What is the Tier One Scholarship at UH?

The Tier One Scholarship is UH's most prestigious academic merit award. It covers full tuition and mandatory fees for four years (five for Architecture), on-campus housing and meal plan for the first two years, a one-time $1,000 undergraduate research stipend, a one-time $2,000 study abroad stipend, an out-of-state tuition waiver worth ~$40,000 over four years for non-Texas residents, and priority registration. Selection requires the November 3 application + a January Tier One Invitational interview.

Is the Tier One Scholarship available to out-of-state students?

Yes. Out-of-state Tier One recipients receive the same package as Texas residents plus an additional out-of-state tuition waiver worth approximately $40,000 over four years. For non-Texas residents, Tier One is the only published path to UH at a competitive net cost — winning it changes the OOS calculus entirely.

Houston· Renewal Rules

Keeping Houston’s Merit Aid for Four Years

What the financial-aid office actually requires after freshman year: minimum GPA, credit-hour pace, and the cliffs that quietly downgrade families mid-degree.

Verified May 20268 days ago· CB-1

At a glance

Renewable tiers: 5 of 5
One-time tiers: 0
Tiers with published renewal terms: 5
Renewal risk profile: low

Renewal risk profile

Houston's published renewal rules cluster around a 3.0 floor with no major-GPA gating, which is survivable for the typical freshman with steady study habits. The risk is non-renewal due to enrollment status (dropping below full-time), not GPA.

Tier One Scholarship: Full-time enrollment
National Merit Scholarship (UH first-choice): See notes
Academic Excellence Scholarship: Full-time enrollment
Distinguished Scholarship: See notes
Cullen Leadership Scholarship: See notes

Renewal terms by tier

Tier One Scholarship
Full tuition and mandatory fees for four years (five years for Architecture) + on-campus housing and meal plan for the first two years + $1,000 one-time undergraduate research stipend + $2,000 one-time study abroad stipend + out-of-state tuition waiver (~$40,000 over 4 years) for non-Texas residents
Entry requirements: 1400 SAT composite improves selection chances SAT · 30 ACT composite improves selection chances ACT
To keep it: Renewable for up to 8 undergraduate semesters (10 for architecture). Renewal contingent on Tier One renewal requirements (full-time enrollment + academic standing).
Source: https://www.uh.edu/tieronescholars/
National Merit Scholarship (UH first-choice)
Full UH National Merit package (combines UH + NMSC funding); specific composition varies
To keep it: Renewable up to 8 semesters (10 for architecture) per UH merit renewal terms.
Source: https://www.uh.edu/scholarships
Academic Excellence Scholarship
Not publicly disclosed in a per-year tier table
To keep it: Renewable up to 8 undergraduate semesters (10 for architecture) with full-time enrollment and required academic standing.
Source: https://www.uh.edu/scholarships
Distinguished Scholarship
Not publicly disclosed in a per-year tier table
To keep it: Renewable up to 8 undergraduate semesters (10 for architecture).
Source: https://www.uh.edu/scholarships
Cullen Leadership Scholarship
Not publicly disclosed in a per-year tier table
To keep it: Renewable up to 8 undergraduate semesters (10 for architecture).
Source: https://www.uh.edu/scholarships

Renewal questions families ask

What is the Tier One Scholarship at UH?: The Tier One Scholarship is UH's most prestigious academic merit award. It covers full tuition and mandatory fees for four years (five for Architecture), on-campus housing and meal plan for the first two years, a one-time $1,000 undergraduate research stipend, a one-time $2,000 study abroad stipend, an out-of-state tuition waiver worth ~$40,000 over four years for non-Texas residents, and priority registration. Selection requires the November 3 application + a January Tier One Invitational interview.
Is the Tier One Scholarship available to out-of-state students?: Yes. Out-of-state Tier One recipients receive the same package as Texas residents plus an additional out-of-state tuition waiver worth approximately $40,000 over four years. For non-Texas residents, Tier One is the only published path to UH at a competitive net cost — winning it changes the OOS calculus entirely.

Rules that bite at Houston

The renewal trip wires we'd flag in a custom playbook, derived from Houston's own tier rules and not generic advice.

renewalTier One Scholarship: renewal floor that quietly knocks awards out
Renewable for up to 8 undergraduate semesters (10 for architecture). Renewal contingent on Tier One renewal requirements (full-time enrollment + academic standing). A single rough term can end a four-year award here without warning if the GPA floor isn't met cumulatively.

How Houston compares across our verified dataset

133 of 150 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.
Houston is one of them. The cohort minority (17 schools) only awards one-year scholarships, which means the four-year value families assume on a brochure quote isn't guaranteed at every school.
50 of 150 verified schools publish a dedicated National Merit Finalist package.
Houston is one of them. NMF packages typically carry their own stacking and renewal carve-outs separate from the standard automatic merit ladder; confirm those before assuming the headline NMF value is final.

Sources used on this page

Every renewal claim is checked against Houston’s own published materials.

policyHouston stacking policy
tierTier One Scholarship
tierNational Merit Scholarship (UH first-choice)
scholarshipHonors College Scholarship