SJSU Scholarships

Awards are generally based on scholastic achievement and financial need. SJSU has over 900 general and departmental scholarships available, ranging from $100 to $2,500 per year.  Students are encouraged to apply for as many scholarships as possible to lessen the need for loans or part-time work to attend school.

The application process for SJSU scholarships begins January through Mid-April.   To be eligible to apply, students must have at least 8 graduate or 12 undergraduate units completed at SJSU with a GPA of 3.0 or better. A few scholarships have a lower GPA requirement, and state the minimum criteria. Students are encouraged to file the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) by March 2nd. Students can apply online at www.fafsa.gov.  International students will only be eligible for those scholarships that are merit-based. Need-based scholarships are part of Financial Aid, which is unavailable to international students. View International Students for additional information.

To apply for 2012-2013 scholarships, go to Spartan Scholarship Application. The deadline to apply is April 14, 2012 for the upcoming Fall 2012 and Spring 2013 semesters, unless otherwise stated.  

Department Based Scholarships

Various academic departments on campus advertise their scholarships through the Financial Aid and Scholarship Office, as well as through their own literature and bulletin boards. Students are strongly encouraged to keep in close contact with their major department for scholarship information. These scholarships each have their own specific criteria, deadlines, and application instructions. For information about the scholarships administered by SJSU's academic departments, students should contact their departments directly.

Private Based Scholarships

Scholarships come from a number of different sources. It can take some time and effort on your behalf to research them all. There are businesses that offer to do this work for you for a fee, but SJSU does not recommend these services. Scholarship information is available for free from FastWEB (Financial Aid Search Through the WEB ) and has a database of over 400,000 scholarships.

Note: that when you apply for a scholarship, the application and other materials you submit will represent you to the scholarship committee. It is important that you spend time on your application to do the best job you can. For some helpful hints on applying for scholarships, see our Tips on Applying for Scholarships.