Oklahoma Rising Scholar

• Must be enrolled full-time (at least 12 hours for undergraduate and 9 hours for graduate school) at the end of the second week of classes each fall and spring semester. 

• Must complete at least 24 OU credit hours each academic year.

• If you do not successfully complete 12 credit hours in a semester, you will need to enroll in and successfully complete enough hours in the following semester to have received 24 hours over the academic year. You will receive course credit for a grade above an F.

• F’s, “incomplete”, advanced standing credit, audited classes, distance learning courses, independent study, and correspondence courses do not count as hours earned. 

• If it is your graduating semester and you will not be enrolled full time, you must contact the Office of Admissions & Recruitment so that we can determine your scholarship eligibility.

• This award is available only to Oklahoma residents who qualify for the award in high school.

The GPA requirement to maintain the Rising Scholars Award are as follows:

• Tuition Waiver: Must maintain a 2.0 cumulative GPA.
• Oklahoma Rising Scholars Cash Award: Must maintain a 3.25 cumulative GPA.

• 100% of the resident tuition is waived for students enrolled in a minimum of 12 credit hours. 

• Must complete/earn at least 24 OU credit hours each academic year.

• Duration: Five consecutive academic years during the fall and spring semesters.

• Must maintain a cumulative GPA of 2.0 at the end of each academic semester.

• Funds will be deposited into a student’s Bursar account the week before classes start.

Note: If tuition increases while in school, the resident tuition waiver will continue to cover the increased amount.

The Oklahoma Rising Scholars Award CANNOT be applied to self-supporting OU-related programs such as distance learning courses, OU Online, Advanced Programs courses, College of Professional & Continuing Studies course, self-paced courses, correspondence courses, independent study, OSLEP and non-reciprocal study abroad programs.

• A one-time $1,000 scholarship will be added to Rising Scholar Automatic Qualifiers' Bursar account by the first week of classes for the first semester, freshman year.

• The one-time stipend must be used within a Rising Scholar Automatic Qualifiers' four consecutive years as an enrolled student (starting from the term you enter OU) for an approved undergraduate for-credit research experience or as a one-time travel-study stipend when you enroll full-time (full-time enrollment over summer term not required) in one of OU’s many partner universities worldwide. 

• For the semester in which a Rising Scholar Automatic Qualifier is enrolled in a research experience, you must be enrolled in a total of at least 12 hours fall/spring or a minimum of three hours summer semester. 

• REQUIRED FORM: This stipend is not automatic. Rising Scholar Automatic Qualifiers must complete and submit a Research and Study Abroad Stipend Request Form by the deadlines listed below.

  • The form must be submitted by April 15 for Summer and Fall Semesters and November 15 for Spring Semesters. Any request form received after this date will not be processed. Your stipend will be deposited directly to your Bursar account within two weeks of the April 15 or the November 15 deadline.

• Your tuition waiver is already applied toward a winter session course (December-January) because these courses are considered part of the fall semester. Tuition is only waived for winter session courses if you were approved for your waiver in the fall semester.

• If you are within the duration of your Oklahoma Rising Scholars Award funding or tuition waiver and plan to apply either award toward graduate or professional program, you must complete and submit a Transfer of Scholarship to Professional or Graduate School. Forms should be submitted prior to the start of the first semester of the graduate or professional program.

• The graduate program must be consecutive to completion of your undergraduate degree. Full-time graduate school enrollment is 9 or more hours.

• Eligible students may take a leave of absence from the program for a period, up to one year, during which you are not enrolled in college courses. We will review Leave of Absence requests on a semester-by-semester basis. A leave of absence may not be used to remedy a grade point average or credit hour deficiency. 

• If you wish to request a Leave of Absence, you must complete and submit a Leave of Absence Request Form. Forms should be submitted prior to the start of the first semester of the leave of absence.

• Leave requests are not automatic and must be reviewed/approved by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education. Failure to get a Leave of Absence approved may result in termination of scholarship.

If a student’s cumulative GPA and/or enrolled credit hours fall below the GPA or enrolled credit hours requirements for the tuition waiver and/or scholarship stipend, they may be placed on scholarship probation. Students may be notified by OU Admissions & Recruitment and must adhere to the student success plan as detailed below for continuation of their scholarship.

• Any semesters during which a student receives no award due to grade point average or credit hour deficiency will be subtracted from the available semesters in the program. 
• The student will not have the opportunity to recoup the unpaid semester while on probation. 
• Tuition Waiver: If a student falls below the minimum requirements, they will be placed on probation for one semester, at which time they will still receive their tuition waiver. During the paid probationary semester, the student must raise their cumulative GPA and/or hours enrolled to the minimum requirements to continue receiving their award. If the award minimums are not met, the student has one additional semester of probation (unpaid) to meet the minimum requirements. A student has a maximum of one year to meet the award requirements. If the minimum requirements are not met after one year of probation, the award is discontinued.
• Oklahoma Rising Scholar Award: If a student falls below the minimum GPA or enrollment requirements, they will be placed on unpaid probation from receiving this portion of their award for up to one year. After a maximum of a one-year unpaid probationary period, this portion of the student’s scholarship will be discontinued if award minimums are not met. At the end of any semester within the probationary year that award minimums are met, these portions of the award will be reinstated.

You will need to submit a request form/application if you are needing to accomplish any of the following:

• You are enrolling in summer courses at OU and want to use a portion of your tuition waiver or cash funding for the summer. 
•  You are starting an OU graduate or professional program and would like to ensure your scholarship transfers to that program. 
• You are needing to take a leave of absence from OU. 
• You are transferring from OU to another institution (only for Oklahoma State Regents Rising Scholars Award (formerly Academic Scholars Program) and Institutional Nominee Scholarships).

Rising Scholars Award Change Request Form

To view specific scholarship amounts from previous years, visit the Incoming Freshman Scholarship page.