NATIONAL SMART GRANT
Student Eligibility
Like the ACG, to be eligible for the National SMART Grant, students must receive a Pell Grant for the same award year and be U.S. citizens (noncitizens are not eligible). Additionally, eligible students must:
- Be enrolled full time in a bachelor's or graduate (if it includes at least three academic years of undergraduate education) degree program;
- Be enrolled in the third or fourth academic year of their program of study at a four-year degree-granting institution;
- If third-year students, have successfully completed the second year, or if fourth-year students, have successfully completed the third year;
- Have a cumulative GPA* of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale in the courses for their program; and
- Be majoring in physical, life or computer science, engineering, mathematics, technology, or a critical foreign language.
* This GPA is checked at the end of each grading period and before the disbursement for the next payment period.
Eligible Majors
As noted on the previous page, students must major in the sciences, engineering, math, or certain foreign languages to be eligible for a National SMART Grant. College programs of study are coded according to the Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP), and a school's registrar's office tracks the codes for majors that are offered at the school. ED has announced the CIP codes of the exact majors which qualify students for the grant.
Award Amount
National SMART Grants do not vary in their amount like Pell Grants, and they will be reduced only to avoid overawarding a student or if nationwide there are insufficient program funds and all grants must be ratably reduced. Otherwise, eligible students receive National SMART Grants of $4,000 for both their third and fourth academic years of study.
