University of Sharjah Merit Scholarship

The University of Sharjah (UoS) offers a comprehensive portfolio of merit-based tuition discounts and academic financial aid for both newly admitted and currently enrolled undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate (PG) students.

• High School Discount (Undergraduate Only): Provides a 50% tuition fee reduction for the first semester to students achieving 90% or above on high school exams (excludes the Colleges of Medicine and Dental Medicine).

• Distinction Discount (All Students – UG and PG): Offers a rolling 15% to 40% tuition discount in the subsequent semester for registered students achieving an exceptional semester GPA.

• Postgraduate Merit Discount – Master’s Programs: Provides a preferred 50% entry discount for UoS Alumni and a baseline 30% tuition reduction for newly admitted non-alumni (external students) starting from their first semester.

• Postgraduate Merit Discount – Doctorate Programs: Provides an automatic 30% first-semester tuition discount for all newly admitted PhD and doctoral candidates (both alumni and non-alumni).

• Research Assistant (RA) / Teaching Assistant (TA) Scholarship (PG Only): A premier, fully funded scholarship offering a 100% tuition waiver for Master’s and PhD students working within university academic departments.

• College of Sciences Discount (Undergraduate Only): Offers an automatic 50% tuition fee discount for the first two semesters to students enrolled in Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, or Petroleum Geosciences, with performance-based continuation rules.

• College of Sharia and Islamic Studies Discount (Undergraduate Only): Grants an automatic 50% tuition reduction for the first two semesters across any undergraduate program within the college, with long-term maintenance options.

Maximum Discount Offered

• Undergraduate High School Tiers: Maximum of 50% off standard first-semester instructional tuition fees.

• Undergraduate Distinction Tiers: Up to a 40% tuition waiver per semester, rigidly locked into three unyielding performance brackets:
  GPA 3.95 to 4: 40% discount
  GPA 3.90 to 3.94: 30% discount
  GPA 3.80 to 3.89: 15% discount (True baseline minimum)
  
  
• Postgraduate Master's Track: Maximum of 50% tuition waiver for qualifying UoS graduates and up to 30% off for non-alumni cohorts.

• Postgraduate Doctorate Track: Up to a 30% tuition discount starting from the initial enrolment semester.

• Postgraduate RA/TA Scholarship: Up to a 100% full tuition waiver covering the entire active period of the student's assistantship.

Duration & Maintenance of the Discount

• High School Entry Discount: Applied strictly to the entry timeline—the first semester for initial high school achievements only. Non-renewable.
  
  
• Programmatic Core Discounts (Sciences & Sharia): Automatically applied during the first year (initial 2 semesters) of registration.
  
  
• Students can successfully maintain this 50% discount in subsequent semesters if they register for at least 12 credit hours and sustain a Cumulative GPA of:
  Greater than or equal to 3.0 for the College of Sciences
  Greater than or equal to 2.0 for the College of Sharia and Islamic Studies
  
  
• Distinction Discount Framework: Evaluated on a term-by-term basis matching the prior semester's GPA results. Requires continuous enrolment of greater than or equal to 15 credit hours and is strictly unavailable during the final graduation semester.

• Postgraduate Merit Framework: Applied continuously each term provided the student maintains their designated tier-retention Term GPA benchmarks.

• RA/TA Assistantships: Renewed semesterly for the duration of the employment contract, subject to departmental approval, satisfactory academic performance, and work attendance.

Type of Expense Covered (Yes/No)

Application Process & Portal Submissions

• Automatic Financial Assessment: Initial entry-level frameworks—including the High School Discount, College entry tiers (Sciences/Sharia), and newly admitted Postgraduate Merit discounts—are automatically evaluated via admission data at entry. No separate application forms are required.

• Manual E-Services Portal Requests (Distinction Discount): The Academic Distinction Discount is not applied automatically by the system. Eligible continuing students must actively submit a manual request via their student E-Services portal after term registration and before the designated semester deadline. Unclaimed discounts will strictly not be retroactively applied to past semesters.

• RA/TA Assistantships: Requires direct departmental nomination based on academic merit, profile review, and institutional position availability.

Eligibility Criteria & Document Requirements

• High School Framework: Requires a minimum high school average of 90% completed within the last five years. Excludes students enrolled in Medicine and Dentistry, or those already holding a greater than or equal to 50% external sponsorship.

• Distinction Framework: Requires continuous registration in greater than or equal to 15 credit hours with a Term GPA between 3.80–4.00 (or an 85%–100% average specifically for Medicine and Dentistry cohorts). Excludes students in their final semester or those holding a greater than or equal to 50% external sponsorship.

• Postgraduate GPA Retention Rules:
  1. Master’s Programs: UoS Alumni must maintain a Term GPA of greater than or equal to 3.4 to secure their 50% discount; non-alumni must maintain a Term GPA of greater than or equal to 3.8 to sustain their 30% discount.
  2. Doctorate Programs: UoS Alumni must maintain a Term GPA of greater than or equal to 3.6 to retain their 30% discount; non-alumni must maintain a Term GPA of greater than or qual to 3.8 to sustain their 30% discount.

• RA/TA Assistantship Standards: Requires a minimum CGPA of 3.60 (Bachelor's CGPA for Master's tracks; both Bachelor's and Master's CGPA for PhD tracks). Requires a strict 20 hours/week work commitment within the assigned department.

• Exclusionary Clauses: Financial aid frameworks do not extend to cover remedial classes, select excluded postgraduate programs, or courses dropped post-Add & Drop deadlines.

Universal Distinction Access: The Distinction Discount program serves as a broad institutional pathway available to all registered UoS students, explicitly covering both undergraduate and postgraduate levels on the official UoS portal.

Dedicated PG Infrastructure: Merit-based financial support is recognized across UG, Master's, and PhD levels. Standing postgraduate merit incentives are listed on distinct operational paths to ensure accurate, transparent pricing relative to alumni and external enrolment data.

Program Restrictions: Not all postgraduate specialized tracks are eligible for tuition discounts; students are advised to verify their specific program code during admission./p>

Institutional Rights: The University of Sharjah retains the ultimate administrative authority to adjust, amend, or discontinue any discount values, eligibility thresholds, or financial terms at any time without prior notice.