Financial Aid & Scholarships
We believe strongly in access to quality education for all and are dedicated to making this a possibility for more and more students each year. Thanks to our generous supporters who share in this belief, we offer over 60 scholarships to help students achieve their dreams of becoming leaders in education.
Scholarship applications are open from November 1 through March 15
How to Apply?
Application instructions and step-by-step information is accessible through CU Boulder's
Current students already admitted to the School of Education can access the scholarship app directly through their .
Incoming undergraduate first-year students (applying for Summer and Fall) must first complete their admissions application to CU Boulder, as well as to the School of Education, before accessing the scholarship app. After submitting your application you will need to create a Student ID Number in order to recieve an IdentiKey. Your IdentiKey is what will give you access to the Buff Portal, where you can access the Scholarship Application. Follow the steps below to complete this process.
Incoming master’s graduate students will be considered automatically for a handful of one-time scholarships at the time of admission. Automatic-consideration scholarships for MA students are only available for applicants to the Fall or Summer terms. Details about these specific opportunities can be found on each program page.
Incoming doctoral graduate students will receive a generous and supportive funding package, details below.
Continuing graduate students can access the scholarship application in every Spring for the following Fall. See step-by-step instructions for continuing students.
If you have any questions or concerns along the way, please email scholarships@colorado.edu.
- Submit a CU Boulder admissions application
- In order to access the scholarship application, students must submit an application for admission via either the common app or the transfer app.
- NOTE: You must declare the School of Education in your CU application in order to access School of Education scholarships.
- An automatic email will be sent to you two days after you submit your CU admissions application to with instructions on how to request access to the Scholarship App.
- Why two days? In order to access the scholarship app, you will need a Student ID Number (SID). This takes approximately two business days to generate and to be loaded into the scholarship app.
- Submit the "Scholarship Application Access Request" form
- Upon opening the form, you will be able to select “Yes” to request access to the CU Boulder Scholarship Application or “No” noting you do not wish to request access to the Scholarship Application.
- NOTE: If you accidentally select “No,” you can log back in to your status page and edit your form response.
- Upon submitting the form, you will receive a confirmation email, which includes your SID. Within 5-15 minutes, you will receive another email from OIT (Office of Information Technology) with instructions on how to activate your IdentiKey.
- Upon opening the form, you will be able to select “Yes” to request access to the CU Boulder Scholarship Application or “No” noting you do not wish to request access to the Scholarship Application.
- Log in to Buff Portal and complete the Scholarship App
- After you successfully activate your IdentiKey, you will immediately be able to log in to Buff Portal and access the Scholarship Application.
Important Dates for Scholarships
- Scholarship applications open: November 1
- Scholarship applications close: March 15
- Notification of scholarship offers: Early-mid April
- Scholarship acceptance deadline: April 24
- Scholarships posted to student financial aid account: July
- Scholarships are applied to student tuition bill: August
Financial Aid
All students are encouraged to apply for need-based financial aid.
The University of Colorado Boulder’s website offers information about how to apply for financial aid and additional resources. To discover your eligibility, you can submit a free application on the (FAFSA) website.
Teacher Loan Forgiveness and Special Supports for Teachers
Teachers may also be eligible for state or federal loan forgiveness programs. In Colorado, legislators passed legislation in 2019 to address Colorado’s educator shortages by providing loan forgiveness to educators. The law authorizes the s, mainly for those who serve in rural and hard-to-fill positions in Colorado. Those who qualify are eligible to receive up to $5,000 in loan forgiveness for a given year.
Recently, the Colorado legislature approved of a student educator stipiends for eligible student educators during their student teaching residency, with advocacy and research provided by CU Boulder students and faculty. .
Some scholarships are offered to students from particular disciplines. support future chemistry teachers. CU Teach has secured Noyce Scholarships, which are designated for future secondary math and science teachers. Noyce Scholars are awarded $18,500 per year during their last two years at CU Boulder with additional funding opportunities for research, travel, and professional development.
TEACH Colorado Scholarship and Fee Reimbursement
The CU Boulder School of Education is a partner with , which offers support for prospective teachers plus scholarship and fee reimbursement opportunities for students enrolled in partner teacher preparation programs. TEACH Colorado offers a limited number $1,000 scholarships for tuition to partner educator preparation program.
TEACH Colorado also offers up to $100 in reimbursements for applicants to partner educator preparation programs for application fees and enrollment-related expenses.
All TEACH Colorado aid programs require creation of a TEACH account, which includes a free, all-access pass to TEACH Colorado tools and services. Learn more via .
PhD Program Funding Details
All incoming and accepted PhD students will receive a generous and supportive funding package. A typical package will include a total of a 50% appointment (~20hr/week) through a Graduate Research Assistantship and/or Teaching Assistantship, full tuition remission and a fellowship to assist with student fees, the majority of the CU Student Health Gold Insurance Plan, and a stipend of approximately $21,400 per academic year. Please note that these figures are subject to change and summer funding is not guaranteed.
Questions?
For more information about financial aid at the University of Colorado Boulder, visit the Office of Financial Aid website or email financialaid@colorado.edu.
For questions about scholarships contact 303-492-4533 or email scholarships@colorado.edu.