Scholarships

If you are a student who works hard toward academic success, you deserve to be recognized. At CMU, we will reward your efforts through our scholarship opportunities. Merit-based scholarships are granted to qualified incoming undergraduate Fayette campus students based on the academic record, GPA and/or ACT.

Students must be enrolled full time (12 hours or more) to be eligible for CMU or institutional scholarships and grants.

Fayette  |  Statewide/Online |  Conditions |  Outside

Fayette Campus Scholarships

Incoming Freshmen Students: For both domestic and international students: merit-based scholarships vary from $16,000 to $8,000 and are based on cumulative GPA and/or ACT/SAT scores.

Freshmen Merit-Based Scholarships

*Students must be studying on the Fayette campus and enrolled full-time to receive a merit-based scholarship.

Transfer Students: For both domestic and international students: merit-based scholarships are based on the number of transfer hours and the student's cumulative GPA.

Transfer Student Merit-Based Scholarships

*Students must be studying on the Fayette campus and enrolled full-time to receive a merit-based scholarship.

Additional Scholarship Opportunities

Gulstad Scholars Transfer Scholarship: The undergraduate Gulstad Scholars Transfer Scholarship honors excellence by supporting outstanding community college students to transfer to and complete their bachelor's degrees at CMU in Fayette. Eligible students must be a current student at a community college, a sophomore with an anticipated graduation status, have a cumulative GPA of 2.75 or better on a 4.0 scale, and must meet the housing policy guidelines set forth in the CMU student handbook. 

Thogmorton Scholarship: The Thogmorton Scholarship is a transfer scholarship awarded to students majoring in Nursing, OTA, and PTA, who have been accepted into their respective programs.

Half-tuition scholarships will increase with the cost of tuition each academic year. Students must have a 2.5 cumulative GPA to be eligible for this award and must maintain a 2.0 to retain. The Thogmorton Scholarship may not be combined with other CMU scholarships.

United Methodist Half-Tuition Scholarship: To qualify for the United Methodist Scholarship, a student must be an active United Methodist Church member in good standing with his or her local church for at least one year, which must be verified by the pastor. Verification can be done by pastors using this form. Check out the UMC website for other UMC scholarships.

Half-tuition scholarships will increase with the cost of tuition each academic year. Students must have a 2.5 cumulative GPA to be eligible for this award and must maintain a 2.0 to retain. The United Methodist award may not be combined with other CMU scholarships.

Go Away to College Close to Home: Central Methodist University Go Away to College Close to Home Program would offer a 50% tuition waiver to all non-cocurricular accepted Howard, Calloway, Camden, Cooper, Saline, Audrain, Randolph, Chariton, Moniteau, Montgomery, Pettis, Morgan, Cole, Osage, Monroe, Ralls, and Boone County. This scholarship applies to students who earned a minimum of a 2.75 GPA and are A+ eligible. Students may live on campus or at home with their parent or guardian (Adhering to all CMU Housing policies). This scholarship may not be combined with any other CMU scholarship offer.

RootED Alliance: Several $10,000 rootED scholarships are available for graduating high school students and community college transfer students. rootED scholarship winners can double their money in a matching arrangement with CMU. Candidates must meet certain qualifications, click below to see if your school qualifies. 

rooted high schools 

Click below to apply for the rootED scholarship:

rooted high school application 

Community college transfer students coming from East Central Community College, Ozark Technical Community College, State Fair Community College, or Three Rivers Community College are eligible to apply if they meet certain qualifications: https://stlouisgraduates.academicworks.com/opportunities/3356

• Be a student transferring from a community college in Missouri, with plans to continue education at a bachelor’s degree granting institution
• Have graduated from a rural Missouri high school in the past five years
• Plan to attend full-time at an accredited, nonprofit college or university
• Have earned a minimum 2.0 cumulative grade point average
• Demonstrate financial need, as determined by the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or similar need calculations. Students with an Expected Family Contribution (EFC) over $15,000 must have significant and extenuating circumstances to be considered.

Phi Theta Kappa Scholarship: $1,000 scholarship available to transfer students that are a member of PTK. Students must maintain a 2.0 GPA.

Legacy Grant: Students who have a parent, grandparent, or sibling who has graduated from CMU may be eligible for a $1,000 grant. The Legacy Grant Form should be submitted for certification.

Sibling Grant: Students who have a sibling currently enrolled at CMU may be eligible for a $1,000 grant.

**Legacy and Sibling Grants may not be combined.

Scholarship Competitions

Marine Biology Day: On CMU's Marine Biology Day, March 29, 2025, you can learn all you want to know about one of our fastest-growing and popular majors, Marine Biology. In addition, you can find out more about our stackable $5,000 scholarships for the best of the best -- Scuba Diving Student of the Day; Sea Urchin Student of the Day; and Greg Thurmon Marine Biology Student of the Day. From talks about SCUBA certification to the diving trips our students take, you'll learn it all. You can check out our Urchin lab and experience other hands-on activities, talk to current students about course highlights and even job opportunities. Check back in early September when we announce the date and registration deadline.

Register Here

Central Scholars Competition: The Central Scholars competition is an invitation only event for students in their senior year of high school. Students must have a minimum GPA of 3.75 to be invited to participate. The competition is designed to recognize new traditional undergraduate students who exhibit high academic achievement and a service mindset. Up to two Eagle Select full-tuition scholarships (fees, housing and meal plan not included), up to one Pre-Health Scholars full-tuition scholarship, and up to one Valedictorian full-tuition scholarship will be awarded (living on campus is required for full tuition winners).

The 2025 Central Scholars Competition will be held on February 15, 2025 on campus. Students who reside outside the state of Missouri may request to participate virtually.

Central's Got Talent Scholarship Competition: February 20, 2025. Central’s Got Talent is an annual event for students in their senior year. Two full-tuition scholarships will be awarded after competition in Vocal, Instrumental, and Praise Band. Register for CGT below. Center Stage acting and theatre design competitions take place February 20, 2025. Register for Center Stage below. We will award major scholarships to the top three winners in each category. Upon application/registration, students may receive an invitation from the Office of Admissions to compete. The events are open to parents and families. They provide opportunities to see the campus and learn about financial aid, student services, and a variety of other helpful information. Note: Full-tuition scholarship winners are required to live on campus.

Register Here

Participation Scholarships

These scholarships are awarded to students participating in designated CMU activities. The scholarships vary in amount and require an audition, interview, or tryout with the appropriate activity director, coach, or faculty member. A student may combine only one participation scholarship and academic scholarship. Varsity athletic scholarships may not be combined with any other scholarship.

Participation scholarships are available in athletic and non-athletic areas and are evaluated for each student individually on a yearly basis.

Athletics

Fine Arts

Statewide/Online Scholarships

Gulstad Achievement Scholarship: The Gulstad Achievement Scholarship is for students who want to study at one of CMU’s extended sites or online. To be eligible for this scholarship, students must be enrolled full-time, have completed an associate's degree from a CMU partner community college, and have a cumulative GPA of 2.75 or better on a 4.0 scale. The scholarship will be split between two semesters.  Please visit our Gulstad Scholarship Application page to learn more.

Conditions of Note

CMU academic scholarships are awarded to full-time (12-18hrs) incoming undergraduate CLAS students on the basis of a student's academic record of GPA and ACT scores. Effective Fall 2022, all institutional scholarships are used for tuition and fees except for varsity athletic scholarships not to exceed cost of attendance. Statewide/online students are eligible for CGES-only scholarships and are not eligible for Fayette campus institutional scholarships.

The generosity of alumni, friends, and churches allows Central the opportunity to offer aid to many of our students. These Hall of Sponsors and Endowed Scholarships underwrite most of the institutional scholarships that CMU awards. The institutional scholarship package that an incoming freshman or transfer student accepts prior to the beginning of the first school year with CMU is the scholarship that the student will receive for up to 10 semesters of matriculation at the University, provided that they maintain the appropriate GPA required for their scholarship. The exception to this statement is the amount of award a student can receive for participation in athletics or talent programs can be adjusted to reflect performance or participation.

Institutional aid may be reduced if assistance is received by third parties. Students with half-tuition, full-tuition, or varsity scholarships are not eligible for any other institutional scholarships. Full-tuition scholarships and outside scholarships cannot exceed the cost of tuition for the academic year.

Any scholarship changes or additions need to be made prior to initial awarding. Students must notify admissions, prior to being admitted, of any scholarship qualifications.

Students approved for off-campus living may only receive institutional awards totaling up to full tuition, general fees, up to $1,000 for books, and a meal plan or $1,000 declining meal plan per semester.

Outside Scholarship Leads

*This program involves matching support from a student’s church, UMHEF, participating United Methodist-related schools, and participating UMC conference foundations.

Note: The United Methodist Higher Education Foundation has stated that some state conferences can choose whether to participate or be selective on the students receiving the match for the state Dollars 4 Scholars.

Here's how it works:

You may apply for both the General Named Endowed Scholarship and UMDFS program through UMHEF and we will provide you with the largest scholarship support for which you qualify.

Student’s church supports with $1,000 (on a church check sent to UMHEF) UMHEF will match that $1,000 Participating United Methodist-related schools will match with $1,000 Participating UMC Conference Foundations may match up to $1,000 Your potential UMDFS scholarship total is up to $4,000 You must apply annually to be awarded a scholarship each school year

Dollars for Scholars Application: https://umhef.org/scholarships/umdfs/

Note: Some exceptions may apply to the CMU match based on the CMU scholarship policy.