American University Graduate Merit Scholarships / Merit Awards

American University offers various forms of graduate merit assistance to students who demonstrate academic excellence, professional achievement, leadership potential or other qualities valued by their graduate program.

The university's Graduate Scholarships page explains that these scholarships are offered through academic departments and are not administered by the central Office of Financial Aid. The page also states that the deadline for most scholarship applications is February 1.

This means that prospective students should not assume that every AU graduate program offers the same scholarship, amount or deadline.

For example, individual schools may describe their awards as graduate merit scholarships, while other programs may provide funding through fellowships, research assistantships, teaching assistantships or other forms of graduate financial support.

AU also notes that graduate merit awards can have their own renewal requirements. The university's satisfactory academic progress information specifically says that the Financial Aid Office does not monitor renewal eligibility for graduate merit awards because these awards are evaluated separately within the academic units.

Depending on the specific graduate program and award, benefits can include:

1. Partial or substantial tuition assistance
2. Reduction in the overall cost of graduate study
3. Possible graduate fellowship funding
4. Potential teaching or research assistantship opportunities
5. In some cases, financial support connected to graduate employment
6. Recognition of academic or professional achievement
7. Potential renewable funding, where the individual award permits it

The precise financial value cannot be stated as one fixed amount for "AU Graduate Merit Awards" because American University does not publish a single university-wide award value for all graduate students. The amount depends on the academic unit and specific award.

For international students, AU also notes that students receiving university graduate merit awards with a work component may be eligible for a Social Security number because the award involves authorized employment.