Scholarships for New Incoming Freshmen

As an incoming freshman at UA Little Rock, you’re making some pretty important life decisions right now. To make everything a little bit easier, we created a breakdown of our scholarships for incoming freshmen like you.

Institutional scholarships for incoming freshmen do not have separate applications to complete, except our mentored programs (Category 2 below). **Important: Incoming freshmen must have both a high school transcript and standardized test scores on file with the Office of Admissions before they will be considered for scholarships.**

Steps to Take

Fall 2025 Entering Freshman Students

Only 1 award from each of the 2 categories below may be combined based on eligibility.

Category 1: Academic Merit
Scholarship Award Amount Per Year (available up to 4 years) ACT Score or equivalent SAT GPA Other Qualifying Criteria
Chancellor’s Academic Distinction
  • $5,000 tuition and fees
  • $5,000 on-campus housing
 Minimum of 20 ACT score or 1030 SAT composite score 4.0
  • Arkansas or contiguous state resident
  • US Citizen or Permanent resident
Provost’s Academic Excellence
  • $4,000 tuition and fees
  • $4,000 on-campus housing
 Minimum of 20 ACT score or 1030 SAT composite score 3.75
  • Arkansas or contiguous state resident
  • US Citizen or Permanent resident
Deans’ Academic Merit
  • $4,000 tuition and fees
  • $2,000 on-campus housing
 Minimum of 20 ACT score or 1030 SAT composite score 3.5
  • Arkansas or contiguous state resident
  • US Citizen or Permanent resident
UA Little Rock Academic Achievement
  • $3,000 tuition and fees
  • $1,000 on-campus housing
 Minimum of 20 ACT score or 1030 SAT composite score 3.25
  • Arkansas or contiguous state resident
  • US Citizen or Permanent resident
Freshman Award
  • $2,000
 Minimum of 20 ACT score or 1030 SAT composite score 3.0
  • Arkansas or contiguous state resident
  • US Citizen or Permanent resident
Category 2: Mentored Programs
Scholarship Award Amount Per Year
(Available up to 4 years)		 ACT Score or Equivalent SAT GPA Other Qualifying Criteria
Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics (STEM) Academic Scholarship
  • $6,000
 28-36 3.5
  • Majoring in an undergraduate STEM program
  • Live on campus for first two years
  • Minimum 2.50 GPA and 19+ ACT
  • Competitively awarded based on academics, leadership, and STEM-related activities
  • U.S. citizen or permanent resident
  • $4,000
 24-27 3.25
  • $3,000
 24-27 3.00
  • Award Amount Varies
 19+ 2.50
Donaghey Scholars Honors Program
  • Full tuition and fees
  • $7,000 – $10,000 yearly stipend
  • Study abroad funding
  • Laptop
  • Housing subsidy
 This is a highly selective honors program enrolling 25 new scholars each year and open to all majors.

  • Essay(s) and recommendation letters also required
  • Not stackable with any other institutional scholarships
Chancellor’s Leadership Corps Scholarship Program
  • $3,000 tuition and fees
  • $3,000 on-campus housing
  • Highly competitive based on academics, leadership, activities, and community involvement
  • 3.00 HS GPA PLUS an ACT score of 19+ OR Next-Gen Accuplacer score of 246+ in each section of Writing, Reading, and Math
  • Live on campus for first year
  • Open to US Citizens, Permanent Residents, and International residents
Out-of-state Entering Freshman Students
Scholarship Award requirements
New Arkansan Non-Resident Tuition Award Pays 90% of non-resident tuition
  • For students not receiving other waivers for non-resident tuition charges
  • Minimum 3.00 cumulative high school GPA
  • 20+ ACT score
  • Open to U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and international students
Privately funded Scholarships $1,000 – $5,000 per year
  • Over $2 million in scholarships funded through the generosity of private donors
  • Criteria vary with each scholarship
  • Competitively awarded

Additional Awards & Criteria

Additional Awards & Criteria
Scholarship Requirements Award Amount
UA Little Rock Grants
Awarded to students with exceptional financial need as funds are available.
  • 2025-2026 FAFSA must be completed by July 1st
 Award amounts vary
P.A.R.K. Scholarship
Awarded to students that complete the P.A.R.K. Program.
  • A letter must be submitted by P.A.R.K. verifying completion of the program.
 $4,000
THEA Scholarship
Awarded by the Thea Foundation to students that complete the THEA Program.
  • A letter must be submitted by THEA verifying completion of the THEA program.
 Award amounts vary


Now, a few housekeeping items:

  • Incoming freshmen must have a high school transcript and standardized test scores on file with the Office of Admissions before they will be considered for scholarships.
  • A majority of institutional scholarships may only be awarded to U.S. citizens or permanent residents.
  • We cannot guarantee an award to each applicant due to the competitive nature of scholarships.
  • You may receive multiple award offers for different mentored programs but only one may be chosen.
  • Institutional scholarships are available to pay direct expenses (tuition, fees, and room and board) that are charged to a student’s UA Little Rock student account after all waivers or discounts are applied.
  • No portion of institutional scholarship funds are refunded to the student.

We can’t wait for you to join the Trojan family! If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out. You can reach us at 501-916-3035 or send an email to financialaid@ualr.edu.