Laurels Graduate Tuition Remission Program
The PSU Laurels Graduate Tuition Remission Program was instituted to provide recognition and financial support to the best and brightest students and to enhance enrollment diversity. The program provides partial tuition remission to competitively selected, academically meritorious graduate degree students in all fields. This program includes financial need as a consideration for the selection of some of these awards.
The tuition remissions are available to admitted graduate degree students at Portland State University and to students entering a Portland State University graduate degree program in Fall term 2012. For the 2012-13 academic year, we anticipate that these awards will grant tuition remission equal to instructional fees only at in-state rates for up to 16 credits per term for Fall '12, Winter '13, and Spring '13; credit hours must be required for the student's graduate degree, and no amount of this remission may be applied to any charge of any kind except instructional fees; no amount of this remission may be refunded to the student. Approximately 35 full and part-time students were recipients of 2010-2011 awards; the number of awards will vary from year to year due to state-wide budget appropriations.
Eligibility
You are eligible to apply for a PSU Laurels Graduate Tuition Remission if you meet these requirements:
- You are a US citizen or permanent resident.
- You are admitted to (or have applied for admission to) a graduate degree program starting in Fall 2012 with university regular status (i.e., with no university conditions at admission).
Preference will be given to Oregon Residents.
The 2012-13 PSU Laurels Graduate Tuition Remission Program has two categories. In the first category (approximately one-half of the total awards), selection will be based primarily on academic performance including GPA, with additional consideration given to institutional goals for achieving student diversity, the applicant statement, and faculty recommendations. In the second category (approximately one-half of the total awards), selection will be based on a combination of financial need, institutional goals for achieving student diversity, the applicant statement, faculty recommendations, and academic performance including GPA. Students applying for awards based on financial need are required to file a 2012-13 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (available in the Financial Aid Office and on the Web at studentaid.ed.gov) naming PSU as a recipient of application data.
For awards made in recent years, new recipients had a mean cumulative PSU graduate GPA of 3.90 and an overall PSU undergraduate GPA at admission of 3.70. It is anticipated that similar performance will be necessary for 2012-13 recipients, especially in the merit category.
Tuition remission will be available to both full-time (9 or more hours per term) and part-time students (8 hours or fewer per term). For continuation, academic performance will be reviewed each term. Recipients must remain in good academic standing and make appropriate progress toward their degrees. All recipients must successfully complete the coursework for which they received tuition remission and must use the Laurels award during at least two terms with a minimum enrollment of 1 graduate credit each term. Students enrolled in master's degree programs may be eligible for renewal of tuition remission for one additional year if full time and up to two additional years if part-time, while completing the master's degree (total equivalent to six terms of award). A doctoral student may receive tuition remission renewal for up to two additional years (three years total or nine terms of award) while completing the doctoral degree.
The PSU Laurels Graduate Tuition Remission is a tuition remission and not a cash payment and will be applied to the reduction of instructional fees only for credits required for the student's graduate degree only. All recipients must pay the difference between the award and their total charges each term. If students receive graduate assistantships or scholarships that cover tuition, Laurels awards may not be beneficial to them. Courses from OCATE or other institutions and most Self Support and Summer Session courses are not eligible for tuition remission under this program. In certain circumstances, Summer courses may be covered; such coverage would be part of, not in addition to, the regular number of award terms.
For students receiving financial aid, this award will impact the financial aid package.
On-line Application Process
You will be able to apply on-line for OGS (Office of Graduate Studies) scholarships and awards beginning on October 17, 2011.
You will access the on-line application for OGS scholarships and awards at the Scholarship Manager website. (This website has a new URL, so if you have bookmarked it in the past, please create a new bookmark for it.) If you have never created an account, you will need to first create an account by clicking on "First Time User." Once your account is created, you will click on "Returning User" to access the application form.
To apply for OGS scholarships and awards, you must complete the PSU Graduate Scholarship Application on the Scholarship Manager website by the deadlines stated below.
