New Incoming Freshmen

Here at UA Little Rock, our awards are more than just money — they are pathways to your future. Some scholarships for incoming freshmen pursuing their first bachelor’s degree are merit-based (ACT or SAT scores and cumulative high school GPA), but we have others that also take your leadership skills, community service, and extracurricular activities into account. Once we begin reviewing Trojan SMART applications, we consider each of these aspects to match you with the awards for which you are most qualified.


Academic Scholarships & Criteria

Scholarship Description Amount
Chancellor’s Academic Distinction
  • 30+ ACT or 1360+ SAT
  • Minimum 3.5 high school GPA
 $5,000 tuition/fees and $5,000 on-campus housing
Provost’s Academic Excellence
  • 28 – 29 ACT or 1300-1350 SAT
  • Minimum 3.5 high school GPA
 $4,000 tuition/fees and $4,000 on-campus housing
Deans’ Academic Merit
  • 26 – 27 ACT or 1230-1290 SAT
  • Minimum 3.25 high school GPA
 $4,000 tuition/fees and $2,000 on-campus housing
UA Little Rock Academic Achievement
  • 24 – 25 ACT or 1160-1220 SAT
  • Minimum 3.0 high school GPA
 $3,000 tuition/fees and $1,000 on-campus housing
Freshman Award
  • 22-23 ACT or 1100-1150 SAT
  • Minimum 3.0 high school GPA
 $2,000 tuition/fees

Out-of-State Academic Scholarships & Criteria

Scholarship Description Amount
Tier One
  • 28+ ACT or 1300+ SAT
  • Minimum 3.5 high school GPA
 $3,000 tuition/fees
Tier Two
  • 22 – 27 ACT or 1100-1290 SAT
  • Minimum 3.0 high school GPA
 $2,000 tuition/fees

Early Trojan Scholarships & Criteria

Scholarship Description Amount
Concurrent Student
  • Must have successfully completed at least one UA Little Rock concurrent course while in high school
  • Must meet unconditional admission requirements
 $2,000 per academic year
Trojan Pathway
  • Sign the Trojan Pathways contract at your partner high school by November 1st
  • Meet unconditional admissions requirements
 $2,000 per academic year

Mentored Scholarship Programs & Criteria

EIT Level 3

  • 24 – 27 ACT or 1160-1290 SAT
  • inimum 3.0 high school GPA

$2,000Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation in STEM
ualr.edu/lsamp
*Pending continuation of grant funding.

  • Minimum 19 ACT or 990 SAT
  • Minimum 3.0 high school GPA
  • must be African-American, Hispanic American, Native American, Alaskan Native, or Native Pacific Islander ethnicity
  • Majoring in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics
  • Submit two letters of recommendation.

$1,800 plus $1,200 for the summer institute

Scholarship Description Amount
Chancellor’s Leadership Corps
ualr.edu/clc
  • Minimum ACT score of 19 or 990 SAT
  • Minimum high school GPA of 3.0
  • Two letters of recommendation
 $1,500 tuition/fees and $1,500 on-campus housing
EAST Scholars
  • at least one year of high school EAST participation
  • Minimum ACT score of 19 or 990 SAT
  • Minimum high school GPA of 3.0
  • Submit a 250 word (minimum) letter of intent. Preferred information to include: How will this program benefit your career or life after college? What are some strengths you have that would benefit this program? Why do you want to be an EAST scholar?
  • Submit two letters of recommendation, one of which must be from your EAST Facilitator
 $3,000 per academic year
Engineering and Information Technology (EIT) Academic Scholarship
ualr.edu/eit		 Students must be majoring in an undergraduate EIT program, and freshmen students must live on-campus. Award amounts are based on academic performance levels (listed below).
EIT Level 1
  • 19 – 21 ACT or 990-1090 SAT
  • Minimum 2.5 high school GPA
 award amounts vary
EIT Level 2
  • 22 – 23 ACT or 1100-1150 SAT
  • Minimum 3.0 high school GPA
 $1,000
EIT Level 4
  • 28 – 36 ACT or 1300+ SAT
  • Minimum 3.5 high school GPA
 $4,000

Honors Program

Scholarship Description Amount
Donaghey Scholars

ualr.edu/donagheyscholars
*Cannot be stacked with any other UA Little Rock freshmen award

 This is a highly selective honors program enrolling 25 new scholars each year. Open to all students and majors.

  • Minimum 26 ACT or 1230 SAT
  • Minimum 3.25 high school GPA
  • Essay prompt 1: Compose a tweet (140 characters or fewer) that tells us who you are. Now, dissect it in 800 to 1,000 words.
    Why did you choose those words? Make sure that you clearly include your tweet at the beginning of your essay.
  • Essay prompt 2: Choose a contentious issue about which you feel passionate and defend your position in 800 to 1,000 words. Be
    sure to acknowledge the opposing side and support your argument with citations and a bibliography.
 Award amounts vary but may include tuition/fees, housing, study abroad funding, and a laptop

Additional Awards & Criteria

Scholarship Description Amount
Privately-funded Scholarships
Private Scholarships
Alumni Scholarships		 Awarded to students that meet donor’s criteria.

  • 2019-2020 FAFSA must be completed by March 1
  • Trojan SMART application must be submitted by March 1
 award amounts vary
UA Little Rock Grants Awarded to students with exceptional financial need as funds are available.

  • 2019-2020 FAFSA must be completed by March 1
  • Trojan SMART application must be submitted by March 1
 award amounts vary
Contiguous State Waiver Awarded at time of admission.

  • Meet requirements for unconditional admission
  • be degree seeking
  • Reside in a contiguous state (OK, MO, TN, MS, LA, or TX)
 Waives out-of-state portion of tuition
New Arkansan Non-Resident Tuition Award Awarded to students not receiving a Contiguous State Waiver.

    • Minimum 3.0 cumulative high school GPA

22+ ACT or 1100+ SAT
Now available to international students.

 Pays up to 90% of the difference between resident and nonresident tuition
THEA Scholarship
THEA Foundation		 Awarded to students that complete the THEA Program.

  • A letter must be submitted by THEA verifying completion of the THEA program
  • Trojan SMART application must be submitted by March 1
 $3,500
P.A.R.K. Scholarship
P.A.R.K.		 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
  • Trojan SMART application must be submitted by March 1
 $4,000


Important Notes:

  • UA Little Rock 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 Academic Scholarships, Early Trojan Scholarships, and Mentored Programs, but only two may be stacked. You will need to choose one award offered to you from two of the three categories for a total of two institutional awards.
  • Students who are required to take remedial classes may not be eligible for some awards.
  • Academic Scholarships, Early Trojan Scholarships, and Mentored Program Scholarships are available to pay direct expenses (tuition, fees, room and board) that are charged to a student’s UA Little Rock student account after all waivers or discounts are applied.
  • See Trojan SMART and the Trojan SMART instructions for applying for details on our scholarship application and process. A condensed view of our scholarships can be found here.