Letters & Science scholarships for incoming first-year students have been awarded for the 2023-2024 year. Check WiSH often for other opportunities!
Consider the College of Letters & Science (L&S) a great home to explore your interests, pursue your passions, and earn your degree.
- There are few scholarships offered by the college to incoming students due to scarce resources.
- There is no application. A very select number of offers are extended through the admissions and financial aid application submissions.
- International students are not considered for incoming freshmen scholarships.
- There are less than 10 offered to non-residents.
Applying to college is both exciting and complex. Please keep in mind that each institution has its own processes that differ dramatically from one another. The earlier you research scholarships and financial assistance processes the better. Do not wait until your admittance decision arrives before researching scholarships and aid.
At this time, College of Letters & Science incoming freshmen students do not apply for general college scholarships but are automatically considered based on the undergraduate admissions application and financial aid information from the FAFSA.
The UW-Madison admissions decision process is completely independent of the College of Letters & Science scholarship awarding process.
Scholarship Information
Typically 150 Letters & Science scholarships are awarded to a class of over 3,200 incoming L&S freshmen. Scholarship opportunities are extremely limited for non-residents. International students are not eligible for incoming freshmen scholarships.
Letters & Science scholarships are for students intending to earn their degrees from the College of Letters & Science. Students planning to pursue a degree in another College or School are not considered.
Most College of Letters & Science scholarships require some financial need. It is strongly recommended that interested applicants complete the FAFSA as soon as possible to be reviewed for consideration.
Scholarship amounts range from $500 to $8,000 per year (with the exception of 1 or 2 larger awards each year). Recipients must be enrolled full-time and meet academic and scholarship requirements.
Students will only be notified if offered a Letters & Science scholarship via email. Only students offered scholarships are contacted.
There may be other opportunities for incoming freshmen that are not managed at the college-level. Please explore the Wisconsin Scholarships Hub.
Scholarship and award opportunities are available for application in the freshmen, sophomore, junior and senior years in the College of Letters & Science. Like a funnel, the most demand for scholarships is from prospective first-year students where there is inadequate funding. Many high-performing and exceptionally talented students do not receive offers as incoming freshmen.
However, Letters & Science continuing students are eligible to apply for scholarships on an annual basis. Students not awarded scholarships as incoming freshmen need not be discouraged as more opportunities are available in subsequent years. Go to Letters & Science continuing student scholarships for more information.