UMBC offers competitive merit scholarships for incoming community college transfer students, including undocumented and DACA students ranging from $500 – $15,000. These two-year transfer scholarships are awarded based on academic accomplishment and a timely/complete admissions application submission. Students may collect the Academic Achievement (AAT), Phi Theta Kappa (PTK), and Transfer Student Alliance (TSA) awards or a combination of all three. The Degrees to Succeed (DTS) and Transfer Plus (TPlus) awards cannot be combined with other award offers. To qualify for general scholarship review, students must first be admitted to the University.
Fall 2025 Transfer Scholarship awarding has been completed. We encourage you to consider applying to the Spring 2026 or Fall 2026 semesters for transfer scholarship consideration.
Information for Transfer Merit Scholarships
Effective for Fall 2025 Transfer Applicants and Beyond
Minimum Scholarship Eligibility Requirements:
- Must be transferring from a community college. Based on entire post-secondary education.
- Completion of 30 or more credits at the time of admission application submission; priority consideration is given to students completing an associate’s degree prior to transfer.
Consideration is based upon a numerical standard and competition of the applicant pool. Eligibility is based on credentials provided at the time of application for admission. Merit scholarships are limited to fall and spring semesters for undergraduate studies only.
Transfer Scholarships at UMBC
The below transfer scholarships are available at UMBC. For consideration, at the time of application for admission you must meet the Minimum Scholarship Eligibility Requirements above and the specified requirements of each award:
Academic Achievement Award (AAT)
- Consideration begins at a minimum 3.5 cumulative GPA (calculated from all colleges/universities) at the time of Transfer Admission application and is based on the competitiveness of the applicant pool.
This award is stackable with TSA and PTK, if awarded.
Phi Theta Kappa Award* (PTK)
- Consideration begins at a minimum 3.5 cumulative GPA (calculated from all colleges/universities) at the time of Transfer Admission application.
- Proof of PTK membership must be included with Admission application submission.
- Note: Phi Theta Kappa awards are institutionally funded and awarding is administered by the UMBC Merit Scholarship Unit based on the above criteria. Therefore, community college membership in PTK does not automatically guarantee receipt of this scholarship.
This award is stackable with AAT and TSA, if awarded.
Transfer Student Alliance Award (TSA)
- A member of the TSA program with UMBC.
- Consideration begins at a minimum 3.5 cumulative GPA (calculated from all colleges/universities) at the time of Transfer Admission application.
- Completion of an earned Associate’s Degree at a Maryland community college within four years of initial Pre-TSA Program acceptance (Official transcript must be submitted to UMBC Admissions showing an earned Associate’s degree prior to first semester at UMBC).
- Enrollment at UMBC within one year of completion of the Associate’s degree.
- Not matriculated at any other institution of higher education after pre-TSA program acceptance.
This award is stackable with AAT and PTK, if awarded.
- A member of the Degrees to Succeed program with Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC) and UMBC.
- Consideration begins at a minimum 3.25 cumulative GPA (calculated from all colleges/universities) at the time of Transfer Admission application and is based on the competitiveness of the applicant pool.
- Completion of an Associate’s degree at CCBC within four years of Degrees to Succeed acceptance (Official transcript must be submitted to UMBC Admissions showing an earned Associate’s degree prior to first semester at UMBC).
- Enrollment at UMBC within one year of completion of the Associate’s degree.
- Not matriculated at any other institution of higher education after Degrees to Succeed program acceptance.
This award is not stackable with any other transfer scholarship.
- A member of the Transfer Plus program with Carroll Community College (Carroll) and UMBC.
- Consideration begins at a minimum 3.25 cumulative GPA (calculated from all colleges/universities) at the time of Transfer Admission application and is based on the competitiveness of the applicant pool.
- Completion of an Associate’s degree at Carroll within four years of Transfer Plus acceptance (Official transcript must be submitted to UMBC Admissions showing an earned Associate’s degree prior to first semester at UMBC).
- Enrollment at UMBC within one year of completion of the Associate’s degree.
- Not matriculated at any other institution of higher education after Transfer Plus program acceptance.
This award is not stackable with any other transfer scholarship.
Step 1: Apply for Admission
Apply for Admission for Automatic Merit Scholarship Consideration!
Transfer merit scholarships do not require a separate application! Prospective transfer students will be automatically reviewed for a transfer merit scholarship provided timely application for admission.
- Incoming Fall Transfer students should file priority admission applications by MARCH 1.
- Incoming Spring Transfer students should file priority admission applications by OCTOBER 15.
Admissions Application (Common App) and college transcripts must be received by the deadline above in order to be guaranteed consideration for merit-based scholarships.
Step 2: What Happens Once You Apply?
Congratulations! Once you’ve applied for admission, you will be automatically considered for a merit scholarship. There is no additional action needed.
While you wait to hear back:
Once you have a campus ID, submit your General Application on our Scholarship Retriever tool, which houses scholarships across the university, and updates all throughout the year! Once you submit your General Application, your profile will automatically be matched with scholarship opportunities to apply to.
- Pro-tip #1: Check back on the tool every 2-3 weeks for additional scholarships to apply to.
- Pro-tip #2: Be detailed in your General Application, and keep your response up to date. All scholarships are linked to this, so scholarship reviewers can see your response here!
Consider applying to one of our Scholars Programs! These competitive programs combine financial awards with special opportunities for advanced research, unique seminars, directed internships, study abroad and more, based on academic interest. Scholarships range from $5,000 to $22,000 per year, based on academic interest. Note only select programs are available to transfer students (see below).
- A separate application is required for these programs, deadlines vary, see below.
- Note: Students may only accept one (1) UMBC academic / merit scholarship. If offered multiple awards from separate UMBC programs or committees, students will be required to select only one award offer.
- This means you are welcome to apply to all Scholar Programs of interest! However, you will only be able to accept one scholarship, either your Transfer Merit Scholarship (if offered) OR one of the Scholar Programs (if offered).
Cyber Scholars Program
Sherman Teacher Scholars Program
- Incoming Fall Transfers Deadline: April 15th
- Incoming Spring Transfer Deadline: November 15th
T-SITE Scholars
Step 3: When Will You Hear Back?
The date you complete your admissions application determines when you can expect to hear back regarding being awarded a scholarship.
If you applied for Fall admission…
- By March 1st
- Admissions and Scholarship offer letters are sent in mid–April.
- After March 1st
- Admissions and Scholarship offer letters are sent in June.
If you applied for Spring admission…
- By October 15th
- Admissions and Scholarship offer letters are sent in mid-November.
- After October 15th
- Admissions and Scholarship offer letters are sent in December.
Step 4: Accept Your Scholarship!
Congratulations on your Scholarship and Admission to UMBC!
Continue applying to additional scholarship opportunities to set yourself up for financial success!
We encourage you to review our Current Scholars page for additional information on maintaining your scholarship once you start at UMBC. Transfer Merit scholarship recipients must maintain:
- minimum 3.0 cumulative grade point average
- register for and successfully complete at least part time (6-11.5 credits hours) enrollment per fall and spring semesters; not including audited courses (award amount is pro-rated for part-time enrollment 6-11.5 credits)
All recipients undergo academic reviews each semester to ensure they maintain the cumulative GPA and enrollment requirements.
Note to Undergraduates: While 12 registered credits meets the minimum course load required for scholarship maintenance purposes, we encourage you to consider the many benefits of enrolling in at least 15 credits per semester (or, on average, 30 credits per year), including graduating in four years.
To learn more about strategies for on-time degree completion and four year graduation, visit Finish 15.
Information for Students Not Awarded a Merit Scholarship:
Can I appeal for merit scholarship consideration?
All merit scholarship reviews are completed at the time of admission based on a set standard determined by the university’s senior leadership. Students cannot appeal these award amounts as they are final. We recommend that you check out the Scholarship Retriever tool for additional scholarship opportunities, some of which are renewable each year.
Where can I find more scholarships?
Additional scholarships available at UMBC can be found in Scholarship Retriever. Scholarships are posted year round. You must log in using your myUMBC information and complete the General Application each year to be considered.
Financial Aid
UMBC is a participating school in the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) and awards need-based federal, state and institutional aid. For more information about grant and loan options, state aid, and cost of attendance, please contact the Office of Financial Aid.
Visit UMBC’s Financial Aid Website
Be sure to add UMBC’s School Code to your FAFSA to be considered for federal, institutional, and state aid programs.
- UMBC FAFSA School Code: 002105
- UMBC FAFSA Name: Umbc
Do I need to submit a FAFSA to receive or be considered for a merit scholarship?
A FAFSA is not required to receive a UMBC merit scholarship, however, it is always encouraged for additional aid opportunities. More information about the FAFSA can be found here.
Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC)
2+2 Transfer Scholarship
Designed to assist and encourage transfer students from Maryland community colleges to attend a 4-year institution within the State.
No combination of UMBC awards, private scholarships, and other financial assistance can exceed the cost of attendance for an academic year.
