University of Providence (formerly University of Great Falls) · Montana
UProvidence Merit Aid
DRAFT: The University of Providence (the renamed University of Great Falls) gives every admitted freshman/transfer automatic GPA-based merit of $7,500-$17,000 a year, layers two $10,000 competitive scholarships on top, and runs unusual flat-rate tuition incentives ($10,000/yr commuter rate, $250/credit military/law-enforcement rate) — but health-professions programs with discounted tuition are excluded from merit entirely.
Verified Jun 20264 days ago· COWORK
Merit tiers41 automatic on stats
Last verifiedJun 2026Analyst COWORK
Rules that bite at UProvidence
The trip wires we'd flag in a custom playbook. Each is derived from UProvidence's own published policy, not generic advice.
renewalSpirit of Service Leadership Scholarship: renewal floor that quietly knocks awards out
Renewable for four years. Full-time enrollment, participation in campus activities, on-campus residency and satisfactory academic progress are required to maintain the award through graduation. A single rough term can end a four-year award here without warning if the GPA floor isn't met cumulatively.
capHard $45,832 cost-of-attendance ceiling
Institutional aid at UProvidence cannot push the package past $45,832. Big outside wins can mathematically reduce institutional grant once the ceiling is reached.
Common merit-aid mistakes at UProvidence
The scholarships page limits institutional scholarships to the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the Traditional BSN: 'All other programs within the School of Health Professions are not eligible for institutional scholarships due to a different tuition and fees structure,' and students in discounted-tuition programs or the Accelerated BSN 'are not eligible for institutional merit scholarships.'
On-campus students eligible for the Providence employee discount or Healthcare Professionals incentive 'will receive the higher amount of either the discount or the academic merit award' — higher-of, never both.
'Federal Pell Grants and institutional scholarships and grants plus athletic aid cannot exceed direct costs (tuition, fees, and housing/food if on campus)' — a hard direct-cost cap, and 100%-tuition scholarship students may get no additional athletic aid at all.
Both $10,000 competitive scholarships explicitly require 'Not participating in an athletic program.'
Community Impact Scholars must be 'NOT participating in varsity athletics or receiving other institutional scholarships' — the flat rate replaces, not supplements, merit aid. Compare the math both ways before choosing.
The Gately Church Leadership application and supporting documents are due February 1 (page states 'Application deadline is February 1, 2026' for Fall 2026 entry).
UP publishes only the range, not a GPA-to-dollar grid — families cannot compute their tier in advance and should ask admissions what GPA earns what amount.
The page states academic merit scholarships 'require full-time enrollment.'
Who this school is for
DRAFT: Students entering the School of Liberal Arts & Sciences or the traditional BSN who want automatic, GPA-based merit at a small Catholic university; Montana-area commuters, healthcare workers, military, and Catholic church-leadership students have distinct flat-rate or competitive paths.
Tuition / cost of attendance: Approximately $45,832 for 2026-2027. Source
Institutional merit aid tiers
Every tier below is sourced to the school’s own published financial aid pages. Renewal terms apply only if the student maintains the stated GPA.
$7,500-$17,000
Academic Merit Scholarships
AutomaticRenewable
GPA
Based on GPA (no published GPA-to-amount grid)
Requirements & details+
Eligibility
Full-time enrollment required; new freshmen and transfer students automatically considered with the admission application. School of Liberal Arts & Sciences and Traditional BSN only.
Renewal terms
Renewable for four years or up to completion of a bachelor's degree, provided students remain in good academic standing at UP.
Notes
No GPA-to-dollar grid is published — the page gives only the $7,500-$17,000/yr range ($30,000-$68,000 over four years). Students in programs with discounted tuition rates or the Accelerated Bachelor's in Nursing are not eligible.
Separate application with essay, resume, professional letter of recommendation and an interview; demonstrated involvement in clubs/activities/service; NOT participating in an athletic program; admitted for Fall 2026 with intent to enroll.
Renewal terms
Renewable for four years. Full-time enrollment, participation in campus activities, on-campus residency and satisfactory academic progress are required to maintain the award through graduation.
Notes
One of two competitive scholarships. Fall 2026 application opened October 1, 2025.
University of Providence Sister Mary Loretta Gately Scholarship for Church Leadership
ApplicationRenewable
GPA
3.0 or better (newly admitted students)
Requirements & details+
Eligibility
Separate application with essay, at least two reference letters (one from a pastor from the student's catholic community and one authorized by a lay person), and an interview; leadership/service in high school, community, and church; desire to serve in a faith-based capacity after graduation; NOT participating in an athletic program. Application deadline February 1, 2026.
Renewal terms
Renewable for four years. Full-time enrollment, participation in campus ministry, on-campus residency and satisfactory academic progress are required to maintain the award through graduation.
Notes
Competitive church-leadership award; documents due by February 1st.
Full-time degree-seeking undergraduate commuter living off campus in Cascade, Chouteau, Fergus, Judith Basin, Liberty, Pondera, Teton or Toole counties (MT); NOT in varsity athletics or receiving other institutional scholarships; demonstrated community commitment.
Renewal terms
Maintain good academic standing throughout enrollment (Overall GPA of 3.0 or higher).
Notes
This is a special flat tuition RATE of $10,000 per year (not a scholarship amount deducted from list tuition). It cannot be combined with other institutional scholarships.
Athletic aid is applied after academic merit and the two can stack, but Pell + institutional scholarships/grants + athletic aid cannot exceed direct costs (tuition, fees, and on-campus housing/food). Students at 100% institutional tuition scholarships may not get additional athletic aid. Employee/healthcare tuition discounts do not stack with merit — students receive the higher of the two. The Community Impact commuter rate cannot be combined with other institutional scholarships. Outside (private) scholarship treatment is not addressed on the pages opened.
The cap is expressed against DIRECT costs (tuition, fees, housing/food), not full COA. Discount-vs-merit is higher-of, not additive.
Named awards that don’t always surface on the main financial aid page. Each one has its own eligibility rules.
AmountUp to 50% discounted tuition (undergraduate); 25% (graduate)EligibilityActively employed (full- or part-time) at a healthcare organization, enrolling in a UP healthcare program, retaining healthcare employment throughout enrollment.
Tuition-rate discount, not a scholarship; on-campus students get the higher of this or academic merit, not both. 2026-27 rate sheet shows $522/cr undergraduate healthcare-professional rate vs $1,046 general.
AmountUp to 50% tuition rate on select programsEligibilityFull- or part-time Providence Health Caregivers with active employment, or tier 1 dependents of a Providence Health & Service employee.
May combine with employer tuition reimbursement via Guild per the page.
Amount$250 per credit hour tuition rateEligibilityActively employed Montana law enforcement officers with valid POST certification (full- or part-time).
Applies to any undergraduate, graduate or certificate program.
Academic merit requires no separate application — it's automatic with admission. The two competitive scholarships (Spirit of Service Leadership and the Gately Church Leadership scholarship, both $10,000/yr) opened October 1, 2025 for Fall 2026; the Gately application deadline is February 1, 2026.
How much automatic merit can I get?
Merit scholarships range from $7,500 to $17,000 per academic year ($30,000-$68,000 over four years), based on GPA, with full-time enrollment required. No GPA-to-amount grid is published.
Are merit scholarships renewable?
Yes — 'renewable for four years or up to completion of a bachelor's degree, provided students remain in good academic standing at UP.'
What does the University of Providence cost in 2026-27?
Published 2026-2027 annual full-time on-campus freshman direct cost: tuition $32,186 + fees $1,200 + housing/food $12,446 = $45,832 (upperclassman total $44,612). Books, transportation and personal expenses are not included in this published total.
Do nursing and health-professions students get merit aid?
The traditional (Vander Werff) BSN does, because it uses Liberal Arts & Sciences rates. Accelerated BSN and other School of Health Professions programs do not — they're excluded from institutional scholarships due to a different tuition/fee structure.
How UProvidence compares across our verified dataset
160 of 751 verified schools in our dataset use cost-of-attendance cap displacement.
UProvidence is in a recognizable cluster (160 schools share this category). That framing matters when comparing peer schools that may publish the policy differently or not at all.
669 of 751 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.
UProvidence is one of them. The cohort minority (82 schools) only awards one-year scholarships, which means the four-year value families assume on a brochure quote isn't guaranteed at every school.
Sources used on this page
Every claim is checked against UProvidence’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.
