Scholarships

• The International Freshman Scholarship
• The University Honors Program
• Athletic Scholarships
• Assistantships

The International Freshman Scholarship

The University at Buffalo offers merit-based scholarships in varying amounts to qualified international freshmen. Scholarship awards vary from $4,000 - $5,000 per academic year renewable for up to four years with good academic standing. Each year, 20 – 25 of these prestigious scholarships are awarded.

The International Freshman Scholarship:

• Is awarded only to qualified incoming Freshman (first year) students who have no course work or credits completed at a post-secondary institution.
• Is open only to full-time international students who will hold an F1 student visa (or in the case of Canadian citizens be eligible for the F1 visa status) at the time of enrollment.
• Is only available to students initially enrolling in the fall semester.
• May be combined with other UB scholarships (see information about other scholarships below).
• Is reserved for top students.

Application & Review Process:

• There is not a separate scholarship application form. Just submit the regular International Student Application form; download now (click here). Applicants using the online SUNY application form or the Common Application are also considered for the scholarship.
• All Freshman applicants will be automatically reviewed and considered for the scholarship as part of the application review process.
• The following criteria are taken into consideration:
  • Scholarships are awarded using a holistic measure; that is, everything is considered together; while GPA and test scores are important, they are not the only criteria.
  • Grade Point Average (GPA): most scholarship recipients have at least a B+ average (or the equivalent).
  • SAT test scores: although the SAT is not required, it is strongly recommended and encouraged.
  • Essay: a one page essay about why you want to study at UB (the content and ideas of the essay are more important than the grammar).
  • Teacher Recommendation: at least one letter of recommendation from a teacher who can comment about your potential as a university student and your extracurricular activities.

Apply early. For scholarship consideration, we recommend you apply well before February 1. Scholarship awardees will be announced in mid-February. Thereafter, scholarships are awarded only if they are still available; in some cases, a Scholarship Wait List is established and any awardees will be notified in the summer.

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The University Honors Program

These scholarships are very limited and awarded to only the very best applicants. Freshman applicants must submit a letter with their application indicating that they wish to be considered for the University Honors Program scholarship. International applicants usually have the following qualifications: graduated in the top 1% of their high school class, have very high TOEFL scores (usually above 650), have a very high SAT score (usually above 1400), have taken the most challenging high school curriculum available, have a superior application essay, and very strong letters of recommendation from school counselors and teachers. International freshman applicants who believe they meet these criteria and are interested in this program, should apply early (November for the following fall semester).

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Athletic Scholarships

The University at Buffalo is part of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) and offers Division I athletics. We have athletes recruited from all over the world especially our neighbors in Canada. Athletes are recruited and represent UB in all conference games are usually at the top of their division or conference levels in secondary schools. We offer athletic scholarship in the following sports: Baseball, Basketball (Men (M) & Womens (W)), Crew-W, Cross Country, Football, Soccer M&W, Softball, Swimming (M&W), Tennis (M&W), Track & Field, Volleyball W, Wrestling.

Interested students must contact the coaches directly in the sports please fill out the questionnaire at: "http://www.ubathletics.buffalo.edu/teaminfo/recruiting.shtml

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Assistantships (Graduate Students Only)

Assistantships complement graduate students studies by providing the opportunity to apply, under expert supervision, some of the skills and knowledge that they have acquired. In many cases, assistantships provide an apprenticeship experience.

Graduate Assistantships, Research Assistantships, and Teaching Assistantships are available only to graduate students. International students are considered for assistantships on an equal basis with U.S. students. Assistantships are usually accompanied with a work commitment generally 20 hours a week. Students are usually awarded a tuition waiver and stipend for the work provided.

Each individual academic department or school awards assistantships; interested graduate applicants should contact the department to which they are applying. Please visit this website to locate the contact information for graduate departments: http://www.provost.buffalo.edu/grs/gradprogram/gradprograms.asp

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