Policies and Procedures
The Creative Arts Scholarship is awarded to new out-of-state students at both the
undergraduate and graduate level, including international students. All applicants
must have been accepted to ETSU before they will be considered for the scholarship.
The award is equivalent to the difference between the out-of-state and in-state tuition
rate, which may vary for each student. The scholarship is also only available for
the Fall and Spring semesters, not the Summer, unless a degree program requires enrollment
in classes during the Summer.
The scholarship is awarded for a maximum of eight semesters only and is not renewable
after eight semesters of undergraduate study but the scholarship may be applied for
a second time separately for a graduate degree program.
Scholarships are applied to students' accounts after registration for classes for the minimum required credit hours, with very few exceptions. All students – both new scholarship recipients and current scholarship recipients – should try to register for classes at the earliest opportunity. Registering for the required number of credit hours immediately prior to or after the start of a semester may result in the scholarship being unavailable for that semester and the permanent loss of scholarship.
Students awarded a scholarship may request a deferal to begin receiving the scholarship for one semester with the Director's permission. Only one semester of deferal may be granted, after which the student must reapply for the scholarship.
Students may request a semester of absence for one semester with the Director's permission and retain their scholarship, with the intention of returning the following semester, but this can only be requested twice before permanent loss of the scholarship with the availability of an appeal.
Students who withdraw from ETSU or transfer to another university lose the scholarship
permanently, without an available appeal.
Students typically can only receive one scholarship from ETSU that helps with out-of-state
tuition, including but not limited to qualifying or receiving the eRate, Academic
Common Market, Global Citizen Scholars Program, International Merit Scholarship, Undergraduate
Research Scholarship, Public Service Corps Scholarship, and Graduate Assistantships
or Tuition Scholarships for Graduate Students.
Many of the policies and procedures of the Creative Arts Scholarship are department
or program specific, including the decision to review an application, award a scholarship,
or allow a recipient to retain a scholarship. Recipients should always refer to the
award letter received from their department or program for more details or the specific
department or program requirements listed on the Creative Arts Scholarship website,
both of which will take precedence for awarding and retention. Departments of programs
may decide to revoke a student's scholarship at their discretion, a decision that
cannot be appealed to the Director of the Creative Arts Scholarship.
Creative Arts Scholarship recipients must adhere to the following standard requirements
regardless of their department or program to retain their scholarship from one semester
to the next. All recipients must:
- Be continuously enrolled as a student at ETSU, unless permission is granted otherwise from the Director of the Creative Arts Scholarship.
- Register for a minimum of at least 12 credit hours every semester (some departments or programs require 15) if an undergraduate. All recipients are strongly advised to register for 15 credit hours in order to ensure that they graduate in eight semesters.
- Register for a minimum of 9 credit hours ever semester, if a graduate student.
- Maintain an overall GPA of at least a 2.0 (some departments or programs require a 2.5 or higher).
- If a first-year non-transfer student (freshman), they must live on campus and purchase a meal plan for the first two semesters. Transfer and graduate students do not need to meet this requirement.
- Adhere to the policies and requirements of ETSU generally.
Failure to adhere to these standard requirements or department or program requirements
results in a student being placed on probation for the following semester. Students
may be on probation for a maximum of two semesters (consecutively or non-consecutively)
and retain the Creative Arts Scholarship but must make every effort to return to good
standing. Being placed on probation a third time immediately results in a loss of
the scholarship, which is a decision that cannot be appealed. Loss of the Creative
Arts Scholarship is permanent and it cannot be applied for again.
[Updated: January, 2026]