General Information Regarding CCSU Scholarships
Scholarship awarding for 2023/2024 starts in May and continues into the summer. All awarded students will receive notification via email and will see the award on their account for the applicable semester(s).
Central Connecticut State University annually awards over $3 million in scholarships funded by public scholarship programs and as well as private donations made to the CCSU Foundation, Inc. Scholarships are intended to assist students with the cost of attendance, as well as recognize academic performance, leadership qualities, University/community service, and campus/community engagement. A growing number of scholarships are offered by the Office of Undergraduate Admissions to incoming first-year and transfer students; many of these scholarships are renewable contingent upon the recipient continuing to meet enrollment and academic achievement criteria. In some cases, particularly those in which demonstrated financial need is part of the criteria, a FAFSA form must be filed with the CCSU Financial Aid Office.
In addition to scholarships offered to undergraduate and transfer students at the time of admission, the University offers a wide range of endowed, merit-based scholarships on a competitive basis. Students are informed when the online scholarship application process, hosted by Academic Works, opens each year. Academic Works helps CCSU students identify those University scholarship programs which most closely match their academic interests and for which they meet credit-hour and/or grade point average (GPA) requirements. Additionally, through the Academic Works portal, students are able to apply for a host of other scholarships not directly linked to an academic major.
Scholarships for First-Year Undergraduate Students and Newly Admitted Transfer Students
CCSU awards merit-based scholarships to select newly admitted first-year and transfer students as part of the admission process in accordance with the criteria for each of the scholarship programs. No scholarship application is necessary to be considered for an admission-based merit scholarship. Award notification is mailed to students by the Admissions Office. All need-based aid is awarded by the Financial Aid Office.
Scholarships for Continuing Undergraduate Students (beyond the first year)
During the Fall semester, students will receive an email from scholarships@ccsu.edu when the competition for merit-based scholarships for the following academic year is about to open. The application period begins annually in early November and closes at the end of the semester (early December). This application period is the single time each year when all continuing students can apply for merit-based scholarships for the following academic year. During this application period, students may apply to more than 300 scholarship funds according to the criteria for each scholarship program. The general application is used to qualify a student for most of the scholarships, while a handful of the scholarships require an extra step in order to be considered. Once the application period closes, applicants are screened and all complete applications are distributed to scholarship subcommittees for review. Upon completion of the review process, scholarship subcommittees submit recommendations to the University Scholarship Committee, which reviews all nominations. Approved scholarships are submitted to the Financial Aid Office for posting to individual student accounts for the academic year for which the scholarship award is made.
Scholarships for New Graduate Students
CCSU awards merit-based scholarships to selected newly admitted graduate students as part of the admission process in accordance with the criteria for each of the scholarships programs. No scholarship application is necessary to be considered for an admission-based merit scholarship. Award notification is mailed to students by the Graduate Admissions Office.
Scholarships for Graduate Students
During the fall of their first academic year, graduate students will receive an email from scholarships@ccsu.edu when the competition for merit-based scholarships for the following academic year is about to open. The application period begins annually in early November and closes at the end of the semester (early December). This application period is the single time each year when all students can apply for merit-based scholarships for the following academic year. During this application period, students may apply to more than 300 scholarship funds according to the criteria for each scholarship program. The general application is used to qualify a student for most of the scholarships, while a handful of the scholarships require an extra step in order to be considered. Once the application period closes, applicants are screened and all complete applications are distributed to scholarship subcommittees for review. Upon completion of the review process, scholarship subcommittees submit recommendations the University Scholarship Committee, which reviews all nominations. Approved scholarships are submitted to the Financial Aid Office for posting to individual student accounts for the academic year for which the scholarship award is made.
To explore merit-based scholarship opportunities offered by the CCSU Foundation, Inc. vist the Endowed Scholarships and Operating Scholarships webpages.