Latin American & Caribbean Scholarship Information

Award Description

This award provides sponsorship by the College of Sciences (COS) for students to receive the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) Scholarship. The LAC scholarship is a two-semester award (fall and spring) for students who are citizens of Latin America and the Caribbean that re-classified them as a Florida residents for tuition purposes. The COS Dean’s Office awards a limited number of sponsorships to students pursuing undergraduate or graduate degrees offered by the college.

Application Deadline

This award has been renewed for the 2025-2026 academic year. Students interested in receiving the COS sponsorship for the LAC Scholarship must submit an application to be considered.

Applications for Fall 2025 and Spring 2026 sponsorship must be submitted by 11:59pm Sunday, July 6, 2025.

Award decisions will be made in August. All applications will be reviewed and fall 2025/spring 2026 award decisions at that time. Please note that award decisions will not be made before this time.

Interested students can learn more about the LAC Scholarship at the following:

Please note that your eligibility will be verified with UCF Global and the college before any award can be made. You must also maintain eligibility during the semesters you intend to receive the award. See the Eligibility and Scholarship requirements below for more information.

If you have any questions, please contact COSAwards@ucf.edu.

Eligibility Requirements

Students who apply must:

  • At the time of the award decision, be admitted to or completing a graduate or undergraduate degree offered by the College of Sciences (note: completing a College of Sciences minor, only, does not meet eligibility);
  • Have a valid immigration status;
  • Have permanent residency in an eligible* Latin American or Caribbean Country or Territory;
  • If a continuing student, have a current UCF cumulative GPA of 3.000 or better;
  • Be enrolled full-time at UCF (graduate = 9hrs; undergraduate = 12hrs) during the semesters of the award;
  • Submit a short but strong essay. See Essay below for more information;

Students are not eligible to apply if they:

  • Are already paying the in-state tuition rate.
  • Are awarded a graduate assistantship, scholarship or any other award that waives out-of-state tuition for the semesters of the LAC Scholarship.

Continuing students who were previously awarded and have maintained excellent academic progress will receive priority consideration; however, continuation of sponsorship is not guaranteed.

*see the UCF Global Website for the list of eligible countries or territories

Essay

Eligible and interested applicants will submit a short but strong essay (750 words maximum) detailing why we should sponsor you for this award. We want to know about your commitment to completing your degree and how the LAC Scholarship will benefit you. If you are applying for a continued award, let us know how the LAC Scholarship has benefited you and how continuation of the award will be beneficial.

Scholarship Requirements/ Student Responsibility

For the semester(s) of the award, the student is required to maintain steady academic progress, and:
• The student is responsible for paying for any remaining tuition and student fees.
• The student must remain an active degree-seeking major in the program offered by the college/department/school offering the award sponsorship.
• The student must be registered for UCF classes at a full-time status (9 credits Grad/ 12 credits UG). Exceptions are only granted with approval of UCF Global.
• The student must have a current immigration status.
• The student must have a UCF Cumulative GPA of 3.000 or better.
• To receive any award beyond one semester, the student must maintain a UCF Cumulative GPA of 3.000 or better GPA.

Apply for the LAC Scholarship

Other Opportunities for Graduate Students

The College of Engineering and Computer Science identified several countries that provide monetary support for students to complete certain graduate programs at UCF. This support can take the form of scholarships, grants, loans, or hybrid funding. Some loans are forgivable if the student returns to their home country for a fixed period of time.

For more information about these award opportunities, please see the College of Engineering and Computer Science’s LAC Scholarship webpage, and scroll down in the page to “External Support.”