Campaign for Scholarships

OU’s Campaign for Scholarships has raised about $146 million in total gifts and pledges. The goal is to raise $200 million.

Through the Campaign for Scholarships, OU is ensuring  that no qualified, hard-working student is ever turned away from our university because of financial need. The University's focus on endowed scholarship funds will ensure that future generations of our students receive the support they need to attend OU.

Endowed scholarships are permanent funds, with only interest earnings used each year to fund the awards.

Launched in the spring of 2005 to assist thousands of OU students who need help with necessary tuition increases, the Campaign for Scholarships has enabled OU to double the number of scholarships given to its students.

The Sooner Heritage Scholarship program is a special component of the Campaign for Scholarships. Any student is eligible to apply for the Sooner Heritage Scholarship, but preference is given to students with special needs and circumstances and to those whose family incomes are in the $30,000 to $75,000 range.

The scholarships, which range from $500 to $1,000 per academic year, are especially important for students from middle-income families who don’t qualify for federal and state grants, but who need help with increased costs.

Though an OU education remains a relative bargain, with tuition and fees near the bottom of the Big 12, more than 50 percent of all OU students and their families must take out student loans to pay for college costs, with the average college debt currently at just over $20,000.