In 1989, Central Michigan University created the Centralis Scholarship Program. This program awards merit-based scholarships to incoming freshmen students who have demonstrated outstanding academic performance and extracurricular involvement.

The Centralis program provides each student with opportunities designed to enhance his or her academic and professional development and signifies the university's commitment to encourage and recognize the intellectual potential of outstanding students and academically strengthen the university. It provides scholars with extraordinary academic preparation, enrichment opportunities and personal development experiences.

These scholarships are awarded on a competitive basis. Senior high school students with a cumulative gpa of 3.5 or higher are invited to write an essay during a half day Centralis Scholarship Competition.  Semi-finalists are chosen from those that have completed the essay and have been accepted to CMU.  These semi-finalists are required to complete and return a Centralis Scholarship application for further consideration.  Outstanding academic performance and extracurricular involvement will enhance your application.  Final scholarship decisions will be made in January following a review of the Centralis applications completed by competition semi-finalists. Scholarship recipients will be notified in late January.

If you receive a Centralis Scholarship, you will follow a special program designed to enrich your studies at CMU. You will:

• Enroll in Honors courses and seminars
• Acquire foreign language skills
• Have opportunities to volunteer for community service
• Complete an Honors Senior Research Project in your major field of study
• Receive personal faculty mentoring
• Receive Honors academic advising

Centralis Award recipients are required to live in Larzelere Hall their freshman year. This is one of the university’s Honors residences and location of the Honors Program Office. Centralis awards are automatically renewed if the recipient maintains a cumulative grade point average of 3.25 or higher and remains in good standing with the Honors Program.

There are two types of Centralis Scholarships awarded:

Centralis Scholar Award – 20 awards
A Centralis Scholar Award covers the full cost of your tuition and room and board and provides $500 for general expenses. The award pays for up to 36 credit hours per academic year, including summer sessions. The current award value for four years is $74,720 or $18,680 per academic year. 

A Centralis Scholar Award cannot be combined with a Leader Advancement scholarship, a CMU Board of Trustees Outstanding High School Student Scholarship or a CMU Board of Trustees Academic Honors Scholarship.

Centralis Gold Award – 20 awards
This scholarship covers the full cost of your tuition for up to 36 credit hours per academic year, including summer sessions. The current award value for four years is $43,776 or $10,944 per academic year. 

A Centralis Gold Award may be combined with not more than one of the following scholarships:  a Multicultural Advancement, a Lloyd M. Cofer, a Detroit Compact or a Wade McCree scholarship.

It may not be combined with a Leader Advancement Scholarship, or a Multicultural Advancement Award of Distinction Scholarship.

 

Note:  Recipients of CMU merit- and talent-based scholarships of a dollar value equal to or greater than $1,500 are required to reside on campus during their freshman and sophomore years unless they qualify as commuting students or for another exception to the Campus Residency Policy.

To learn more about other awards offered by Central Michigan University or how this award may affect your financial aid package visit the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid at http://financialaid.cmich.edu/cmu_scholarships.htm