Students Matter - Give to UH

Introduction

Scholarships create opportunities for University of Houston students, clearing obstacles to their future success. Your investment in these awards will help prepare our citizen-leaders of tomorrow and reduce the loan burdens that may limit their ability to realize their dreams.

A robust and reinvigorated scholarship program will be transformational for both the students and the University. It will help solidify UH as a first-choice institution that attracts talented students. Your generosity will help create an environment in which our students can reach their true potential, succeeding without financial obstacles.

Our primary scholarship support areas include talent, need-based, retention and completion, graduate fellowships and student-athletes.

Talent Scholarships For Recruitment of Students

Being a first-choice university means recruiting and retaining the best and brightest students. The Honors College will continue to award our most prestigious Tier-One Scholarships to top applicants. Those earning the Tier-One Scholarship have all tuition and required fees covered for four years, as well as their on-campus housing and meal plan for two years. They also receive stipends for undergraduate research and studying abroad.

Incoming freshmen who demonstrate leadership and community engagement, have a 1400 SAT or 30 ACT composite score and rank in the top 10% of their class are eligible to apply for the Tier-One Scholarship.

Too many outstanding students deserve this level of support but do not qualify for the award. These students often rely on recruitment scholarships to help them choose where to attend college.

Our new Distinguished Scholars Scholarship recognizes top-caliber students and provides a competitive scholarship to help us recruit them. Though not a full-ride award, these renewable scholarships are generous enough to encourage talented students to choose UH over comparable universities and make Houston’s University their new home.

Your gift to establish a Distinguished Scholars endowment will allow more high-achieving undergraduates to pursue academic excellence. There will be a dollar-for-dollar match on the endowment’s annual distribution for a period of 10 years, generating competitive scholarships that eligible students would receive annually for four years.

DONOR INVESTMENT
New $100,000 (minimum) Endowed Scholarship

ANNUAL ENDOWMENT
Distribution of 4% as set by the Board of regents = $4,000 for scholarship funding

Additional $4,000 added to the scholarship award

University matches the endowment distribution at 100% annually through calendar year 2031

Distinguished Scholars Recruitment Scholarship Award
$8,000

Need-Based Scholarships

We understand the impact of scholarships on students who need them most. All students, especially those who are first-generation and comprise 46.3% of total enrollment, deserve an outstanding education. The University was founded on the premise that everyone in our city should have access to a top-tier education.

UH is, and always has been, providing opportunity for ALL Houstonians. Need-based scholarships honor that promise to students.

Retention Scholarships and Completion Scholarships

Retention Scholarships and Completion Scholarships

Retention Scholarships are awards given to students of high academic standing after freshman year, enhancing UH’s commitment to students’ long-term success and allowing us to play a greater role in advancing degree completion.

Students who prove themselves during their first year at UH can qualify for a Completion Scholarship. This critical funding ensures timely graduation and is awarded based on both merit and need.

“I’ve been very fortunate to earn a tuition-free scholarship, which removes the financial burden of my education from my family. It was clear that the University of Houston and their donors recognized me for my achievements. Through their support, I’ve been able to attend this university and realize my success here.”

Erin Kiley (’20)

Graduate Scholarships and Fellowships

Graduate Scholarships are available through UH’s colleges to recognize talented postgraduate-level students based on their academic and professional accomplishments. Fellowships are scholarships awarded to graduate students or postgraduate scholars. Fellowship recipients are often selected based on their potential to advance their academic disciplines.

Student-Athlete Scholarships

Scholarships are vital to our student-athletes’ success, making dreams of higher education possible for 77% of them. These awards are the building blocks of competitive athletics programs by helping us recruit the most talented athletes. Scholarships enable us to deliver a world of education and create a platform for student-athletes to reach their true potential in the sport they love.

Your generous support of scholarships will change lives and provide opportunities for talented students while addressing socio-economic imbalance among populations in Houston, promoting diversity and increasing four-year graduation rates. Improved graduation rates are vital to UH’s efforts to become a Top 50 public university.

Education is the great equalizer for all and directly impacts our thriving region. Your gift to scholarships will help provide a distinctive university experience that inspires our students to become groundbreakers, innovators and problem solvers whose skills and ingenuity will lead to positive change in the world.

Statistics

“Our ultimate priority is student success, measured through college completion rates. We must serve and support our students in every way possible, deliberate and assertive ways, so they can achieve their degrees. Our goal is to be nationally competitive and to serve Texas in the most fundamental capacity, and that goal is non-negotiable.”

University of Houston President Renu Khator

$1 Million Gessner Gift Supports UH Sales Program

A $1 million gift from Andy (BBA ’68) and Barbara Gessner to the University of Houston will support the education of aspiring sales professionals at the Stephen Stagner Sales Excellence Institute within the C.T. Bauer College of Business. In recognition of the gift, the institute’s sales tab will be known as the Andy and Barbara Gessner Sales Lab.

Bauer’s sales program enrolls more students and enlists more corporate support than any other university sales program in the country. The Gessners’ financial support will be critical to elevating student success and research even further, according to Paula Myrick Short, UH senior vice president for academic affairs and provost.

“The institute has had an indelible impact on the business world by training sales professionals prepared from day one to lead and thrive in a competitive environment. This incredibly generous gift from the Gessners will only help take the program to new heights, and for that we are grateful,” said Short.

Shannon Wright

I am a second-career student and parent, as well as a recent graduate of the University of Houston Law Center (May 2022). I have a BA in History from Rice University, as well as an MS in Curriculum & Instruction from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. After completing my MS, I worked in intercollegiate athletics, first as a volunteer coach for the women’s track & field team at Rice and then as an administrator at the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

My work primarily centered around research and persuasive writing, and I had primary responsibility for drafting the Association’s proposals for changes to the NCAA’s bylaws, championships policies and playing rules to achieve the goals of our NCAA Division I, II and III member coaches in cross country and track & field. I also had a hand in the Association’s awards program, including working to develop and launch the premier award for collegiate track & field athletes, The Bowerman. I spent about five years in that role before stepping back from my professional goals to care for my two small children for a few years. I later returned to the USTFCCCA in a similar capacity for several more years, until I enrolled full-time in law school.

Ashton Millet

Ashton is originally from Laplace, Louisiana, where he was raised by his mother along with his two older brothers. Laplace was where he first learned about racial inequities within social and institutional systems, which fueled his interest in public policy and organizing. He is currently a LEE Public Policy Fellow in the 2021-2022 cohort. He focuses on working with community stakeholders to build organizational skills and community power. Ashton also has worked as a middle school teacher and coach in the Houston area. His repertoire includes policy and data analysis, grassroots organizing and political education training. Ashton’s work is driven by his belief that equity comes with building community power and improving opportunities for all children in the education system. He remains involved in the Houston community through his organizing and volunteering efforts with organizations like ONE Houston and the Switch Arts and Recreation Center.