Navigating USC Continuing Student Scholarships: A Comprehensive Guide
For students pursuing higher education at the University of Southern California (USC), scholarships can significantly alleviate the financial burden. This article provides a detailed overview of the various scholarship opportunities available to continuing undergraduate and graduate students at USC, with a particular focus on the USC Marshall School of Business and Town and Gown of USC scholarships. Understanding the eligibility requirements, application processes, and award specifics is crucial for maximizing your chances of securing financial aid.
USC Marshall Continuing Student Scholarships
Each year, the USC Marshall School of Business awards scholarships to outstanding continuing undergraduate students, recognizing academic excellence and outstanding involvement and service. These scholarships are awarded for one academic year only, split evenly between the fall and spring semesters.
Key Features
- One-Year Awards: Marshall Continuing Student Scholarships are one-time awards.
- Tuition and Fees: Scholarships can help cover costs including tuition and university fees.
- Eligibility: Currently enrolled Marshall and Leventhal students who are planning to be enrolled full time for the next academic year are invited to apply for these one-year awards.
- Application Consideration: All students who submit a complete scholarship application by the posted deadline will be considered for the many scholarship awards being offered.
- Financial Aid Package: Scholarship recipients acknowledge that the receipt of these awards may alter the allocation of funds within their current financial aid package. For questions regarding your financial aid package, please contact the USC Office of Financial Aid at (213) 740-4444 or through askUSC.
Application Process
The 2026-2027 Marshall Continuing Student Scholarship application will open April 1, 2026, via Scholarship Universe, USC's scholarship platform.
Eligible Programs
The scholarships are available to students in the following programs:
- Accounting and Finance (ACFN)
- B.S. Artificial Intelligence for Business (BUAI)
- B.S. Business of Cinematic Arts (BCA)
- B.S. Real Estate Finance and Development (REFD)
- World Bachelor in Business (WBB): Only WBB students returning to USC for their fourth year of study are eligible to apply.
- Progressive Degree Program (PDP): If you are pursuing a PDP, please indicate this in the appropriate field of the scholarship application to avoid affecting your scholarship eligibility.
GPA and Enrollment Requirements
- Minimum GPA: Must have a minimum cumulative USC GPA of 3.0
- First Semester Students: If Spring 2026 is your first semester at USC, you are eligible to apply but you must earn a minimum USC GPA of 3.0 for your application to be considered further.
- Full-Time Enrollment: Scholarship recipients must maintain full-time enrollment as defined by your degree program for both fall and spring semesters of the award year, and remain as a declared Marshall or Leventhal major from the list above for the duration of the academic year.
- Student Profiles: Scholarship recipients are strongly encouraged to provide your brief student profiles and messages to donors in the post-acceptance step through ScholarshipUniverse.
Important Restrictions
- Funding Restrictions: Please note that funding cannot be consolidated into one semester, cannot be applied to a summer term, and will not roll over to a future academic year if a student takes a leave of absence or does not meet the requirements listed above for the full academic year.
Town and Gown of USC Scholarships
Town and Gown of USC is proud to announce the provision of 200 merit-based scholarships, totaling 2,300,000 to deserving incoming freshman, undergraduate and graduate students at USC for the 2025-2026 academic year. Scholarships are for tuition expenses, offering undergraduates $10,000 per year and graduate students $15,000 per year. To be considered, applicants must satisfy all listed eligibility requirements. Please note that an interview is a prerequisite for scholarship consideration.
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Key Features
- Merit-Based Scholarships: These scholarships are awarded based on merit.
- Tuition Coverage: The purpose of this merit-based scholarship is solely to cover tuition.
- Award Amounts: Undergraduates may receive $10,000 per year, and graduate students may receive $15,000 per year.
- Interview Requirement: An interview is a prerequisite for scholarship consideration.
Eligibility Requirements
It is important to review the eligibility requirements before proceeding with the application. Eligibility criteria are:
- Citizenship: Applicant must be a citizen of the United States.
- GPA: Applicants must have a minimum unweighted GPA of 3.4 or higher to be considered for the scholarship.
- Qualifications: Applicant must exhibit strong academic performance, effective leadership skills, and active participation in the community.
- Residency: Applicant must establish permanent residency within the geographical boundaries of Southern California, stretching from the Kern County border to the California/Mexico border.
- Familial Relation: The applicant must not have any familial relation to any member of Town and Gown of USC who is presently engaged in the selection and funding of scholarships at the time of submitting the scholarship application.
- Membership: The applicant should not currently hold a membership with Town and Gown of USC.
- Tuition Remission: The applicant should not be receiving any form of tuition remission, such as a Trustee Scholarship (covering full tuition), Presidential Scholarship (covering half-tuition), or any other combination of scholarships that add up to 50% or more of the tuition.
- Enrollment Status: The applicant is required to be enrolled as a full-time student. Undergraduate students must complete a minimum of 12 to 18 units per semester and attain graduation within a 4-year timeframe, unless enrolled in a 5-year program or a progressive degree program. Graduate students pursuing a master’s degree are required to fulfill a minimum of 8 units per semester. Doctoral students are required to fulfill a minimum of 6 units per semester. Students engaged in dissertation work are not eligible for scholarships.
- Award Process: The award process considers GPA, activities, leadership positions, community engagement, awards and accolades, and a personal interview.
- Progressive or Graduate Degree: Current or past undergraduate Town and Gown of USC Scholarship receipients may request a continuation of their scholarship to pursue a progressive or graduate degree if they continue to meet the scholarship requirments associated with the scholarship award.
Categories of Applicants
- Incoming Freshman
- Transfer Undergraduate and Graduate
- Enrolled USC Undergraduate and Graduate
Criteria for Establishing a Permanent Residency in Southern California
Criteria for Establishing a Permanent Residency inSouthern California can be one of the following:
- High School Graduation: Applicant graduated from a Southern California high school or its equivalent.
- Upcoming Graduation: Applicant will be graduating from a Southern California high school or its equivalent.
- USC Undergraduate: Applicant completed 4 years as an undergraduate student at USC.
- Graduate Students (24 years or younger): Graduate students 24 years or younger must satisfy one of the following conditions: Establish a four-year residency with a high school diploma or equivalent from a Southern California institution. Completed four-year undergraduate program at USC. Verification letter from your employer in Southern California.
- Graduate Students (25 years or older): Graduate students 25 years or older are required to satisfy one of the following criteria: Evidence of five years of residency in Southern California by providing a degree, diploma, or professional certificate from an accredited institution in Southern California. Completed four-year undergraduate program at USC. Verification letter from your employer in Southern California.
Maintaining the Scholarship Award
To retain the scholarship for the entire time you are enrolled at USC, Town and Gown of USC scholars must continue to be enrolled as full-time students, as defined by their program, and maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0.
USC Dornsife Continuing Student Scholarships
USC Dornsife offers various continuing student scholarships, which may be merit-based or need-based. Unless otherwise stated, USC Dornsife Continuing Student Scholarships are one-time awards and may only be used toward university tuition costs.
Key Considerations
- Application Eligibility: You may apply for a USC Dornsife Continuing Student Scholarship.
- Merit-Based Awards: You may apply for a USC Dornsife Continuing Student Scholarship as many of the awards are merit-based and not need-based.
- One-Time Awards: Unless otherwise stated, USC Dornsife Continuing Student Scholarships are one-time awards.
- Tuition Use: USC Dornsife Continuing Student Scholarships may only be used toward university tuition costs.
- Study Abroad: If you are a Trustee Scholar planning to study abroad, you may apply for a Gold Family Scholarship to help cover the cost of your study abroad program.
Application Tips
- Optional Essay: Please use the “Optional Essay” box to share with us any information that you feel would be useful for the scholarship committee to keep in mind as your application is being reviewed. This includes information about your financial situation, as well as any other information that was not addressed elsewhere in your application.
- Additional Essay Prompts: If you would like to apply for a scholarship which lists an additional essay prompt, please use the final essay box on the application labeled “Additional Essay”.
- Multiple Scholarships: To apply for another scholarship that requires an additional essay, click on the “+” sign in the bottom right corner below the last essay box.
- Personal Statements: Yes, even if you submit one or more supplemental essays, you must still submit the personal statement essays. While you may certainly write about the same topic, we highly recommend that you modify your personal statements, as the personal statement prompts have changed.
- Unofficial Transcript: You can access your USC unofficial transcript via ExperienceUSC under My Academics/Academic Records. Please note that there is no charge to download a copy of your unofficial transcript. If you are using a Safari or Google Chrome browser, select “Print,” then “Save As PDF.” Save the document with the file name in the format “LASTNAME_FIRSTNAME_COURSES” and attach it to your online application. Alternatively, you may copy and paste all of the information from your Completed Course Summary to a Microsoft Word document, click “Save As,” and select “PDF (*.pdf)” in the “Save as type” drop down beneath the file name. We would prefer the file to be saved in a PDF format, but we will accept the file in a Microsoft Word format if you are unable to save it as a PDF file.
- Financial Aid Summary: If a financial aid summary is available, we would like you to submit the version that looks like this or like this. Log in to your myUSC account and click on “Financial Aid,” then “FAST (Financial Aid Summary and Tasks).” Select Academic Year 2025-26, then click on the tab for Financial Aid Summary. View the entire year summary, then click “print” on the top right side of the page. Repeat the “Save As” steps above to save your Financial Aid Summary as a PDF document, saving the document with the file name in the format “LASTNAME_FIRSTNAME_FINANCIALAID”. We would prefer the file to be saved in a PDF format, but we will accept the file in a Microsoft Word format if you are unable to save it as a PDF file. If you do not receive financial aid from USC in the form of grants, scholarships, loans, or work-study, OR if you only receive merit-based scholarships, you will not be able to download a Financial Aid Summary. However, you will not be able to submit the Continuing Student Scholarship application if you do not upload a document to the Financial Aid Summary tab. If you do not receive financial aid from USC, please type “I do not receive financial aid from USC” into a Microsoft Word document, click “Save As,” and select “PDF (.pdf)” in the “Save as type” drop down beneath the file name. If you only receive merit-based scholarships (no need-based grants, loans, or work-study funds), please type a list of the scholarships (both USC scholarships and outside scholarships) you received for the 2025-26 academic year, including scholarship names and amounts received, into a Microsoft Word document. Click “Save As,” and select “PDF (.pdf)” in the “Save as type” drop down beneath the file name. We would prefer the file to be saved in a PDF format, but we will accept the file in a Microsoft Word format if you are unable to save it as a PDF file. Upload this file to your application with the file name in the following format: LASTNAME_FIRSTNAME_FINANCIALAID.
- Resume: Feel free to use a resume that you may have used for other types of awards or academic purposes. If using a job resume, be sure to add some information about your extracurricular activities, volunteer experiences, and academic achievements (if you haven’t already done so). Your resume should present a clear picture of your general involvements in college so far. If you are a freshman, we understand that you haven’t spent much time in college yet, so feel free to include information about your involvement and academic achievements in high school.
- File Verification: Verify that you have uploaded all three documents (unofficial transcript, financial aid summary, and resume) to your application and that all files are named in the specified format.
- Resubmission: No, once you have submitted your scholarship application, you are unable to resubmit it.
Faculty Recommendations
- Dornsife Faculty Recommendation Form: The Dornsife Faculty Recommendation Form assists in streamlining the process of requesting, writing, and evaluating scholarship recommendations. After that, complete the Dornsife Faculty Recommendation Request Form. Our office will send your faculty recommender a link to the Dornsife Faculty Recommendation Form which he or she can use to complete a recommendation for you.
- Eligible Recommenders: Your recommendation must come from a USC Dornsife faculty member who can speak to your abilities in an academic setting (e.g., someone who has taught you in a class or supervised your research). Teaching Assistants (TAs) and staff (including academic advisors) are not eligible to write recommendations. Faculty members must be USC Dornsife professors and not professors or instructors from another USC school (e.g. Marshall, Viterbi, Annenberg, etc.). Dornsife Writing 150/340 instructors or CORE 111/112 instructors are fine.
- Processing Time: Please allow 3-5 business days for your faculty recommendation to be processed after it is submitted.
Application Timeline
The 2026-2027 Marshall Continuing Student Scholarship application will be live on Scholarship Universe beginning April 1, 2026; the deadline will be April 30, 2026. Be sure you log in using the button highlighted above and your NetID. If you are not able to log in using the links above, please try clearing your cache and/or browser cookies and try logging in again.
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GPA Competitiveness
Although awards require a minimum GPA of 3.0 or above, students with an overall GPA between 3.3 - 3.5 or higher are generally most competitive for these awards.
Reapplication
Yes, all previous recipients are required to re-apply each year.
Notification
Students who have been selected to receive a scholarship award will be notified in mid-summer.
Evaluation Criteria
The Undergraduate Scholarship Committee will evaluate each student’s overall application and determine awards based on criteria such as academic merit, extracurricular involvement, accomplishments and awards, academic and career goals, work experience, and/or financial need. Individual awards will vary depending on your financial aid package and/or the number of qualified applicants.
Specific Scenarios
- World Bachelors in Business (WBB) major: I am a student in the World Bachelors in Business (WBB) major. Students who are in their fourth year of study and returning to USC may apply for Marshall continuing student scholarship awards. Students who are not in their fourth year of study and returning to USC are not eligible to receive these scholarships.
- Enrollment Units: No, students must be enrolled in 12 or more undergraduate academic units (full-time) in both Fall 2026 and Spring 2027 and remain as a major in the Marshall School of Business for the duration of the 2025-2026 academic year.
- Semester Application: No, scholarships can only be applied for the Fall and Spring semesters of the school year in which the award was given.
- Leave of Absence: No, students who take a Leave of Absence forfeit their scholarship funds.
Additional Scholarship Opportunities at USC Upstate
The University of South Carolina Upstate (USC Upstate) also offers various scholarship programs for new and continuing students to assist academically talented individuals in their pursuit of higher education.
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General Information
The prestigious awards are given to students who have demonstrated their potential through academic merit. USC Upstate and the upstate region will benefit from the leadership and academic excellence these scholars bring to campus. Scholarships will be awarded to eligible students; however, the number of awards available will be determined by the University. Early application for admission to USC Upstate is encouraged for students to be considered for new student scholarships. Most scholarships are awarded based on the application for admission and transcripts. Many scholarships and stipends may be combined with other sources of financial assistance for which a student is eligible. However, a student may not receive more than one full-tuition University scholarship. Students who want to be considered for scholarships must be unconditionally accepted for admission prior to deadlines. USC Upstate students who are awarded scholarships or stipends are required to be in good academic standing.
Scholarship Programs
- Chancellor Scholars: $10,000 annual scholarship for students living on campus; $5,000 annually for commuter students. Students must rank in the top 10% of their high school class and have a minimum GPA of 3.75. Requires a minimum SAT score of 1300 or ACT score of 27.
- Valedictorian Scholars: $10,000 annual scholarship for students living on campus; $5,000 annually for commuter students. Students must rank first in their class at time of admission to USC Upstate or at high school graduation. Requires a minimum SAT score of 1000 or ACT score of 21.
- Provost Scholars: $3,000 annual scholarship. Students must rank in the top 20% of their high school class and have a minimum GPA of 3.50.
- Dean Scholars: $2,000 annual scholarship. Students must rank in top 30% of high school class.
- Promise Scholars: Up to the full cost of tuition after other aid is applied. Must be a first-time college student graduating from a public high school in Spartanburg, Union, Cherokee or Greenville County, and be a recipient of an SC Life or Palmetto Fellow scholarship.
- Meeting Street Scholars: Up to $10,000 annual scholarship. Must be a first-time college student graduating from an eligible public high school in Spartanburg County and be a recipient of an SC LIFE or Palmetto Fellows scholarship. Requires completion of the FAFSA and receipt of a Federal Pell Grant. Visit the Meeting Street Scholarship Fund Eligibility Page to view eligible high schools and to apply. Applications open January 6, 2025.
- The Big Mo initiative: The Big Mo initiative is more than just a scholarship - it’s a college-readiness and support program created for Spartanburg county high school seniors who want momentum after graduation. Students who enroll in Big Mo may receive up to $4,000 per year to attend USC Upstate, along with guidance to help them explore their options, stay on track, and take control of their future. Provides $500-$10,000 for the year and in-state tuition rates. New freshmen must have a 3.0 minimum high school GPA (on a 4.0 scale), a minimum SAT score of 1000, and rank in the top 20 percent of their high school class.
- Transfer Scholars: The Transfer Scholars program offers $1,000 or $2,000 annual scholarships for entering transfer students. The $2,000 scholarship requires a minimum GPA of 3.50; the $1,000 scholarship requires a minimum GPA of 3.0.
- Aspire Scholars: Amount varies depending on need to cover academic expenses. Must be pursuing an undergraduate degree and have a minimum GPA of 2.0.
- National Merit Finalists: Students who are finalists for National Merit Scholarships and plan to attend USC Upstate can receive $500 annually, renewable for four years of undergraduate study if they maintain at least a 3.0 GPA. To be eligible, students must be accepted by USC Upstate; be designated a National Merit finalist; and have listed USC Upstate as their first choice for college on their National Merit application.
- Awards Based on Academic Ability: Awards of varying amounts made to freshmen from the several judicial circuits in South Carolina and from metropolitan areas outside the state. The awards are based on academic ability and are renewable.
- USC System Employee Dependent Child/Spouse Scholarship: Open to any dependent child or spouse of a full-time University of South Carolina system employee. There is competition for this scholarship, and only a limited number of scholarships are awarded each year. To be eligible for consideration, the applicant must be enrolled or accepted for enrollment as a full-time undergraduate or graduate student at one of the University’s eight campuses and have attained a minimum cumulative 3.0 GPA. Freshman eligibility is determined by high school class rank and SAT or ACT scores. The scholarship is renewable for up to four years for those students pursuing a baccalaureate degree, provided the recipient maintains a minimum cumulative 3.0 GPA. In some cases, graduate students may receive the scholarship until receipt of their graduate degrees. Note: There is a specific application for this scholarship that must be sent to USC Columbia.
- CRISPR S-STEM scholarship: The CRISPR S-STEM scholarship seeks to increase the number of academically talented, low-income students in the fields of biology or chemistry. Each student will receive up to $8,100 per year for up to four years.
Important Note
Scholarship information is accurate at the time of publication. Availability of funds and other factors may change.
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