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Scholarship Universe Assistance

Welcome to the Scholarship Universe information page!

This page is designed to support you, answer your questions, and ensure your experience with Scholarship Universe is as smooth and successful as possible.

Scholarship Universe is CMU’s centralized scholarship platform, created to connect students with internal and external scholarship opportunities. Our goal is to have all CMU scholarships and departments integrated into Scholarship Universe by the 2026–27 award year. This initiative will increase access, simplify the application process for students, and streamline scholarship management for faculty and staff.

Below, you'll find our projected implementation timeline. For more tailored information, please select either the “Student” or “Faculty/Staff” section.

This page will be continuously updated with FAQs, how-to guides, and other important resources to help you navigate Scholarship Universe with confidence. We’re excited to help you become a regular user of this platform! If you have questions that aren’t answered here, don’t hesitate to contact the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid (OSFA)—we’re here to help.

Timeline

April 2025:

  • Criteria for awards from departments and colleges due to OSFA (end of April).
  • OSFA will start uploading scholarships into Scholarship Universe.

May 2025:

  • Training website will be built by OSFA with short how-to videos for SU, navigation, and selecting applicants for awards.
  • OSFA will build training documents for various processes in Scholarship Universe.
  • OSFA will begin communications to students on new timeline.

June 2025: 

  • OSFA will share the new website with how-to videos and update frequently throughout the summer.
  • Training dates will be shared to departments and colleges.

August 2025:

  • OSFA will have every scholarship, college, and department in Scholarship Universe (end of August).

September 2025:

  • OSFA will hose the first round of trainings: What does SU look like; student experience; navigation.

October 2025: 

  • Applications open October 1!
  • Scholarship fair to be held in early October.
  • OSFA will begin to communicate to students that scholarships are now open.
  • Departments/colleges can begin to make selections at any point once their cycle closes.
  • Scholarship budgets will be added to Scholarship Universe.

November 2025:

  • Applications close at the end of the month (November 30th).
  • Training to be held: How to award scholarships.

December 2025:

  • Selections can start to be made.

January 2026:

  • Selections for scholarships are due by the end of January.
  • Throughout January, reminder emails will be sent out about the selection process.
  • If not awarded in time, OSFA will reach out to Deans and VPs to encourage completion.

February 2026: 

  • Begin scholarship selections for eligibility.
  • Awarding for new students begins.

March 2026:

  • Current students awarded financial aid for the 2026-27 academic year.
  • Departments/colleges notify students that are awarded a scholarship.