loss of these funds.  Donor information will be provided each fall.
  • Students can use their Miami scholarships during fall and spring semesters only. Exceptions may be made on a case-by-case basis for students who submit appeals to the Office of Student Financial Assistance. An example of a reason a scholarship would be approved for summer use (if funding is available) would be if a student would graduate early as a result of attending summer school.
  • Students cannot receive a combination of aid, including Miami scholarships, which exceed their cost of attendance. If the total amount of financial aid exceeds the cost of attendance, the amount of the Miami scholarship(s) may be lowered so that the total aid no longer exceeds the cost of attendance. Exceptions apply if a student is receiving a University tuition waiver (eg. Staff Family Waiver). In this case, the combination of tuition waiver and University scholarship may not exceed tuition, standard double room, and standard board charges.
  • If a student is awarded a scholarship for the Oxford campus then relocates to a regional campus, he or she would no longer be eligible for the Oxford campus scholarship.
  • Students awarded scholarships to pay for room and board are required to live on campus and purchase a meal plan to receive the room and board scholarship, with minor exceptions.
  • Annual scholarship awards are made assuming students will attend both fall and spring semesters at Miami University. Students who do not enroll at Miami for both semesters will have their scholarship amounts reduced to reflect their one semester scholarship eligibility.
  • Students can use their Miami scholarships for a study abroad program only if the study abroad program is a sponsored, exchange, co-sponsored, or a Miami program.
  • Students can receive renewable scholarships for a maximum of eight semesters.
  • Each year at the end of spring semester, the cumulative grade point averages (CGPAs) are reviewed for students receiving scholarships. Any scholarship recipient who does not have the required CGPA will lose his or her scholarship for the following year.

Criteria for Renewal of Renewable Scholarships

  • Students must achieve a minimum cumulative grade point average (CGPA) to renew scholarships. The scholarship award letter from the Office of Student Financial Assistance informs students of the CGPA required to renew their specific scholarships.
  • Academic records are reviewed annually at the end of each spring semester. Students who have not achieved the minimum CGPA will be notified that they have lost eligibility for their scholarship. Students may appeal the loss of scholarship by sending a written appeal to the Scholarship Appeal Committee, in care of the Office of Student Financial Assistance.
  • In addition to maintaining a specific CGPA, some scholarships also require that students remain enrolled in the certain major fields. Students who lose eligibility for a scholarship due to changing majors cannot appeal the loss of the scholarship.

Internships and Co-ops

Students who participate in either an internship or a co-op during fall or spring semester will usually not be charged full-time tuition by Miami. Because students are not charged full-time tuition, students are not eligible to receive their scholarship for the period during which they participate in the internship or co-op. In addition, students cannot receive the full annual amount of scholarship during one semester.

Renewable Scholarships
Since students do not receive their scholarship benefit during the semester of internship/co-op, the intern/co-op semester is not counted as one of the eight semesters of scholarship eligibility. For example, if a student participates in an internship during fall semester of the junior year, he or she would not receive the scholarship(s) during this fall semester, but could use the scholarship during the fall semester of a fifth year of college. If the student does not need, or chooses not to attend a fifth year of college, the scholarship for the semester of internship/co-op will be forfeited.

Study Abroad Programs and Scholarships

  • Students may use their general Miami scholarships (with the exception of the Ohio Leader and Resident Scholarships) to study abroad if they are participating full-time in a fall or spring semester program in a sponsored, exchange, or co-sponsored program. Scholarships are limited to one semester unless the specific study abroad program only has a year-long option.
  • The total amount of Miami scholarships that can be used for study abroad programs cannot exceed the tuition portion of the program fee for the program and may not exceed the equivalent of one semester of out-of-state tuition and general fee at Miami. Scholarship funds cannot be used for room, board, travel, books, or miscellaneous fees.
  • A student's federal and state (if applicable) aid may be applied to fees and expenses in addition to the tuition portion of the program fee.
  • Eligible undergraduate students may receive an Airfare Grant that is applicable to travel fees in addition to their Miami scholarships.
  • Students who participate in a summer study abroad program are not eligible to receive their scholarship for a summer study abroad program.

Transferring to Miami

New high ability transfer students will be considered for annual merit scholarships, which are renewable with a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0. New transfer students with significant need will be considered for annual need-based scholarships, which are renewable with a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0.

Students offered scholarships to Miami during their senior year in high school who do not attend Miami following high school graduation, but who want to later transfer to Miami, cannot appeal to have their Miami scholarship reinstated.

Re-enrolling at Miami

Students with academic scholarships who withdraw from the University and later re-enroll may submit a written appeal to have their academic scholarship reinstated. The SFA Appeal Committee decides appeals on a case-by-case basis.

Renewable scholarships are awarded for a maximum of eight semesters. Scholarships that are approved for reinstatement will typically be reinstated for the remaining number of semesters of eligibility.