Augusta University Scholarships (2026–2027)

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Last Updated on July 30, 2026
What This Page Covers:
  • Tuition, housing, and average family net price
  • Automatic merit ranges and qualifier benchmarks
  • Flagship and hidden-gem awards
  • Honors and stacking strategy

📊 Admissions Snapshot

  • Acceptance Rate: ~86%
  • Middle 50% ACT: 19-26
  • Middle 50% SAT: 1020-1230
  • Average GPA: 3.43

Augusta University is a little different from most public schools your student will look at. It is built around an academic health center, which means the Medical College of Georgia and the Dental College of Georgia sit on the same campus as the undergraduate programs. That shapes almost everything about how money works here.

The good news for families is the sticker price. AU is the most affordable research university in Georgia, and in-state direct costs land in the low twenty thousands before a dollar of aid. The catch is that AU does not hand out big automatic scholarships the way schools like Alabama or Mississippi State do. There is no chart where a certain ACT score equals a certain dollar amount. What is here instead is a low base price, Georgia’s HOPE and Zell Miller money, and a pool of institutional and departmental awards you have to go apply for after you are admitted.

Comparing multiple schools? Try the Scholarship Tool to search by GPA, test scores, and state →

📌 Augusta University at a Glance

Average Net Price
$13,976/year (in-state estimate)
Average paid for residents.
Automatic Merit
No published merit tiers
No separate application.
Scholarships Tracked
8 opportunities
8 hidden gem
Merit Evaluation
Holistic Review / Varies
Merit depends on profile rigor.
Testing Policy
Test-optional (conditional)
Superscores ACT/SAT.
Key Deadlines
Priority: Feb 1 • FAFSA: Apr 1
Honors College
Honors Program Available
Residency & Waivers
ACM
🚨 Easy-to-Miss “Gotchas” at Augusta University (Read This First)

  • There is no automatic merit here. None. AU publishes no score-based or GPA-based scholarship tiers. If you are comparing AU to schools that guarantee money at a 30 ACT, that comparison does not apply. Budget as if institutional merit is a bonus, not a plan.
  • Getting admitted does not put you in the scholarship pool. After you are accepted and get your JagID, your student has to log into Scholarship Universe, answer the profile questions, and actually hit apply. Skip that step and you get matched to nothing.
  • February 1 is the money deadline. Students accepted after that date can still see external scholarships in the system, but AU says they may not be matched to institutional ones at all.
  • “Test-optional” has condition attached. AU waives scores only for students whose recalculated GPA is 3.4 or higher. Below that, plan on submitting an SAT or ACT.
  • Nursing and Allied Health cost more than the numbers below. Those two colleges bill on a separate, higher tuition schedule. See the cost section for the real figures.
  • Good news for once: AU superscores. They take your highest section scores across every sitting, which is the opposite of how a lot of Southern publics handle it.

FAQ

Is this college test-optional? Yes — Augusta University is test-optional.

What is the middle 50% ACT/SAT? ACT: 19-26; SAT: 1020-1230.

Average net price? About $13,976/year after aid.

Does this school use waivers/reciprocity? Yes — participates in ACM.

Sources:
Augusta University — College of Allied Health Sciences, Scholarships & Awards: https://www.augusta.edu/alliedhealth/scholarships.php
Augusta University — Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, Students & Alumni (Scholarships): https://www.augusta.edu/scimath/chemistry/students.php
Augusta University — College of Education & Human Development, Scholarships & Other Opportunities: https://www.augusta.edu/education/scholarships.php
AU Faculty Senate – John F. Beard Award: https://www.augusta.edu/faculty/senate/beard-award/
Augusta University — Pamplin College, Music Department Scholarships: https://www.augusta.edu/pamplin/music/scholarships.php
Augusta University — School of Computer & Cyber Sciences, Scholarships: https://www.augusta.edu/ccs/scholarships.php
CollegeScorecard / Admissions: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/

💰 Cost of Attendance at Augusta University 2026-2027

📅 2027–2028 Planning Note: The costs below reflect the most recently published figures (2026–2027). Universities typically finalize the next year’s rates in the spring, and we’ll update this page once official 2027–2028 numbers are released.

Planning tip: At large public universities, tuition, fees, and housing usually increase modestly each year (often in the 2–5% range). For early budgeting, families may want to plan for roughly $1,000–$1,500 more in-state or $2,000–$3,000 more out-of-state in total direct costs once new rates are published.

Category (2026–2027) In-State Out-of-State
Tuition & Mandatory Fees (2 semesters) $8,484 $25,918
Housing & Meals (typical) $13,138 $13,138
Total (Direct Costs) $21,622 $39,056

Average Federal Net Price: $13,976 — this is what families actually paid after grants and scholarships (no loans), based on the most recent federal data. Your specific cost could be significantly lower or higher depending on your financial aid eligibility and merit scholarships. New to Net Price & SAI? Read our guide.

📌 Regional Tuition & Waiver Options

Offers a dedicated South Carolina Tuition Waiver that credits back the out-of-state fee differential for any degree-seeking undergraduate student who is a legal resident of South Carolina.

⚠️ Nursing and Allied Health Students: Your Numbers Are Different

This is the single most expensive thing families miss at Augusta University. The table above reflects the standard undergraduate rate, which covers most majors. But the College of Nursing and the College of Allied Health Sciences bill on their own, higher tuition schedule.

Tuition & Fees (2026–2027) Most Majors Nursing / Allied Health Difference
In-State $8,484 $10,524 +$2,040
Out-of-State $25,918 $32,654 +$6,736

Parent translation: if nursing is the goal, add about $2,000 a year in-state or nearly $7,000 a year out-of-state to every total on this page. Over four years that is a $27,000 swing for an out-of-state nursing family. Housing and meals stay the same either way.

Out-of-State Savings & Waivers

Augusta sits right on the Savannah River across from South Carolina, and AU leans into that hard. Qualified South Carolina residents can receive the South Carolina Tuition Scholarship, which wipes out the out-of-state differential and lets your student pay Georgia in-state rates. AU puts the savings at roughly $17,000 a year, or more than $68,000 across four years.

This is not just for the two border counties. Undergraduate residents of any South Carolina county can qualify as a Border State Resident if residency can be documented. Aiken and Edgefield county residents get an additional path that extends to graduate students. AU also participates in the Academic Common Market (ACM) for approved majors, and applicants to the Professional Scholars Program may separately qualify for a waiver covering the in-state to out-of-state difference. Confirm current rules with AU before you count on any of it.

FAQ — Cost of Attendance at Augusta University

Why does my nursing student’s bill look higher than the numbers on this page?
Because it is. Nursing and Allied Health Sciences are billed on a separate tuition schedule from the rest of the university, roughly $2,000 more per year in-state and about $6,700 more out-of-state. It is not an error on your invoice and it is very easy to miss when you are comparing schools, since most cost pages only show the standard rate.

Can out-of-state students pay in-state tuition at Augusta?
South Carolina families, yes, and this is the big one. AU offers a tuition scholarship to qualified SC residents from any county that erases the out-of-state differential, worth about $17,000 a year. You will need to show twelve consecutive months of South Carolina residency using three forms of documentation, and if your student is under 24 it is the parent’s residency that counts. A handful of programs are excluded, so verify yours. Families from other states have narrower options: the Academic Common Market for certain approved majors, and a waiver tied to the Professional Scholars Program.

What is the Academic Common Market, in plain English?
It is an agreement among Southern states. If your home state’s public colleges do not offer the specific degree your student wants, and a school in another member state does, you can sometimes get in-state tuition there. Your home state has to certify you first, it only applies to approved majors, and if your student changes majors the waiver can disappear. Treat it as a possibility to research, not a discount to assume.

Is the average net price of about $13,976 realistic?
That is the federal average of what families actually paid after grants and scholarships, and it is a useful gut check. But it is a blended average across all income levels and it lags a year or two behind current rates. Georgia families with HOPE or Zell Miller often land well under it. Out-of-state families without a waiver will land well above it. Run the Net Price Calculator for a number that reflects your actual situation.

Does HOPE or Zell Miller cover the whole tuition bill?
Zell Miller covers standard tuition for eligible Georgia residents. HOPE covers a large percentage of it. Neither one touches mandatory fees, housing, or meals, and that is where a lot of families get surprised. Even a Zell Miller student is still looking at roughly $14,000 a year in fees, housing, and food if they live on campus. These awards also run through the FAFSA and GAfutures, not through AU’s scholarship system.

When is the FAFSA priority deadline?
April 1 for fall semester. If your student is starting in spring it is October 1, and for summer it is March 1. File earlier than that if you can, because need-based institutional scholarships in AU’s system also require a completed FAFSA, and those are matched around the February 1 scholarship deadline.

Do I need the CSS Profile?
No. Augusta University is FAFSA only. That is one less form, one less fee, and one less thing to chase down.

Will these costs go up each year?
Almost certainly, though University System of Georgia schools have historically been fairly restrained about it. Plan for modest annual increases in tuition, fees, and housing. Just know that HOPE and Zell Miller amounts are set by the state and do not automatically rise to match, so your out-of-pocket share tends to creep up over four years even if the increases look small.

Sources:
https://www.augusta.edu/finaid/costofattendance.php
https://www.augusta.edu/tuition/undergraduate.php
https://www.augusta.edu/admissions/southcarolina.php
https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/institution-profile/482149

Automatic Merit Scholarships — Augusta University

Let’s be straight with you: Augusta University does not offer automatic merit scholarships.

There is no published chart of GPA and test score tiers here. No “3.5 and a 28 gets you $8,000 a year.” AU does not work that way, and we would rather tell you that plainly than pad this section with awards that do not exist.

If your student has strong numbers and you are shopping for guaranteed merit, Augusta is not going to compete with the schools that build their recruiting around it. What Augusta competes on instead is the starting price. In-state direct costs here run around $21,600 before any aid at all, which at a lot of schools is what you pay after a scholarship. Stack HOPE or Zell Miller on top of that and a Georgia family can end up with one of the lowest out-of-pocket numbers in the state without winning anything.

So where does Augusta’s institutional money actually live?

In a matching system called Scholarship Universe. Once your student is admitted and has a JagID, they log in, answer a set of profile questions, and the system matches them to institutional and external awards they qualify for. Some of those matches then require clicking through and submitting an application.

This is the part families miss. Being admitted does not enter you in anything. AU states directly that students accepted after the February deadline can still browse external scholarships but may not be matched to institutional ones at all. The system is the door, and February 1 is when it closes.

📅 Augusta University Money Timeline (Simple Version)

  • October 31: Early Action application deadline. Decisions come back by mid-November. This is also the hard deadline if your student is chasing the Professional Scholars Program.
  • December 1: Scholarship Universe applications generally open for the coming year. Housing applications open around now too.
  • February 1: The AU scholarship deadline. This is the one that matters most. Be admitted, have your JagID, and have your Scholarship Universe profile and applications submitted.
  • April 1: FAFSA priority deadline for fall. Need-based awards in the system depend on it.
  • May 1: National Decision Day and the $200 enrollment deposit.
  • Rolling / varies: Individual departments run their own deadlines and some are earlier than the university’s. Check your student’s intended major directly.

Parent rule of thumb: work backward from February 1, not from the application deadline. Your student needs to be admitted well before then to have a JagID in hand and time to complete the profile.

This institution does not offer designated Automatic Merit scholarships at this time.

Automatic Merit — FAQs (Augusta University)

Does Augusta University have automatic scholarships based on GPA or test scores?
No. AU publishes no automatic merit tiers and makes no guaranteed award based on stats. Institutional scholarships are awarded through matching and application in Scholarship Universe, and most weigh some combination of merit, need, and talent rather than test scores alone.

Then what is the deadline I actually need to hit?
February 1. That is the deadline for most institutional scholarships. Your student must already be admitted and have their JagID to access the system, so the practical deadline is earlier than it looks. Applying Early Action by October 31 gives you the most room.

Does Augusta superscore the SAT or ACT?
Yes, and this is genuinely good news. AU takes the highest scores you submit across sittings. Send every decent score report you have. Many Southern publics only count a single sitting, so this works in your favor.

Is Augusta really test-optional?
Conditionally. AU may admit students without official test scores if their recalculated GPA is 3.4 or higher. Below that, plan on submitting scores. And note that AU recalculates GPA using only the 17 required high school curriculum courses, so the number on your student’s transcript is not the number AU uses. One important exception: the Professional Scholars Program requires test scores no matter what your GPA is.

If there is no automatic merit, what is realistically going to lower our bill?
For Georgia families, HOPE or Zell Miller does most of the heavy lifting, and that runs through the FAFSA and GAfutures rather than AU. For South Carolina families, the tuition scholarship is worth roughly $17,000 a year, which dwarfs anything AU would hand out in merit. For everyone, the departmental and college-level awards in the hidden gems section below are where the actual institutional money is.

Do we still file the FAFSA if we do not expect need-based aid?
Yes, file it. A meaningful share of the scholarships in AU’s own system are need-informed and require a completed FAFSA to be considered. It is also how HOPE and Zell Miller get processed. Skipping it can quietly disqualify your student from money they might have gotten.

Sources:
https://www.augusta.edu/finaid/scholarships.php
https://www.augusta.edu/finaid/applyscholarships.php
https://www.augusta.edu/admissions/freshman.php

🏆 Flagship Scholarships (Competitive Scholarships)

Augusta University does not run a named, marquee competitive scholarship program. There is no Augusta equivalent of a Stamps, a Presidential Scholars weekend, or a finalist interview competition for a full ride. AU is not a Stamps partner, does not offer a National Merit package, and is not a QuestBridge school.

That absence is worth understanding rather than glossing over. Big competitive scholarship programs are recruiting tools. Schools use them to pull high-stats students away from more selective options. Augusta, with an acceptance rate around 86 percent and the lowest research-university price tag in Georgia, does not need that tool in the same way. It competes on cost and on access to its health sciences pipeline instead.

So if your student is the kind of applicant who could win a full-ride competition somewhere, the honest advice is to run those competitions at schools that host them, and keep Augusta on the list as the low-cost option that does not require winning anything. And if your student’s real target is medicine or dentistry, read the honors section below, because AU’s version of a flagship opportunity is not money at all. It is a guaranteed seat.

✅ Can You Stack Scholarships at Augusta University?

Augusta does not publish a university-wide stacking policy, so we are not going to invent one. Here is what we can say honestly about how the pieces generally fit together, with the strong caveat that your award letter is the only document that actually governs your account.

Aid Type Stacks? Augusta Parent Translation
HOPE / Zell Miller Yes State money that applies to tuition. Institutional and departmental awards generally layer on top to help with fees, housing, and books. This is the foundation for most Georgia families.
SC Tuition Scholarship Yes, and first This is a rate change, not a scholarship. It resets your tuition to the in-state figure before other aid is applied, so everything else stacks on the lower number.
Departmental / college awards Usually These are the gap fillers, and at Augusta they are where the institutional money really lives. Several can often be held at once, though individual funds may cap out.
Need-based grants (Pell, etc.) Usually Meant to fill what is left after gift aid. FAFSA timing drives everything here, which is why April 1 matters.
Federal service scholarships (cyber, ROTC) Read carefully These are large and often cover tuition plus a stipend, which means they can reduce or replace other aid rather than add to it. Ask the financial aid office to model it before accepting.
Outside scholarships Yes, with process AU has the sponsoring organization mail a check to the Business Office with the student’s legal name and POUNCE ID. Checks arriving between May and October get split across fall and spring unless the donor says otherwise.
The one question to ask: when the award letter arrives, call financial aid and ask whether each award is additive or whether it reduces another line. That single question surfaces almost every unpleasant surprise before it hits your bill.

This institution does not offer designated Competitive scholarships at this time.

❓ Flagship / Competitive Scholarship FAQs

Is Augusta University a Stamps Scholarship partner?
No. AU is not currently a Stamps partner institution.

Does Augusta offer a National Merit package?
No. AU does not publish a National Merit Finalist award. If your student is a semifinalist or finalist, that is a strong reason to look at schools that do, because those packages are frequently worth more than anything AU offers.

Is Augusta a QuestBridge partner?
No.

Are there any competitive, application-based awards at Augusta at all?
Yes, but they live at the college and department level rather than the university level, and they are covered in the hidden gems section. Several are meaningful: the Rattner endowment in computer and cyber sciences, the SteelGate award, and the nuclear science scholarships funded through federal energy grants. The Honors Program also actively coaches students toward national fellowship competitions like Goldwater, Fulbright, Truman, Udall, and Gilman.

What should my student prepare, given there is no essay competition here?
A clean, complete Scholarship Universe profile is worth more at Augusta than a polished scholarship essay, because the profile is what triggers matches in the first place. Answer every question, revisit it after you declare a major, and check back through the year as new opportunities open. Our Brag Sheet Builder is useful for pulling activities and service hours together before you sit down with the system.

If Augusta has no flagship award, is it still worth applying?
For a lot of families, yes, and for a specific reason: the math starts lower. A school with a $9,000 scholarship and a $34,000 price tag costs more than Augusta with no scholarship at all. Compare final out-of-pocket numbers, not the size of the award.

Sources:
https://www.augusta.edu/finaid/scholarships.php
https://www.augusta.edu/ccs/scholarships.php
https://www.augusta.edu/honors/scholarships.php

🧠 Parent Strategy: At Augusta, the Hidden Gems Are the Scholarship Program

At most schools this section is the bonus round. At Augusta it is the main event, because there is no automatic merit sitting above it. If your student does not work this list, they are unlikely to receive any institutional scholarship money at all.

  1. Get admitted early. You cannot access Scholarship Universe until you have a JagID.
  2. Complete the profile questions fully. Half-finished profiles generate half the matches.
  3. Submit every match by February 1. Matching is not applying.
  4. Then go around the system. Visit the website of your student’s intended college or department directly, because several run their own applications on their own deadlines.
  5. Screenshot every confirmation.

Parent translation: at Augusta, the family that spends one focused Saturday on this in December walks away with money the family that waited until March does not.

💎 Hidden Gem Scholarships

These are the awards that actually move the needle at Augusta. Most are tied to a specific college or department, most require a separate application or an audition, and most are invisible unless you go looking. A few things to know before you read the cards below.

  • Many are container programs. A single entry like “College of Education departmental scholarships” is really 25 named funds behind one door. The dollar figure shown is the range across that whole pool, not what any one student gets.
  • Several are upper-division. Allied Health awards in particular skew heavily toward students entering their final year, and a number are nomination-only rather than application-based. Useful to know about, not something an incoming freshman can chase.
  • Amounts are often unpublished. Where AU does not post a number, we leave it blank rather than guess.
App Required⚠ All Undergrad Only
College of Allied Health Sciences Scholarships & Awards
📅 Deadline: Varies
Non-Renewable
$50–$5,000
✘ Not stackable
🎓 All Undergrad
💡
Strategic Detail
Container of ~30 named awards ranging $50–$5,000 (e.g., Samual M. Goodrich $1,000–$5,000; Raymond C. Bard $500). The university-wide John F. Beard Award for Compassionate Care ($40,000, open to students in all AU colleges) is also listed on this page but is not Allied-Health-specific. External programs on the page (NHSC, Military Professions) excluded.
🕵
Who Actually Wins
Mostly students already deep into a program, not incoming freshmen. A large share of these go to a student entering their final year or graduating, and several are nomination-only, with faculty putting names forward through their departmental representative rather than students applying. Criteria are set by individual donors and availability shifts year to year. The list is sorted by program, so a respiratory therapy student and a physician assistant student are looking at entirely different awards. If your student is just starting, treat this as money that becomes reachable in years three and four rather than something to budget for now.
App Required⚠ Upperclassmen Only
Department of Chemistry and Physics Departmental Scholarships
📅 Deadline: Varies
Non-Renewable
Varies
✘ Not stackable
🎓 Upperclassmen
💡
Strategic Detail
Container for named awards: Operations Management International Physics Scholarship, Richard T. Mixon Chemistry Scholarship, Dr. Gray and Ms. Rozelle Dinwiddie Chemistry Scholarship, Chemistry and Physics Student Research Scholarships. Amounts not published.
🕵
Who Actually Wins
Junior and senior chemistry and physics majors, judged against each fund's own criteria. Nothing here is reachable in the first year. The Dinwiddie chemistry award asks for at least sophomore standing plus a full year completed at Augusta, with one version carrying a 3.2 GPA floor and preference for students headed toward environmental science. Several of these reward research involvement rather than grades alone, so the practical move for a freshman who wants this money later is getting into a faculty lab early.
App Required⚠ All Undergrad Only
College of Education and Human Development Departmental Scholarships
📅 Deadline: February 1 (institutional priority; departmental deadlines may vary)
Non-Renewable
Varies
✘ Not stackable
🎓 All Undergrad
💡
Strategic Detail
Container for ~25 named COEHD departmental scholarships (e.g., Becton Family, Blanche Garrard Memorial, Chick-Fil-A Uplift Fund, Kinesiology Scholarship). Dollar amounts not published on the page. Applications and essays submitted through the AU Financial Aid office / Scholarship Universe.
🕵
Who Actually Wins
Education majors, and the GPA bars here are lower than most families expect, with several funds sitting at a 2.75 or even a 2.0 overall floor rather than a 3.5. Local ties matter a great deal: multiple awards give preference to graduates of Richmond County high schools or to employees of the Richmond County School System. One award targets elementary education students with a 3.0 who are specifically not receiving HOPE, which makes it one of the few pieces of Augusta money built for the student the state scholarship missed. Applications and essays go through the financial aid office and Scholarship Universe.
Automatic
John F. Beard Award for Compassionate Care
📅 Deadline: Varies
Non-Renewable
$40,000
✘ Not stackable
👥 ~1 per year winners/yr
💡
Strategic Detail
This is a graduation honor, not a scholarship you apply for. Each year one graduating health-sciences student — usually in medicine, nursing, allied health, or a graduate program — is nominated and chosen for going above and beyond in caring for patients and the community, and receives $40,000. There's no application; you're put forward by faculty, peers, or a department. For full details visit the AU Faculty Senate Beard Award page.
🕵
Who Actually Wins
Most winners: Realistically this isn't something an incoming student can chase. It goes to a single graduating student in one of AU's health-sciences colleges each year, picked by nomination for a standout record of compassion and service — grades aren't even part of it. If you're starting undergrad, treat it as a capstone recognition that exists, not a target you can plan around.
App Required⚠ All Undergrad Only
Music Department Scholarships
📅 Deadline: Varies
✓ Renews (2.5 GPA)
$300–$3,000/yr
✘ Not stackable
🎓 All Undergrad
💡
Strategic Detail
Container of ~22 named music awards (e.g., Cantine Jones, Cleo Mauldin, Wycliffe Gordon Jazz, Mary S. Byrd). Awards traditionally $300–$3,000 per year, by audition.
🕵
Who Actually Wins
Incoming and continuing music majors who audition. That is the whole gate. Every student who auditions is automatically considered for all departmental awards, so there is no separate scholarship form to hunt down, and AU states that all incoming students are considered. This is one of the few pots of Augusta money genuinely open to a freshman. The catch is that you re-earn it every year: recipients must stay a music major, hold a 2.5 GPA, and re-audition annually, with the fall applied jury doubling as the audition for the following year.
App Required⚠ All Undergrad Only
Nuclear Science Scholarships
📅 Deadline: Varies
✓ Renews
$1,800–$5,000
✘ Not stackable
🎓 All Undergrad
💡
Strategic Detail
$1,800 per semester; part-time students may receive a partial award. (Perplexity had mislabeled this as 'Chemistry Nuclear Science Track Scholarship'; the page titles it 'Nuclear Science Scholarships.')
🕵
Who Actually Wins
Science and math majors who can show real interest in nuclear work, and unusually for Augusta, freshmen and sophomores are a target here rather than an afterthought. The most recent federal grant cycle deliberately shifted money toward underclassmen. Students must be U.S. citizens. Underclassmen need to be making genuine headway toward the Introduction to Nuclear Science course, while juniors and seniors need PHYS 2211 or CHEM 1212 behind them. A faculty committee interviews candidates. Some students are approved for automatic continued support and others reapply each semester, and part-time students can receive partial awards. In the prior grant cycle Augusta made 172 awards to 58 students, so recipients tend to hold these repeatedly rather than once.
App Required⚠ All Undergrad Only
Lillian P. and Victor Rattner Computer Science Scholarship Endowment
📅 Deadline: Varies
Non-Renewable
Varies
✘ Not stackable
🎓 All Undergrad
💡
Strategic Detail
$2.4 million endowment; per-recipient amount not published (news reports ~18 recipients). Selected by the SCCS Scholarship Committee; may be used for tuition, room and board, books and/or fees. Missed by Perplexity.
🕵
Who Actually Wins
Preference… to students who have one or more physical disabilities, demonstrate need, or based on prior academic achievement.
App Required⚠ All Undergrad Only
SteelGate Computer & Cyber Science Scholarship
📅 Deadline: Varies
Non-Renewable
$5,000
✘ Not stackable
🏫 3.0+ GPA👥 ~3 recipients winners/yr🎓 All Undergrad
📄
How to Apply
Email ccs@augusta.edu to apply.
💡
Strategic Detail
SteelGate pledged $15,000 to fund three $5,000 awards.
🕵
Who Actually Wins
Most winners: Three full-time SCCS undergraduates each year with a 3.0+ GPA; committee weighs both academic merit and financial need.
* GPA/test bands are estimates based on official selectivity and prior cohort profiles. "Who Actually Wins" insights are pulled from external peer-sourced data where students and parents have reported real-world award results. Because colleges can change funding thresholds and deadlines at any time, always verify these details with the institution before finalizing your application strategy.
Cyber families, read this part twice.

Beyond the institutional awards listed above, Augusta’s School of Computer and Cyber Sciences is a gateway to federal scholarship programs that are worth far more than anything AU funds itself. The DoD Cyber Service Academy, the NSF-backed CyberCorps Scholarship for Service (AU runs its own version called AUDIENCE), and the SMART Scholarship-for-Service all cover tuition and add a living stipend, in exchange for a commitment to work for a government agency after graduation for a period matching the length of the award.

These typically require a 3.0 or higher GPA and are aimed at juniors, seniors, and graduate students rather than incoming freshmen. But if your student is serious about cybersecurity, this pathway can turn the last two years of college into a paid apprenticeship with a job waiting at the end. Start the conversation with the school in the freshman year so the prerequisites are done in time.

Music students: the audition is the application. Every student who auditions is automatically considered for all departmental awards, so there is no separate scholarship form for incoming students. But awards are not locked in for four years. Your student re-auditions annually, and the fall applied jury doubles as the following year’s scholarship audition. Recipients must stay a music major and hold a 2.5 GPA.

❓ Hidden Gems FAQ

Can my student hold more than one of these at once?
Often yes, and at Augusta that is the whole strategy given there is no automatic award underneath them. Departmental scholarships are generally designed to fill gaps that HOPE or Zell Miller does not cover. That said, AU does not publish a blanket stacking policy, so check the award letter and ask financial aid directly whether each line is additive.

What if the award we want does not list a deadline?
Default to February 1, which is the university-wide institutional scholarship deadline, and then verify with the department. AU says plainly that departments and colleges set their own deadlines and they may differ. Music runs on the audition calendar. Some awards are only reviewed once a year at a committee meeting.

My student is a freshman. Why do so many of these look like they are for juniors and seniors?
Because a lot of them are. Allied Health awards in particular are weighted toward students entering their final year, and several of AU’s most visible honors are nomination-based recognitions for graduating students rather than scholarships you apply for. That is a real limitation of Augusta’s first-year aid picture and it is better to know it now. Focus year one on HOPE or Zell Miller, the SC waiver if it applies, and the departmental awards that do accept incoming students, like music.

What is the John F. Beard Award, and can my student go after it?
Honestly, no, and we would rather say so. It is a $40,000 award, the largest single award at Augusta, given once a year to one graduating health sciences student. But there is no application. Students are nominated by faculty, peers, or their department for an exceptional record of compassion and service in patient care, and grades are not part of the criteria. Think of it as something remarkable that exists at this university, not a line item in your college budget.

How will we find out if we won something?
Through Scholarship Universe and the student’s AU email, and it will show up on the financial aid offer in POUNCE. Departmental awards sometimes require an acceptance step or additional paperwork after notification, so tell your student to actually read those emails rather than letting them pile up.

Can current Augusta students apply, or is this a freshman thing?
Current students are arguably better positioned than freshmen here. Most departmental awards require a declared major, some require completed coursework, and several are explicitly for rising juniors and seniors. Scholarship Universe stays open year after year, so this should become an annual December habit, not a one-time task.

Sources:
https://www.augusta.edu/finaid/applyscholarships.php
https://www.augusta.edu/ccs/scholarships.php
https://www.augusta.edu/pamplin/music/scholarships.php
https://www.augusta.edu/education/scholarships.php
https://www.augusta.edu/alliedhealth/scholarships/scholarships-college.php

Honors Program at Augusta University

Augusta runs an Honors Program, not an honors college, and the difference matters for how you should think about it. There is no separate honors dorm requirement, no honors tuition benefit, and importantly, no honors scholarship fund. Admission to the Honors Program at Augusta does not come with money attached.

What it comes with is access, and for the right student that access is worth more than a small scholarship would be. Honors students take smaller seminar-style classes with senior faculty, get specialized advising and early class registration, receive 24/7 access to the honors space in the Quad Wall Building, and complete an honors thesis that turns into something they can put in front of a graduate school. The program funds student travel to present research at honors conferences as early as the first year, which is unusual and genuinely useful for anyone headed toward medical school, dental school, or a PhD.

  • Entry for first-year students: a cumulative unweighted high school GPA of 3.50 or higher, regardless of test scores. AU explicitly invites students below that line to apply anyway.
  • Second chance built in: if your student is not admitted for the first semester, an Augusta GPA of 3.40 or higher gets them added the following semester.
  • How to apply: through the Admissions Portal, after being accepted to Augusta University. It is a separate application from admission.
  • Current and transfer students: between 12 and 45 credit hours, a 3.40 institutional GPA, and at least four semesters remaining.
  • Coursework: most honors students complete at least 16 hours of core honors courses plus the thesis.
  • To graduate with the designation: finish the requirements with a GPA of at least 3.30 for the honors notation on the diploma and transcript, plus separate regalia at graduation.
⚠️ The decision nobody warns families about: Honors or Professional Scholars, not both.

Augusta states directly that because of the curriculum requirements of each, students cannot participate in both the Honors Program and the Professional Scholars Program. If your student is the high-stats kid reading this page, that is a genuine fork in the road, and it has to be decided at application time rather than sophomore year.

The Professional Scholars Program is Augusta’s BS/MD and BS/DMD pathway: three years of undergraduate work in cell and molecular biology, then straight into the Medical College of Georgia or the Dental College of Georgia for a total of seven years instead of eight. Requirements are steep. A 3.7 high school GPA and a 32 ACT or 1450 SAT for the medical track, or a 30 and 1360 for the dental track. Applications go through Common App by the Early Action deadline, and test scores are required even though Augusta is otherwise test-optional. Students in the program commit to MCG or DCG and cannot apply to outside medical or dental schools.

Kitchen table version: if medicine or dentistry is a settled decision and your student has the numbers, Professional Scholars saves a year and removes the most stressful application cycle of their life. If they are talented but still exploring, Honors keeps the doors open and builds a research record. Both are good answers. Picking without knowing you had to pick is the bad outcome.

Honors Scholarships & Fellowships

This institution does not offer designated Honors College scholarships at this time.

There is no honors-specific scholarship fund at Augusta, and we are not going to pretend otherwise.

What the Honors Program does instead is coach students toward national fellowship competitions and help them assemble applications. The program maintains an active list and provides advising for awards including the Barry Goldwater Scholarship (up to $7,500 a year for students headed into research careers in science, math, or engineering), the Benjamin A. Gilman and Boren awards for study abroad, the Udall Undergraduate Scholarship, and postgraduate competitions like Truman, Fulbright, Marshall, Mitchell, and Rhodes.

These are national competitions, not Augusta awards,

⭐ College Specialty

Here is the thing to understand about Augusta University: it is a hospital and a medical school that grew an undergraduate campus, not a liberal arts college that added a nursing program. The Medical College of Georgia is the state’s public medical school. The Dental College of Georgia is the state’s only dental school. Both sit on campus. So does a 478-bed medical center and a children’s hospital. If your student wants to work in health care, the clinical exposure available here as an undergraduate is not something most schools can match at this price.

The Signature Opportunity:
The Professional Scholars Programs (BS/MD and BS/DMD) — Augusta lets a small group of high school seniors lock in a seat at the Medical College of Georgia or the Dental College of Georgia before they ever set foot on campus. Three years of undergraduate work in cell and molecular biology, then straight into professional school, finishing in seven years instead of eight. Students move through as a cohort with built-in clinical exposure, shadowing, and research. The bar is high (3.7 GPA, 32 ACT or 1450 SAT for medicine, 30 or 1360 for dentistry, applied by the Early Action deadline), and it is a commitment rather than a hedge, since scholars complete their professional training at MCG or DCG. But for a family whose kid has known since middle school what they want to do, this removes an entire application cycle and a year of tuition.
  • Nursing: the flagship undergraduate program and one of the most established in the state. Students train inside an academic health center rather than rotating out to unaffiliated hospitals. Remember that nursing is billed on the higher tuition schedule, so budget accordingly.
  • Cybersecurity and computing: genuinely one of the best-placed programs of its kind anywhere. The School of Computer and Cyber Sciences operates out of the Georgia Cyber Center, and Augusta is home to Fort Eisenhower and the Army’s cyber operations. That proximity translates into internships, federal service scholarships, and a hiring pipeline that most computer science departments cannot offer. The $2.4 million Rattner endowment funds roughly 18 students a year, covering tuition, materials, and room and board.
  • Nuclear science track: a real rarity. Augusta is one of very few universities that lets chemistry and physics majors specialize in nuclear science at the undergraduate level, driven by proximity to the Savannah River Site and Plant Vogtle. Scholarships here are funded by federal energy grants and run up to $5,000 per semester, and students land internships at the Savannah River Site. Small program, unusual credential, strong regional job market.
  • Allied health sciences: Georgia’s only health sciences college inside an academic health center. Physical therapy, occupational therapy, physician assistant, respiratory therapy, medical illustration, nuclear medicine technology, clinical laboratory science, radiation therapy, and

    ✅ Wrapping It Up

    Augusta University asks families to think about affordability differently than most schools do. There is no scholarship chart to work toward, no score that unlocks a number, no award letter to hope for. What there is instead is a low starting price at a real research university with a medical school and a dental school on campus, and that low starting price does more for most families than a mid-sized merit award at a more expensive school would.

    So the work shifts. Instead of chasing merit, your job here is to hit three things: get admitted early enough to have a JagID in hand, complete the Scholarship Universe profile and submit every match by February 1, and file the FAFSA. For Georgia families, HOPE or Zell Miller does the heavy lifting. For South Carolina families, the tuition scholarship is worth roughly $17,000 a year and is the single largest lever available to you at this school. And if your student is aiming at nursing, remember to add the higher tuition schedule to every calculation before you compare Augusta to anywhere else.

    Where Augusta is genuinely hard to beat is for the student who already knows they want health care or cybersecurity. Seven-year BS/MD and BS/DMD pathways you can apply to as a high school senior. Clinical exposure inside a working academic health center. A cyber school sitting next door to Army Cyber Command with federal scholarships attached. A nuclear science track almost nobody else offers. Those are not consolation prizes for the missing merit money. For the right student, they are the reason to come.

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