StudyDesk Scholarships
About the scholarship
The Stamps Scholarship is the University of Miami’s most prestigious merit award, offered in partnership with the Stamps Family Charitable Foundation to a select group of incoming first-year students each year. It covers the full cost of attendance for the completion of one undergraduate degree — up to eight semesters, or ten semesters for students in the School of Architecture. That means tuition and fees, on-campus housing, a meal plan, University health insurance, textbooks and a laptop allowance, plus access to a $12,000 enrichment fund for study abroad, undergraduate research, unpaid internships, conferences, leadership development and other educational purposes.
Two things decide whether this award is available to you. First, there is no separate scholarship application — all applicants are automatically considered for merit scholarships when they apply for admission. Second, and decisively, only the most academically competitive students admitted through Early Decision I or Early Action (1 November deadline) are considered for Premier Scholarships, which include Stamps. Apply under Regular Decision and you are not considered for Stamps, however strong your application. Selection is holistic: the committee evaluates the rigour of your curriculum, grades, essays, recommendations, extracurricular activities and awards, then interviews semi-finalists by Zoom in January and finalists through the Stamps Foundation, with recipients announced by early March.
Eligibility
- An exceptional and academically accomplished high-school senior applying as a first-year undergraduate at the University of Miami.
- Any nationality — there are no residency or citizenship restrictions.
- Apply under Early Decision I or Early Action and submit all First-Year Admission Requirements by 1 November.
- Strong academic record: a challenging, well-rounded curriculum, strong grades, and meaningful extracurricular participation.
- Recipients must maintain full-time student status (at least 12 credit hours per semester) and a minimum GPA of 3.0.
- Note: the Frost School of Music Stamps Ensemble Scholarship is a separate award for top instrumental performance majors — different requirements, different process.
Benefits
- Full tuition and fees for up to eight semesters (ten for Architecture).
- On-campus housing and a full meal plan.
- University health insurance, textbooks and a laptop allowance.
- $12,000 enrichment fund for study abroad, undergraduate research, unpaid internships, conferences, leadership development and other educational purposes (approved expenses).
- Access to the Stamps Scholars community on campus and nationally, including the biannual Stamps Scholars National Convention, leadership programmes and networking events.
- Funding to support academic and scientific research projects and cultural and leadership programmes during the academic year.
Documents to prepare
- The completed Common Application (including the personal statement and any supplemental essay).
- Official high-school transcripts.
- School Report completed by your high-school guidance counsellor.
- Letter(s) of recommendation — one from a counsellor or teacher (some guides list two; UM asks for the counsellor report plus a teacher recommendation — confirm the current requirement on the UM admissions page).
- English-proficiency test scores (TOEFL or IELTS) for applicants whose native language is not English.
- International Financial Certification Form; applicants seeking need-based aid also submit the CSS Profile.
- SAT/ACT scores are optional — UM is test-optional. Architecture applicants must submit test scores or a portfolio; music applicants need an audition.
How to apply
- Complete the Common Application and select the University of Miami as one of your schools (application fee $70 as listed by guides).
- Submit all First-Year Admission Requirements — transcripts, school report, recommendation(s), English-proficiency scores if applicable, and the Financial Certification Form — under Early Decision I or Early Action by 1 November 2026.
- There is no separate scholarship application — you are automatically considered for Stamps when you apply early.
- If selected as a semi-finalist, interview via Zoom with the Stamps Scholarship Selection Committee in January.
- Finalists are notified of their status at the time of admission in late January and are then interviewed by the Stamps Family Charitable Foundation.
- Stamps Scholarship recipients are announced by early March.
FAQs
1 November 2026 — you must apply under Early Decision I or Early Action and submit all first-year admission requirements by that date. Regular Decision applicants are not considered for Stamps. Semi-finalist interviews are in January, finalists are notified in late January, and recipients are announced by early March.
No. All applicants are automatically considered for merit scholarships when they apply for admission. For Stamps specifically, the only route is an Early Decision I or Early Action application submitted by 1 November.
The full cost of attendance for up to eight semesters (ten for Architecture): tuition and fees, on-campus housing, a meal plan, University health insurance, textbooks, a laptop allowance, and a $12,000 enrichment fund for study abroad, research, unpaid internships, conferences and leadership development.
No. It is a fund you draw on for approved educational purposes — study abroad, undergraduate research, an unpaid internship, conferences and similar — and expenses need prior approval. It is not pocket money.
Yes. There are no residency or citizenship restrictions; international and domestic high-school seniors are both eligible, provided they apply under Early Decision I or Early Action by 1 November.
UM does not publish a GPA or rank cut-off for Stamps. Selection is holistic — curriculum rigour, grades, essays, recommendations, extracurricular activities and awards — followed by interviews. Aggregator claims that winners "usually rank in the top 1–2% of their school cohort" are not an official UM requirement and are not used here.
No — the University of Miami is test-optional, and scores are optional for Stamps. Architecture applicants must submit test scores or a portfolio, and music applicants need an audition.
The Stamps Scholarship is UM’s top merit award for first-year undergraduates in any field. The Frost School of Music offers separate Stamps Ensemble Scholarship Awards to top instrumental performance majors who perform in a Stamps Distinguished Ensemble — a different award with different requirements.
Verified 28 Oct 2026 against the University of Miami's official First-Year Merit Scholarships page (admissions.miami.edu/undergraduate/financial-aid/scholarships/freshman/index.html): Stamps Scholarship is UM's most prestigious merit award, awarded to exceptional and academically accomplished high school seniors; full cost of attendance for up to eight semesters (ten for School of Architecture); includes tuition and fees, on-campus housing, a meal plan, University health insurance, textbooks, a laptop allowance, and a $12,000 enrichment fund for study abroad, undergraduate research, unpaid internships and other educational purposes; all applicants automatically considered for merit scholarships on admission; most academically competitive students admitted through Early Decision I or Early Action (November 1 deadline) are considered for Premier Scholarships; additional information may be required. Corroborated by five independent guides (AfterSchoolAfrica, ScholarWaka, ScholarshipUnion, OpportunitiesRadar, Scholarships for Africans) on: semi-finalist Zoom interviews in January, finalists notified with admission in late January, interviews by the Stamps Family Charitable Foundation thereafter, recipients announced by early March; maintenance of full-time status (at least 12 credit hours per semester) and minimum 3.0 GPA; Regular Decision applicants not considered. CONFLICTS: (1) Several aggregators call the $12,000 a "stipend" — UM describes it as an enrichment fund for approved purposes; the article corrects this. (2) "Top 1-2% of school cohort" on aggregator pages is not an official UM requirement and is not stated. (3) One aggregator lists a $70 Common Application fee and 250/650-word essay limits — these are aggregator-sourced and are flagged as such in the article (fee) or omitted (word counts). (4) A "November 1 (annually)" date on one guide is the same deadline, not a separate one. The queue's "Bachelors Scholarship 2026" label is corrected to the Stamps Scholarship for fall 2027 entry. The Frost School of Music Stamps Ensemble Scholarship is a different award and is distinguished in the article.
