Scholarships and Awards

Scholarships may be merit-based or need-based. Merit-based scholarships recognize outstanding academic achievement and other accomplishments, while need-based scholarships are focused on financial need and require each student to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.

Scholarships are available from many sources:

Delaware State University Office of Financial Aid: To be considered for need-based scholarships, students are required to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which is available after October 1st each year. The 2022-2023 FAFSA filing priority deadline was March 15, 2022.
Delaware State University Office of Admissions: The Office of Admissions has scholarships available for first-year, transfer, and international students. Students will automatically be considered for some scholarships and others require a separate application. Scholarships may be renewed each year if students meet renewal requirements.
Other Delaware State University Sources: Students may apply for other institutional as well as external scholarships through Delaware State University Scholarship Universe, using the following link; https://desu.scholarshipuniverse.com/. To sign in, each student will use his/her university email as the username and D-number as the password. Application deadlines vary, so log in early and often. You can also check with your College or department for other scholarship opportunities.
Delaware State University Athletics: Your eligibility for scholarships may be impacted if you are a student-athlete. To learn more, read the Student-Athletics.

Important Information

Institutional / External Scholarship Policy:

Students who receive outside/external scholarships or tuition benefits from an outside source (e.g., parent’s employer, private and non-profit institutions, corporations, or organizations, state grant, veterans’ benefit, etc.) which when combined with institutional funds awarded total more than the “direct cost” for the semester, will have their merit and/or need-based Delaware State University funding reduced by either the amount of the tuition benefit or the overage amount.

Delaware State University institutional grants such as Aid for Needy Students, are NOT refundable and will be reduced if the total amount of scholarship funds including additional resources exceed the total direct cost (i.e., tuition, fees, etc.).