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The University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture

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Scholarship Policies & Procedures

I. FACULTY AND COMMITTEE MEMBER INFORMATION

1. The Scholarship Committee consists of at least 6 reviewing/voting members chosen by the Office of the Dean.
2. Given the fact that scholarship applicants submit sensitive information regarding their academic status as well as personal financial information and faculty recommendations, student representatives are involved in all policy and procedural issues of the Committee's functions, but are not involved in reviewing applications and in voting on awards to student applicants.
3. To aid the committee in its decision making process, statistical data from previous years with scholarship award and application figures will be provided as best as possible. These data will also be posted on the SoA website as deemed appropriate.
4. The Scholarship Committee handles all SoA general scholarships as well as Texas Architectural Foundation (TAF) scholarships. University Fellowships, Mebane and travel scholarships as well as some more specific scholarships may be handled by separate committees. A Student Travel Scholarship Sub-Committee is responsible for making awards to students who seek travel scholarships in support of their academic development.
5. The Scholarship Committee also assigns out-of-state tuition waivers along with certain faculty members who have student recruitment responsibilities. All waivers have to be accompanied by an academically competitive scholarship of at least $1,000.00, which normally is obtained from the funds allocated by the Scholarship Committee.
6. Distribution of waivers across programs, as of Academic Year 2007-08 is as follows:

   	Original waivers recruiting	Original waivers continuing	2006/07 additions recruiting	2007/08 additions recruiting	Totals recruiting	Totals continuing	Totals
   At the discretion of the Scholarship Committee		7				7	7
   ARC	7		2	4	13**		13
   CRP	3		2	3	8		8
   LAR			2	2	4		4
   Undergraduate		1	1*	1*		3	3
   Totals	10	8	7*	10*	25	10	35

   * Since the undergraduate program does not use waivers as a recruiting tool, their waivers will go to continuing students.
   ** Distribution across specific graduate programs: 8 MArch, 1 UD, 1 HP, 1 AD, 1 SD, 1 History.

7. TAF nominations will be solicited either late in the fall or early in the spring semester, while SoA applications are solicited in early spring and awards made late in the spring semester (and sometimes beyond) for the following academic year.
8. Since only a fraction of SoA students have applied for SoA scholarships in the past, this has left out many other students who may have qualified for a TAF award. Therefore, the Scholarship Committee will make TAF applications a separate application process from general SoA scholarships.
9. Information about TAF qualifications will be distributed as soon as it becomes available. The Scholarship Coordinator in the SoA will identify students who qualify for a TAF award by asking ALL graduate and undergraduate students (via email) to respond if they qualify for any of the individual awards. Award requirements will be outlined. Students who meet the qualifications will be asked to come forward and express interest in being nominated for an award and will subsequently be asked to fill out a TAF application and submit a portfolio (for most awards). The Scholarship Committee will meet and make recommendations on which applications will be forwarded to the TAF and in which order.
10. SoA applications will be solicited in the winter, between December and February each year. The Scholarship Committee will review all submissions and rank them (see II. Application Review Criteria). Along with the applications to be ranked, the Committee members will consider these Policies and Procedures, as well as summary data on the applications received.
11. Faculty members who are asked to provide a recommendation for an applicant will be contacted by the Scholarship Coordinator to fill in a form with their rankings. It is essential that faculty members provide these rankings in a timely manner. An "alert" deadline will be provided for faculty to submit their rankings.

II. APPLICATION REVIEW CRITERIA

1. All applications are ranked from 1-5 with an even number in each rank (1-5). An issue to be addressed each year is the proportional distribution between programs, including graduate vis-a-vis undergraduate programs. Statistical data from current and previous years with scholarship award and application figures will be provided as best as possible, to enable an informed discussion and voting procedure.
2. Each member of the committee has the responsibility to represent the entire School, not just their discipline or program (Note: not all programs are represented on the Committee membership).
3. Merit is given a greater importance than financial need in determining eligibility for scholarships, but financial need is considered as an important factor.
4. Committee members should not discriminate against first-year students or students in programs of short duration, but it is acknowledged that a student's academic record over many semesters does bear some relevance.
5. The Committee will consider the allocation of earmarked funds for students in specific degree programs in making awards from the school-wide scholarship funds.
6. The Committee recognizes that it is generally more difficult for undergraduate students to maintain an exceptionally high GPA than for graduate students.
7. Committee members base decisions and rankings solely on the actual applications and do their best to put any additional knowledge they might have about some of the applicants aside to ensure that all applicants have the same chances of receiving an award.
8. Committee members should have at their disposal and take into consideration statistical data on program size and application numbers and their relative make-up.
9. The committee will reserve a certain amount of funds in the fall of each year to address necessary changes in the standing of scholarship and waiver recipients and other contingencies in the spring and summer semesters.
10. The committee will produce guidelines for allocating these reserved additional funds. In many cases, the Scholarship Coordinator, with oversight from the Scholarship Committee Chair, will be directed to address changed circumstances occurring in the spring and summer semesters after the Committee has completed its reviews and votes, in a manner that is guided by and consistent with Committee policies and instructions.
11. In the past, about 1/2 to 2/3 of all applicants have received some kind of funding. Included in these figures and taken into consideration are TAF awards, TA appointments, University fellowships, as well as some other awards students may receive (e.g., Luce, Perrault, etc.). In future years, the relative availability of funds, as well as the number of scholarship applications, is expected to influence the proportion of applicants who will receive scholarship awards.
12. All application materials are highly confidential! The privacy of all applicants needs to be ensured by all parties involved. Disclosure of Committee deliberations and votes is expressly prohibited!
13. At the discretion of the Committee Chair, members present at the Scholarship Committee meetings have a quorum irrespective of the number of members present, but absent members may designate a proxy. The Committee Chair may also arrange for specially called votes by electronic mail if the vote does not require substantial discussion and can be handled electronically.

III. APPLICANT INFORMATION

1. The School of Architecture (SoA) Scholarship Committee handles all SoA general scholarships as well as Texas Architectural Foundation (TAF) scholarships. University Fellowships, Mebane and travel scholarships as well as some more specific scholarships may be handled by separate committees.
2. TAF nominations will be solicited either late in the fall or early in the spring semester, while SoA applications are solicited in early spring and awards made late in the spring semester (and sometimes beyond) for the following academic year. All applicants will receive notifications, whether they are awarded funds or not.
3. Information about TAF qualifications will be distributed as soon as it becomes available. Students who meet the qualifications will be asked to fill out a TAF application and submit a portfolio (for most awards). The scholarship committee will meet and make recommendations on which applications will be forwarded to the TAF and in which order.
4. An "alert" message is sent out to students during the fall semester to inform them of the exact deadlines in the spring semester for any given year. Another message will go out to students around the beginning of the spring semester alerting them of the upcoming deadline. The scholarship coordinator will make every effort to ensure that all students are made aware of the process and the deadlines. Students should make sure that correct email addresses are on file with the School of Architecture and that they are on the appropriate mailing lists to receive scholarship announcements. The announcement will also be posted on the bulletin board "Scholarship Opportunities" in Sutton Hall.
5. SoA application forms are available online at www.utexas.edu/architecture/students/scholarships with the appropriate deadline and may be filled out ahead of time. SoA applications are usually due early in the spring semester.
6. Only the requested application materials will be accepted. No additional material may be submitted.
7. Students will provide names of three (preferably SoA) references. The Scholarship Coordinator will then solicit references.
8. While students should not obtain written recommendations from faculty members to accompany their application, they should obtain their recommenders' approvals before including their names on the application form.
9. If students qualify for a TAF award, a separate application needs to be filled out. Qualifying students will be asked to submit such application, possibly with a portfolio.
10. Scholarship awards may affect the financial aid students receive from the Office of Student Financial Services. Students are strongly advised to check with their financial aid counselor. The School of Architecture does not report scholarship awards. However, the OSFS has access to that information once awards are processed and may at that point reevaluate financial aid awards.
11. Scholarships are usually disbursed in two equal payments at the beginning of the fall and spring semesters. Students have to be registered full-time and be in good academic standing to be eligible for both payments. If a student graduates in the fall semester, s/he will not receive the second installment of his/her scholarship award.
12. The Scholarship Coordinator will check on student eligibility before funds are disbursed (change of major, graduation, etc.). The SoA reserves the right to recall and reallocate scholarship awards in the case of a change in the standing of a recipient or an error on the application materials.
13. All scholarships are disbursed via direct deposit. Students have to set up direct deposit in UTDirect to receive scholarship payments.