University of Texas Permian Basin Scholarships (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.

Average Federal Net Price: $9,563 — 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

🔒 UTPB Locks Your Tuition Rate for Four Years

This is worth more than families realize. UTPB publishes a guaranteed undergraduate tuition and fee rate, meaning the rate your student enters under is the rate they pay for four academic years. At most public universities you budget for a 3% to 5% bump every fall. Here you do not. If your student finishes in four years, the freshman-year number in the table above is the number for all four years.

Sources:
https://www.utpb.edu/admissions-aid/tuition-affordability/cost-to-attend/2026-2027-tuition-fees
https://www.utpb.edu/life-at-utpb/housing-and-dining/floor-plans-rates
https://www.utpb.edu/life-at-utpb/housing-and-dining/meal-plans
https://www.utpb.edu/admissions-aid/tuition-affordability/explanation-of-fees

📅 The UTPB Money Calendar (Simple Version)

• Fall of senior year: Apply through ApplyTexas or the Common App. Merit offers start going out September 1. Applying early is free money, because the awarding window is open the whole time.
• December 15: Presidential Scholarship application closes. This is the only competitive award, and it is a hard stop.
• As soon as FAFSA opens: File the FAFSA or TASFA. This is the Falcon Free trigger.
• April 15: Last day to apply and still be eligible for automatic merit.
• June 1: Register for New Student Orientation and accept your aid award. This is what secures both the merit scholarship and Falcon Free.

Parent rule of thumb: at UTPB, April 15 gets you in the door and June 1 gets you the money. People remember the first date and forget the second one.

Every UTPB applicant is automatically considered for these four awards. There is no scholarship application, no essay, and no interview. UTPB reads the unweighted GPA on the transcript of an admitted first-time freshman and matches it to a tier. Apply by April 15 and register for orientation by June 1 to keep the award.

Copy link to these results

One award, not a pile. Colleges apply your student's single best automatic award. Automatic scholarships almost never stack with each other, though some stack with housing, departmental, or outside money. The stacking notes on each card tell you which.

💡 A test score can still move you up a tier.

UTPB is test-optional for admission and the tiers above are keyed to GPA. But the university states plainly that an applicant’s SAT or ACT score can bump up the scholarship. If your student sits right below a cutoff, say a 3.68 looking at the 3.70 line, a solid test score is the cheapest possible way to try to close that $1,000 gap. Submit it. There is no downside.

Sources:
https://www.utpb.edu/admissions-aid/scholarships/freshmen-scholarships
https://www.utpb.edu/admissions-aid/scholarships/transfer-scholarships
https://www.utpb.edu/admissions-aid/financial-aid/eligibility-enrollment

UT Permian Basin runs exactly one competitive scholarship for incoming freshmen: the Presidential Scholarship. There is no portfolio of named fellowships, no finalist weekend, no interview day. One award, one application, one December deadline.

For families used to reading about schools with a dozen trophy scholarships, this looks thin. It is not, once you understand the model. UTPB puts its money into Falcon Free, which reaches roughly three-quarters of its students, rather than into a handful of large competitive packages. The Presidential is the exception for students at the very top of the class.

Aid Type	Stacks?	UTPB Parent Translation
The four Falcon merit tiers	Not with each other	Your student gets one tier, the one their GPA lands in. That single award then stacks with almost everything else.
Merit + Falcon Free	Yes	This is the combination that makes UTPB nearly free. Falcon Free is last-dollar, so it fills whatever tuition and fees remain after your merit and grants are applied.
Presidential + other aid	Yes	UTPB does not force a swap. The Presidential covers tuition and designated fees, and other awards can go toward housing and books, up to cost of attendance.
Departmental & endowed awards	Yes	These are the gap fillers. They come through the general scholarship application, due April 1, and most families never fill it out.
Activity awards (cheer, dance, music, folklorico)	Yes	Treated as stipends layered on top of academic aid, not substitutes for it.
Pell, TEXAS Grant, outside scholarships	Yes	Pell and TEXAS Grant are actually part of how UTPB funds Falcon Free. They do not reduce it, they feed it.
ROTC	Usually, with adjustments	Because ROTC already pays tuition or housing directly, some institutional aid may be reduced. Read the award letter carefully.

⚠️ The Presidential requires a test score. The rest of UTPB does not.

This trips people up every single year. Your student can be admitted to UTPB without ever sitting for the SAT or ACT, and can earn a Falcon Elite award on GPA alone. But the Presidential Scholarship application requires SAT or ACT scores, and UTPB describes the typical recipient as being in the top 5% of their senior class. If the Presidential is on your list, your student needs to test in the fall of senior year at the latest, because the application closes December 15.

❓ Presidential Scholarship FAQs

What does the Presidential Scholarship actually cover?
Full tuition and designated mandatory fees for up to 18 credit hours per semester, for up to four years or until your student finishes their first bachelor’s degree, whichever comes first. Housing and food are not included. Budget roughly $13,320 a year for a student living on campus.

When is the deadline?
December 15, with decisions going out by January 15. That is a full four months before the April 15 automatic merit deadline, so it lands in the middle of senior year fall semester when families are still sorting out their list. Put it on the calendar in September.

What goes in the application?
Three things beyond the UTPB admission application: a typed essay responding to a prompt about an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others; one letter of recommendation from a non-relative, ideally a teacher, coach, supervisor, or school administrator; and SAT or ACT scores.

Who actually wins it?
Students near the top of their high school class with competitive test scores and an essay that reads like a real person wrote it. The prompt asks about personal growth, and the entries that land are specific and a little uncomfortable rather than polished and generic. Our Essay Toolkit and Brag Sheet Builder are built for exactly this kind of prompt.

Is it renewable?
Yes, annually, as long as your student stays in good academic standing with full-time coursework and a 2.50 GPA or better. That renewal bar is low relative to what the award is worth.

Can transfer students apply?
No. The Presidential is for incoming first-time freshmen only. Transfer students have their own merit track.

Does UTPB have a National Merit package?
No. UTPB does not offer a National Merit Finalist scholarship package. National Merit Scholars do get automatic admission to the UTPB Honors Program, which is a real benefit but not a dollar figure.

Is UTPB a QuestBridge or Stamps partner?
No to both. If your student is a QuestBridge candidate, UTPB is not on that list.

Should we skip the Presidential if our student is a long shot?
Apply anyway if the December timeline is manageable. It costs one essay and one letter, and the downside is zero, because it does not affect the automatic merit award your student will get regardless. But do not build your UTPB plan around winning it. Build it around Falcon Free.

Sources:
https://www.utpb.edu/admissions-aid/scholarships/presidential-scholarship
https://www.utpb.edu/admissions-aid/scholarships/index

🎯 Falcon Free Is the Whole Ballgame. Read This Part Twice.

UTPB states that roughly 75% of its students qualify for Falcon Free. If your family is a Texas household with an adjusted gross income at or under $100,000 and your student is working on a first bachelor’s degree, tuition and mandatory fees get covered, up to 15 credit hours a semester, for fall and spring, for up to eight semesters.

It is last-dollar aid. That means UTPB first applies your Pell Grant, TEXAS Grant, HSI grant, waivers, and merit scholarships, then Falcon Free covers whatever tuition and fees are still standing. If your grants already exceed the tuition bill, Falcon Free has been met and no extra check appears. The rule of thumb UTPB gives: if grants and scholarships on your award letter total at least $10,000, you have received Falcon Free.

The four steps, in order:
1. File the FAFSA or TASFA. Not both, one or the other.
2. Clear every requirement in the student portal.
3. Accept the financial aid award.
4. Register for New Student Orientation by June 1.

Two things that end this for families: missing June 1, and waiting so long that the annual pot is gone. UTPB has posted publicly that Falcon Free funds were exhausted for a prior academic year. Funding is limited and awarded first come, first served, and there is no Falcon Free in the summer. Move early.

Renewal is annual, not automatic. Your student requalifies each year: full-time through the census date, 24 completed credit hours per academic year, satisfactory academic progress, and a 2.0 cumulative GPA.

🧠 Parent Strategy: The April 1 Form Nobody Fills Out

Getting admitted to UTPB does not enter your student for departmental or endowed scholarships. Those live behind a separate general scholarship application that opens in March and closes April 1. It is one form. It feeds a pool of donor and departmental funds that typically run from the mid-hundreds to a few thousand dollars a year.

1. Watch for the general scholarship application to open in March.
2. List the intended major precisely. Most of these funds are tied to a specific department.
3. Fill in the activities and leadership section honestly and completely. Donor criteria often key off it.
4. Email the department chair for the intended major and ask what else exists. Small departments frequently have funds that are not well advertised.
5. Save a screenshot of the confirmation.

Parent translation: fifteen minutes in March, once. Skipping it does not cost you Falcon Free or your merit award, but it does cost you every dollar in the departmental pool.

🏥 The Impact Healthcare Scholarship Deserves Its Own Paragraph

$25,000 total, paid across eight semesters, funded through UTPB’s partnership with the Permian Strategic Partnership. Eligible majors include Nursing, Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics, Geoscience, Psychology, Exercise Science, and Human Performance. Selection is holistic: statement of interest in healthcare, GPA, optional test scores, volunteer service, and any college credit already earned.

Read the string attached. Recipients agree to work three years in a Permian Basin healthcare role after graduation. For a family already rooted in Midland or Odessa, that is not a cost, it is the plan. For a student who intends to leave West Texas at graduation, it is a real commitment and you should treat it as one. Talk about it at the kitchen table before the application goes in, not after the money arrives.

❓ Hidden Gems FAQ

Do these stack with Falcon Free and merit?
Yes, nearly all of them. UTPB’s stacking posture is generous and the only real ceiling is your total cost of attendance. Because UTPB’s cost of attendance is low, that ceiling is closer than it would be at an expensive school, so read the award letter each fall to see how the pieces fit together.

What is the Highest Ranking Graduate waiver and why have I never heard of it?
Because it comes from the State of Texas, not from UTPB. A student who graduates ranked first in their class at an accredited Texas high school can have tuition covered for both semesters of their first year. Your high school counselor certifies it on a state form. It covers tuition only, not mandatory fees, and it does not renew for sophomore year. If your student is the valedictorian, ask the counselor about it in the spring of senior year.

My student is a dancer or a musician. Is there real money there?
Yes, and it is underrated at UTPB. The Cheer and Dance teams carry a stipend of $1,250 per semester and compete at NCA College Nationals in Daytona. Tryouts happen once a year in May. Ballet Folklorico runs a two-phase audition, a packet followed by an in-person workshop, and performs across the Permian Basin. Music ensemble awards vary by group and the funds are limited, so contact the ensemble director early rather than waiting for a posting.

What are the strings on the activity scholarships?
Real ones. Cheer and Dance require 9 credit hours minimum, grades of 75 or above (otherwise mandatory study hall), and no more than two absences per class per semester. These are enforced. If your student is already stretched, know that going in.

What is the Texas Tuition Rebate?
A one-time $1,000 rebate from the State of Texas for students who finish a first bachelor’s degree without piling up excess credit hours. It is not something you apply for in freshman year. It is something you protect by meeting with an advisor every single semester and not accumulating hours that do not count toward the degree. Start that habit early and it pays you at graduation.

If there is no deadline listed, when should we check?
April 1 is the anchor date for the general scholarship application and most departmental funds. Activity scholarships follow their own calendars: Cheer and Dance tryouts in May, music and folklorico auditions by arrangement with the director. Impact Healthcare uses an open application, so earlier is better. ROTC runs on national branch deadlines, typically December through March.

Can continuing students get these?
Many of them, yes. The departmental awards, activity scholarships, first-generation and STEM grants, and both History department scholarships are open to students already enrolled. Falcon Free is also available to continuing and transfer students working on a first bachelor’s degree, as long as they requalify each year.

How will we know if we won something?
Through the UTPB student portal and university email. Check both. Departmental awards sometimes require an acceptance step or additional paperwork after the announcement, and awards have been lost to an unread email.

Sources:
https://www.utpb.edu/admissions-aid/falcon-free/
https://www.utpb.edu/admissions-aid/falcon-free/falconfree-faqs
https://www.utpb.edu/admissions-aid/scholarships/other-ut-permian-basin-scholarships
https://www.utpb.edu/admissions-aid/impact-majors/healthcare/impact-healthcare
https://www.utpb.edu/admissions-aid/financial-aid/types-of-financial-aid/waivers-exemptions

How your student gets in:

• Standard route: a 3.5 high school GPA on a 4.0 scale, plus a 1100 SAT or a 24 ACT.
• Automatic admission: National Merit Scholars, Hispanic Merit Scholars, and students who earned an International Baccalaureate diploma are admitted automatically.
• If your student falls short of the numbers: UTPB explicitly says GPA and test scores do not measure every student’s capability. A student below the cutoff can submit an application with two letters of recommendation from former teachers. That door is genuinely open, and families should use it.

Set expectations honestly: Honors at UTPB does not come with a check.

At some universities, honors admission unlocks a separate scholarship tier. That is not how it works here. UTPB’s honors benefit is academic and structural rather than financial. Your student’s money still comes from the Falcon merit tiers, Falcon Free, and departmental awards, and honors status does not change any of those. Judge the program on what it actually offers, which is worthwhile on its own terms.

The part that is quietly valuable: three general education courses knocked out.

Honors students who complete the UNIV 1301, UNIV 1302, and UNIV 2301 sequence receive credit for three general education requirements: Language, Philosophy and Culture; Creative Arts; and Government or Political Science. Honors students in UNIV 1301 also skip the standard Freshman Seminar course.

Run the math on that. Three gen ed courses is roughly nine credit hours your student does not have to pay for or fit into a schedule. At a school where the Texas Tuition Rebate rewards finishing without excess hours, and where Falcon Free caps out at eight semesters, a nine-hour head start is not a small thing. It is one of the most efficient moves available to a UTPB freshman.

Sources:
https://www.utpb.edu/academics/undergraduate-studies/honors-program
https://www.utpb.edu/academics/undergraduate-studies/index

The Program That Defines This School:
Petroleum Engineering, and the College of Engineering & Sciences around it — UTPB has taught petroleum and mechanical engineering for close to two decades and formed a standalone College of Engineering in 2018. Chemical, electrical, mechanical, and petroleum engineering are all ABET accredited. The engineering building sits on the Midland campus, dropped in the middle of the industry it feeds. Faculty describe students holding job offers by senior year, and the salaries in this region are not typical entry-level numbers.

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