AES for Current Recipients

AES recipients agree to meet the following academic requirements:

• Earn a 3.0 GPA or better each semester and a cumulative 3.0 GPA or better at each academic year’s conclusion.
• Maintain satisfactory academic progress on a 4-year graduation timeline. This presumes 15 hours per semester and 30 hours per year. Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, and dual-credit coursework that applies to your degree may be used to maintain your 4-year pacing.
• Enroll as a full-time student (12 hours for undergraduate students, 9 hours for graduate students). This rule is only waived for last-semester seniors or for documented medical circumstances.
• Adhere to the UT Dallas Student Code of Conduct. The AES Program reserves the right to review violations of the UT Dallas Code of Conduct to determine AES eligibility. Students suspended, expelled, or repeatedly not meeting the UT Dallas Code of Conduct will be terminated from AES without the option of participating in a scholarship probation program.

UT Dallas and the Academic Excellence Scholarships are committed to four-year graduation rates for all scholarship students. Students often enter UT Dallas with Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB) or Dual Credit hours they earned prior to their high school graduation. These hours can help students graduate in four years (or even sooner).

To maintain an AES award, recipients must meet the following hours’ milestones at the end of each semester. All hours must count toward the student’s degree.

Four-Year Pacing Chart

Semester Probation

Students who do not enroll full-time, maintain satisfactory academic progress, and/or achieve a 3.0 GPA or better at the conclusion of each semester are placed on probation. Violations of the UT Dallas Code of Conduct in current or previous semesters may also result in probation. Students on scholarship probation will be required to participate in the AES Student Success Program.

Failure to return to good scholarship standing or meet the terms of the probation may result in final probation, suspension or termination of the student’s AES award.

* Code of Conduct violations may take time to resolve. Students may be placed on scholarship probation for a violation in previous semesters.

Final Probation

After two semesters of coursework at UT Dallas, if a student has not enrolled full-time, is not on pace to graduate on time, and/or has not achieved a 3.0 GPA or greater, the student will be placed on final probation.

Students on final probation will participate in the Student Success Program and meet with their Scholarship Probation Advisor. Failure to return to good scholarship standing or meet the terms of the probation may result in suspension or termination of the student’s AES award.

Suspension of Academic Excellence Scholarship

If a student repeatedly does not meet the AES requirements, the AES Director reserves the right to suspend an AES award without offering the option of participating in a scholarship probation program. Students who fail to enroll in courses in a semester without prior permission will have their scholarship suspended and lose a semester of eligibility.

Students suspended or expelled from UT Dallas or students who repeatedly do not meet the UT Dallas Code of Conduct will be terminated from AES without the option of participating in a scholarship probation program. This includes but is not limited to probation programs such as the Student Success Program.

The AES Student Success Program engages AES students who may not be on track to meet the AES Requirements necessary to maintain their scholarship. At the conclusion of the fall and spring semesters, students who have not met the program requirements must participate in the Student Success Program. Failure to participate will lead to the automatic termination of the scholarship.

In this program, students receive one-on-one attention from Scholarship Probation Advisors in the Student Outreach and Academic Retention (SOAR) office to:

• Create a personalized academic success plan
• Learn about the helpful resources that are available on campus, such as the Student Success Center and Student Counseling Center
• Discuss challenges and develop creative solutions

If students receive an AES scholarship probation notice, they must attend a meeting with a Scholarship Probation Advisor before census day (the 14th day of classes) of the current semester, or their scholarship will be terminated.

The AES Valedictorian Scholarship provides complete coverage of UT Dallas tuition & fees for the six subsequent and continuous semesters (three academic years) after the Highest Ranking Exemption has been utilized.

To be eligible for consideration, student must:

• Receive the State of Texas Exemption for Highest Ranking High School Graduate
• Meet the AES Requirements during their first year at UT Dallas

At the conclusion of the first academic year at UT Dallas, students who met the above requirements will be contacted about the AES Valedictorian Scholarship.

Please note, the AES Valedictorian Scholarship is only applicable after the first two semesters of a student’s undergraduate studies.

The Academic Excellence Scholarship provides awards that range in amount, sometimes up to or exceeding full tuition. These awards can stack with other third-party awards and be used towards tuition or other educational expenses. To maintain the AES award for a maximum of eight semesters of eligibility, students must meet the AES Requirements. AES funds are distributed by semester and cannot be combined or extended beyond the eight semesters of eligibility.

AES recipients may receive the competitive scholarship waiver for one subsequent semester after their last semester of AES usage or eligibility. This must occur within the same academic year. This option is not available if they complete an undergraduate degree and exhaust AES eligibility or have been terminated from the AES Program. Continuing students who receive an AES award and are in good standing with the AES Program may also receive the competitive scholarship waiver during short semesters (five weeks, eight weeks, or full summer terms) in which they do not receive AES funds. The term must be within the same academic year of the last semester in which they received AES scholarship support.

Prior to the first day of class and Census Day, you may see a balance in EZ Pay that does not show the disbursement of your AES. Your AES awards will disburse between the first day of class and Census Day. See the academic calendar for all important dates like Census Day. All AES Scholars meeting the requirements for maintaining eligibility receive scholarship protection on their accounts. This protection prevents AES recipients from being dropped due to non-payment until Census Day of the term.

AES award disbursement could be impacted by several factors, such as holds and course load.

Section 54.014, Texas Education Code, establishes a maximum number of semester credit hours that an undergraduate Texas resident may attempt while paying tuition at the rate provided for Texas residents. The Academic Excellence Scholarship will not cover the cost of non-resident tuition rates charged to students who exceed the maximum number of semester credit hours. For more information about this policy, visit the Office of the Registrar.

AES recipients will not receive priority consideration during the housing application process and are not guaranteed placement in on-campus housing.

Archer Program

AES tuition and fee awards can be applied to Archer Program participation.

Green Fellowship

AES tuition and fee awards can be applied to the Green Fellowship program.

Exchange Mobility Study Abroad

AES tuition and fee awards apply only to Exchange Mobility study abroad programs. To receive AES funds toward an Exchange Mobility program, AES recipients must be in good standing with the University and the AES Program. Students must complete all necessary protocols through International Education. Students must be meeting the AES requirements to receive AES funds toward an Exchange Mobility program.

Non-Exchange Mobility Study Abroad

AES recipients who satisfy all required International Education protocols for any non-Exchange Mobility study abroad program must submit an AES Award Deferral online request (and receive deferral approval) to retain their AES.

Suggestions for Students

You should begin the necessary paperwork (application process and other required activities) with International Education six months before the semester you wish to study abroad.

AES tuition and mandatory fee funds are applied to tuition and supplemental designated tuition fees. Tuition and mandatory fee funds provided by AES do not apply to other required and non-mandatory fees including, but not limited to the following: other course fees, international student fees, health insurance, fees associated with new student applications, special use fees, required testing, registration, and orientation. Visit the Bursar’s website for more information.

Per the UT Dallas Undergraduate Catalog, “regardless of the number of times a course is repeated, any single course can contribute only once to the number of semester credit hours required for graduation.” A limited number of courses, such as independent study or special topic classes, may be repeated for credit and count toward the AES unique credit hour requirement. AES recipients are encouraged to review the applicability of their courses toward the AES hours requirement with the AES Program.

If a student retakes a course as one of the three grade-bearing enrollment attempts, the second and, if applicable, the third attempt will not count toward the AES unique credit hour requirement. AES recipients retaking a non-repeatable course must remain enrolled in a minimum of 12 unique UT Dallas credit hours and receive approval for an AES exemption to hours. AES funds will not be applied to the penalty fee assessed when a student attempts the same class for the third time

Before the first day of class (see academic calendar), students who intend to enroll in less than 12 unique UT Dallas credit hours should submit an exemption to hours form. There is no limit to the number of times a student can request an exemption to hours as long as a student is on track for timely graduation. Courses taken for grade replacement do not count toward the unique hour requirement.

Students who seek to drop a course on or after the first day of class should consult with their academic advisor and review the Maintaining AES Scholarships requirements for potential impacts.

The AES Exemption to Hours form for the spring 2025 term will become available closer to the start of the term.

Please Note: A reduction in credit hours may impact other financial aid students may receive. Please contact the Office of Financial Aid for questions regarding enrollment requirements for other financial aid forms.

The AES program awards a set amount of funded semesters. Under the Graduate Usage Policy, AES recipients who complete their undergraduate degree before exhausting all eight semesters of AES funding eligibility may request to apply their remaining AES support toward graduate studies at UT Dallas. AES funds may not be applied towards a second baccalaureate degree, post-baccalaureate, or graduate certificate.

To apply remaining AES semesters of eligibility to graduate school at UT Dallas, graduate matriculation must occur the long semester immediately following undergraduate completion, students must be meeting the AES requirements, and students must receive approval from the AES Team during their final undergraduate semester.

The AES Graduate Usage Form is now available.

AES recipients may opt to utilize their AES during a summer term. Please note – receipt of AES during a summer semester counts as one semester towards overall scholarship eligibility. Before summer classes begin, approval is required, as AES funding does not automatically apply to summer balances.

The Summer Usage Form will become available closer to the Summer 2025 term.

Incoming Freshmen

Incoming freshmen who accept an AES award may seek to defer their scholarship for one year if they do not attend an institution of higher education prior to enrolling at UT Dallas. The incoming freshman deferment of AES is a two-step process.

Step 1: Defer admission through the Office of Admission and Enrollment. The admissions deferment form is available online through Galaxy under the Orion Self-Service section in the Admissions Forms folder.

Step 2: Email aes@utdallas.edu your deferment of freshman scholarship request. The deferral of your AES award is not automatic, and it must be approved by the AES Committee.

Please Note: To qualify for a freshman deferment of an AES scholarship, both deferment steps must be completed before the first day of the term for which you were initially admitted.

Current AES Students

AES recipients are required to enroll in both fall and spring semesters. Summer term enrollment is optional. However, AES recipients who have attended UT Dallas at least one semester may seek to defer their scholarship for a fall or spring semester. Students must receive approval from the AES Team before the first day of class and are not allowed to enroll at another institution of higher education (unless participating in a study abroad program).

The AES Student Deferment Form is now available.

Prior to the first day of class and Census Day, you may see a balance in EZ Pay that does not show the disbursement of your AES. Your AES awards will disburse between the first day of class and Census Day. See the academic calendar for all important dates like Census Day. All AES Scholars meeting the requirements for maintaining eligibility receive scholarship protection on their accounts. This protection prevents AES recipients from being dropped due to non-payment until Census Day of the term.

AES award disbursement could be impacted by several factors, such as holds and course load.

No. Renewal of an AES award is only based on enrollment and meeting the requirements for maintaining eligibility.

To request reinstatement of your scholarship, contact aes@utdallas.edu before census day (the 14th day of class) of the current semester.

AES Scholars who graduate with semester(s) of eligibility remaining may request to utilize those towards a degree-seeking graduate program. AES funds cannot be used towards another baccalaureate degree, post-baccalaureate, or graduate certificate. To request Graduate Usage, students must be in meeting the AES Requirements, enrollment must be continuous after undergraduate graduation, and students must receive approval from the AES Program before enrolling in graduate courses.

AES recipients who enroll in less than 12 unique credit hours must contact aes@utdallas.edu. AES scholars must always be enrolled in at least 12 unique credit hours in a semester and be on track for a timely graduation. Courses taken for grade replacement do not count towards the unique hour requirement.

Please Note: A reduction in credit hours may impact other financial aid.

No, it is not possible to upgrade AES awards. AES Scholars are encouraged to seek other scholarship opportunities available at UT Dallas.

No. The AES Program is a unique UT Dallas institutional scholarship.

Unfortunately, it is not possible to receive additional semesters of eligibility beyond the 8 semesters initially offered.