Scholarships

New Student Scholarships

The scholarships listed below are available only to new students; once awarded, they are renewable.

• George L. Carter Scholarship

  Description

  Named after the coal and railroad magnate who donated 150 acres of land to found what would become East Tennessee State University, the George L. Carter Scholarship is awarded to outstanding new out-of-state students, both full and part-time, who are not eligible for most other scholarships and fee waivers.

   

  To be eligible for a Carter Scholarship, you must be:

  • a new student (Once awarded, the scholarship is renewable for the duration of your program of study.)
  • an out-of-state student who resides within a 250-mile radius of ETSU
  • admitted to a graduate certificate or degree program
  • attending full-time or part-time
  • a U.S. citizen

   

  Other Details

  • Eligible students are automatically considered for the scholarship upon admission. A separate application is not necessary.
  • Cannot be combined with a Graduate Assistantship or Tuition Scholarship
  • Priority will be given to students who have been admitted by May 1 for the fall term, September 1 for the Spring term, and March 1 for the Summer term.

   

  Award Amount

  • The Scholarship awards up to $14,000 per year for students enrolled in 12 credit hours. The amount is prorated for students enrolled in 11 credit hours or less. For example: 

   

  Enrolled credit hours	Award amount
  12 credit hours	$14,000
  9 credit hours	$10,500
  6 credit hours	$ 7,000
  3 credit hours	$ 3,500

• George L. Carter Plus Scholarship

   

  Description

  Named after the coal and railroad magnate who donated 150 acres of land to found what would become East Tennessee State University, the George L. Carter Plus Scholarship is awarded to outstanding new out-of-state students, both full and part-time, who are not eligible for most other scholarships and fee waivers.

   

  To be eligible for a Carter Plus Scholarship, you must be:

  • a new student (Once awarded, the scholarship is renewable for the duration of your program of study.)
  • a resident of Buncombe and Henderson Counties in North Carolina
  • admitted to a graduate certificate or degree program
  • attending full-time or part-time
  • a U.S. citizen

   

  Other Details

  • Eligible students are automatically considered for the scholarship upon admission. A separate application is not necessary.
  • Cannot be combined with a Graduate Assistantship or Tuition Scholarship
  • Priority will be given to students who have been admitted by May 1 for the fall term, September 1 for the Spring term, and March 1 for the Summer term.

   

  Award Amount

  • The Scholarship awards up to $17,000 per year for students enrolled in 12 credit hours. The amount is prorated for students enrolled in 11 credit hours or less. For example:

   

  Enrolled credit hours	Award amount
  12 credit hours	$17,000
  9 credit hours	$12,750
  6 credit hours	$ 8,500
  3 credit hours	$ 4,250

• Sidney G. Gilbreath Scholarship

   

  Description

  Sidney G. Gilbreath served as the first President of East Tennessee Normal School, what would become East Tennessee State University. Gilbreath Scholarships are awarded to outstanding new out-of-state students, both full and part-time, who are not eligible for most other scholarships and fee waivers.

   

  To be eligible for a Gilbreath Scholarship, you must be:

  • a new student (Once awarded, the scholarship is renewable for the duration of your program of study.)
  • an out-of-state student who resides beyond the 250-mile radius of ETSU
  • admitted to a graduate certificate or degree program
  • attending full-time or part-time
  • a U.S. citizen

   

  Other Details

  • Eligible students are automatically considered for the scholarship upon admission. A separate application is not necessary.
  • Cannot be combined with a Graduate Assistantship or Tuition Scholarship

   

  Award Amount

  • The Scholarship awards up to $11,000 per year for students enrolled in 12 credit hours. The amount is prorated for students enrolled in 11 credit hours or less. For example:

   

  Enrolled credit hours	Award amount
  12 credit hours	$11,000
  9 credit hours	$ 8,250
  6 credit hours	$ 5,500
  3 credit hours	$ 2,200

   

• International Merit Scholarship

  Description

  The International Merit Scholarship for Graduate Students is available to new graduate international students.

  To be eligible for an International Merit Scholarship for Graduate Students, you must be

  • a new international student admitted to a graduate program. (Once awarded, the scholarship is renewable for the duration of your program of study.)
  • minimum undergraduate 3.0 GPA (on a 4.0 scale)
  • admitted to a graduate certificate or degree program
  • attending full-time
  • in lawful F-1 or J-1 visa status

   

  Other Details

  • A separate application is not necessary.
  • Notification of the award will appear in your admission letter.
  • The scholarship cannot be combined with a Graduate Assistantship, Tuition Scholarship, or any other scholarship that covers tuition and fees costs (e.g. Creative Arts, Fulbright, government funding).
  • The funding covers tuition only, not program service fees, housing, meal plans, or medical insurance.
  • Graduate students may receive the scholarship for five semesters (master’s students) or the length of the program (doctoral students).
  • Certain students are ineligible for the International Merit Scholarship for Graduate Students:
    • Students pursuing a second Bachelor’s or second Master’s degree
    • Graduate students receiving a graduate assistantship or Tuition Scholarship
    • Students receiving any other ETSU tuition scholarship
    • Students applying for the M.D. or Pharm.D. programs
    • Students who are not in lawful F-1 or J-1 status

   

  Award Amount

  • $5000 for masters students.
  • $9000 for doctoral students.

  The award process and contact information can be found here.

• Other Scholarship Opportunities

  • Program Specific Scholarships

  • Creative Arts Scholarships

Current Student Scholarships

Current ETSU graduate students are eligible for the scholarships listed below.

• Graduate Fees Scholarship in the Humanities and Social Sciences

   

  Description

  The Graduate Fees Scholarship in the Humanities and the Social Sciences provides assistance in paying student fees not covered by a Graduate Assistantship (GA), Tuition Scholarship (TS), or Teaching Assistantship (TA).

   

  Details

  1. The scholarship is limited to one semester, but holders may reapply.
  2. The scholarship will provide up to $500.00 for student fees only.

   

  Eligibility

  1. The scholarship is open to all ETSU students pursuing a Master’s degree in the Humanities or Social Sciences who will have a GA, TS, or TA for the scholarship semester.

  2. Students pursuing a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies (MALS) are especially encouraged to apply.

   

  Application Instructions and Required Materials

  Applications are to be submitted to the ETSU Graduate School using the online application form. In addition, the following must be included as an attachment with the application:

   A 200 - 250 word essay, which answers the following three questions:

  1.  Why did you choose your particular field of study?
  2.  What you do you plan to do in the field?
  3.  Why are these funds needed?

  All materials must be submitted by the following deadlines:

  • Fall Semester  –  August 15
  • Spring Semester –  January 15
• Thesis and Dissertation Scholarship

   

  Objectives

  The goal of the Thesis/Dissertation Scholarships is to support and encourage timely graduation of students who are writing their thesis and dissertation.

   

  Details

  1. The scholarship is limited to one semester (the expected final semester) and is not renewable.

  2. The scholarship is a tuition discount, not a cash award and provides the tuition (in-state maintenance fee and out-of-state tuition) for 1-6 credits of Thesis/Dissertation and/or Readings and Research. The student is responsible for all other fees and charges.

   

  Eligibility

  1. The student must be admitted to candidacy (completed Candidacy and Advisory Committee forms must have been submitted to the graduate school).

  2. Applicants may not hold a graduate assistantship (GA) or tuition scholarship (TS) concurrently with this scholarship.

  3. Applicants may not hold an ETSU scholarship that assists with out-of-state tuition (e.g. Carter, Gilbreath, International Merit, etc.) concurrently with this scholarship.

   

  Application Instructions and Required Materials

  Applications are to be submitted to the ETSU Graduate School using the online application form. In addition, the following materials must be included as attachments with the application: 

  1. A letter from the student that includes a detailed timeline outlining progress towards completion, including the anticipated defense and graduation dates.       
     
     
  2. A letter of support from the thesis/dissertation committee chair that includes the following:
     1. a detailed description of support needed (time, writing, etc.).
     2. a description of how the scholarship would benefit the student's progress.
     3. a statement that the committee chair as read and agrees with the student’s proposed timeline, especially with regard to the anticipated defense and graduation dates.
  3. Copy of the most recent draft of the thesis/dissertation manuscript. If one does not yet exist, then a copy of the proposal/prospectus. 

  All materials must be submitted by the following deadlines:

  • Fall Semester - July 1
  • Spring Semester - November 1
  • Summer Semester - April 1

   

  Post-Award Requirements

  1. Monthly reports must be submitted through the scholarship’s Desire2Learn (D2L, elearn.etsu.edu) site until the thesis/dissertation is complete (even if after the end of the scholarship semester) and accepted by the Electronic Thesis and Dissertation (ETD) system.

  2. If the student will not finish before the end of the scholarship semester, the last report for the semester must include a description of progress towards finishing the thesis/dissertation and an updated timeline for defense and graduation.

  3. All but the final report should include the most recent draft of the thesis/dissertation manuscript.

  4. The final report must include a description of when the benchmarks listed in the timeline on the application were reached.

• James H. Quillen Graduate Scholarship

  East Tennessee State University annually honors graduate students who receive the James H. Quillen scholarship. These scholarships were created through a bequest to ETSU by the late James H. Quillen who represented the First Congressional District of Tennessee for 34 years.

  Congressman Quillen requested that the endowment proceeds be used to fund scholarships for graduate, undergraduate, and medical students from the First Congressional District on the basis of scholastic endeavors, school and community leadership, volunteer services and activities, work experience, and financial need.

  To apply for this scholarship visit the "Search & Apply" page of the ETSU Scholarship Office's website. This page will guide you through locating and applying for eligible scholarships. If you have problems applying for the scholarship, please contact the Scholarship Office at (423) 439-7094

• Other Scholarship Opportunities

  • Program Specific Scholarships
    
    
  • Sherrod Library Graduate Student Scholarship for Excellence in Research
    

The costs associated with attending ETSU can include both direct and indirect costs. Please review ETSU's Cost of Attendance for more details.