Scholarships and Aid

The Department of Computer Science and Engineering offers a $1,000 scholarship for entering freshmen. Applications for this scholarship will be decided by the CSE Scholarship Committee.

Qualifications

Incoming freshman must:

1. Be accepted as a full-time student in a Computer Science and Engineering program at UNT.
2. Submit an essay of 500 words or less describing why you want to study engineering.
3. Submit one letter of recommendation from a mathematics or science educator.

Deadline

April 15

Past Recipients

2019 Joseph Heffley

Application

Have a mathematics or science educator email your recommendation letter for this scholarship to CSEscholarship@unt.edu.

Ben Hamilton was the son of Mr. Clarence and Dr. Patricia Hamilton. Ben received his B.A. in Computer Science in 2003 but passed away on April 24, 2007. To honor their son's memory, the Hamiltons established a scholarship fund in Ben's name.

The Benjamin T. Hamilton Memorial Scholarship is available to computer science majors in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering who are enrolled full or part-time. The first consideration is given to students who are emotionally, mentally, and/or physically challenged as determined by the Office of Disability Access (ODA). 

Deadline

April 15

Past Recipients

2019 Wesley Davis Coffman
2018 Wesley Davis Coffman
2017 Daniel Merlino
2013 Christopher Collins
2010 Chris Collins
2009 Sonny Brownlee
2008 Jonathan Holman

Gene Henry Fuhrman, March 27, 1964 to November 25, 2003, graduated from UNT in 1986 with a BBA in Business Computer Information Systems with Cum Laude Honors. He was the son of Alvin and Grace Fuhrman, owners and operator of Nortex Communications, previously known as Muenster Telephone. Gene was considered by family members and co-workers to be a computer whiz, and he played a leading role in developing the company as a provider of internet services to small communities across Cooke County. Gene was killed tragically by a drunk driver in Sanger, Texas, in 2003, leaving behind his wife Kaylynn and a not yet born son, Conner, who arrived four months after his father’s death. Gene worked most of his adult life for the family business and was Chief Operating Office at the time of his death. He was responsible with his father, Alvin, for ensuring that Nortex Communications was an early adopter of many advanced telecommunications technologies which ensured outstanding service to their customers. Nortex service has a reputation as the very best available in rural Texas, and on par with the very best service available in urban areas.

The Gene Fuhrman Memorial Scholarship Endowment in Computer Science is available to full-time students in the College of Engineering, though preference will be given to those in Computer Science and Information Technology. Additionally, preference will be given to students who are specifically graduates of a high school program in Muenster, Texas, or generally graduates of a high school program in Cooke County, Texas.

Deadline

April 15

Past Recipients

2019 Desere Crawford

Jacob Montgomery Cole was born in Denton TX, son of Monty Cole and Stacey Stewart, and brother to Macy and Sam Cole. After graduating from Corsicana High School in 2012, Jacob attended UNT and graduated with his Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science in May, 2016. During his time at UNT, Jacob excelled in his studies, landing on the Dean’s and President’s list each semester, and graduating Magna Cum Laude, while also maintaining a student employment position in the College of Music, which allowed him to channel his passion for music, and blend it with his love of Computer Science.

The Jacob Montgomery Cole Scholarship in Computer Science is available to undergraduate students in the Computer Science and Engineering Department who are enrolled full time. Preference will be given to students who are graduating from or have graduated from Navarro County, Texas High Schools.

Requirements

• Maintain good academic status
• Maintain full time enrollment (12 hours UG)
• Be an UG student majoring in Artificial Intelligence, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Cybersecurity, or Information Technology
• Demonstrate need-based financial assistance as determined by completion of FAFSA.
• Maintain a 3.0 GPA
• Preference will be given to graduates from high schools in Navarro County, Texas.

Deadline

April 15

About the Scholarship

Dr. Robert Akl, President and Owner of Ashum Corporation and Associate Professor of Computer Science & Engineering made this gift in honor of Dr. Krishna Kavi, Professor of Computer Science & Engineering, with gratitude for Dr. Kavi having hired him at UNT in 2002 as a young Assistant Professor.

Dr. Krishna Kavi joined UNT as the Chair of the Department of Computer Science & Engineering in 2001 after previous successful academic appointments at University of Texas at Arlington (1982 – 1997) and then as an endowed Chair Professor at the University of Alabama in Huntsville (1997-2001). He also served two years as Program Manager for the National Science Foundation (NSF) research programs in Systems Software and Compilers. His research has focused on computer architecture, memory systems, high performance computing, embedded systems, hardware / software security, and cloud security. He was honored as UNT Regents Professor in 2019 for his outstanding contributions to UNT research and education. He earned a BE degree in Electrical Engineering from Indian Institute of Science, and MS and PhD degrees in Computer Science & Engineering from Southern Methodist University.

Requirements

To be eligible for consideration, an applicant for the Scholarship must meet the following criteria:

• Meet the minimum entrance and continuing academic performance standards of the University (or its successor) in effect at the time of any award;
• Maintain full-time enrollment as established by the University, unless the student is nearing completion of their degree program and does not need full-time enrollment; 
• Enroll as a full-time student in majoring in computer engineering (or its successor) at the University; in the event no applicant meets this criterion, then students enrolling full-time in any computer science degree program at the University will be eligible for consideration; 
• Demonstrate eligibility for need-based financial assistance as determined by completion of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) (or its successor), which includes an application process that contains written release from the student to share FAFSA information between University departments and donors coordinating related award processes; 
• Be classified as a sophomore or junior at the time of any award; 
• Have a UNT GPA as defined by the University of at least a 2.75 on a 4.0 scale (or its equivalent); and 

Overview

Don Retzlaff was one of the pioneering students in the Department of Computer Science, earning a master's degree in Computer Sciences Systems in 1978. He was the first UNT Computer Science alumnus to develop an academic career. For 35 years he served as a lecturer and then Principal Lecturer. Don obviously had the teaching spark and had a particular passion for programming languages. 

He taught thirteen undergraduate courses, including a variety of programming languages, software development, and file organization & processing. He also taught three graduate courses. He is probably best known for his work producing the software development course sequence in which students learn to write large-scale applications. He also developed courses in Programming for Non-Majors, Assembly Language Programming, and Internet Programming. 

In retirement he has assisted with publication of the Computer Science Newsletter, maintaining the department website, developing code, and writing and publishing a variety of books. Don’s wife, Elisa, is also a UNT Alum and earned a degree in mathematics in 1986. In Spring 2018, Don was presented the Department of Computer Science & Engineering’s Alumni Lifetime Achievement Award.

Please see the video of Don presenting the early history of UNT Computer Science at the UNT Computer Science @ 50 commemoration event on April 14, 2022.  It is an excellent history of the early years of UNT Computer Science, and highlights the pioneering faculty and students as well as the early computer systems.

Funded by Philanthropic Contributions

This scholarship was funded by the generous contributions of UNT CSE Department alumni, faculty colleagues and friends. Charitable contributions may still be made to the endowed fund maintained by the UNT Foundation with the singular long-term objective of paying out one or more scholarships each year in perpetuity in Don’s honor. To make a contribution to this fund please see the UNT College of Engineering secure giving portal. Under Area of Support select “Other,” type in “Don Retzlaff Scholarship in Computer Science & Engineering” and follow the prompts.

Requirements

1. Meet the minimum entrance and continuing academic performance standards of the College of Engineering (or its successor) in effect at the time of any award; 
2. Maintain full-time enrollment as established by the University, unless the student is nearing completion of their degree program and does not need full-time enrollment; 
3. Enroll as a full-time student in The Department of Computer Science and Engineering. (or its successor) at the University; in the event no applicant meets this criteria, then students enrolling full-time in The College of Engineering (or its successor) at the University will be eligible for consideration; and, 
4. Preference will be given to current members or honorable discharged veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces, Armed Forces Reserves, National Guard or current or former emergency first responders (police, sheriff’s deputy, firefighter or paramedic), or to recipients of the Eagle Scout Award or Girl Scout Golden Award, or to those who have served at least three years in leadership of a Scouting or Girl Scout program or to a spouse, son or daughter of someone meeting the conditions of this criterion.

Deadline

April 15

About the Scholarship

The purpose of The Dr. Philip H. Sweany Scholarship for Computer Science K-12 Teacher Education is to provide scholarship support for College of Engineering students in computer science, computer engineering or information technology at the University of North Texas. 

Dr. Phil Sweany served at the University of North Texas as an Associate Professor of Computer Science for more than 15 years before his untimely passing in 2018. His primary research expertise was in computer compiler optimization and he taught a wide array of sixteen computer science courses at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. In later years, he spearheaded the Computer Science teacher preparation branch of UNT's Teach North Texas initiative - a pioneering effort to educate computer scientists and equip them to serve as high school classroom teachers to help address the national shortfall in qualified high school computer science teachers. He previously taught at Colorado State University (where he also earned his Ph.D.), National Technological University, and at Michigan Technological University. He also worked for Texas Instruments on computer compilers.

Requirements

To be eligible for consideration, an applicant for the Scholarship must meet the following criteria:

1. Meet the minimum entrance and continuing academic performance standards of the University (or its successor) in effect at the time of any award; 
2. Maintain full-time enrollment as established by the University, unless the student is nearing completion of their degree program and does not need full-time enrollment; 
3. Enroll as a full-time undergraduate student in computer science, computer engineering or information technology within the College of Engineering (or their successors) at the University;
4. Have a minimum 3.0 cumulative grade point average on a 4.0 scale;
5. Demonstrate eligibility for need-based financial assistance as determined by completion of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) (or its successor), which includes an application process that contains written release from the student to share FAFSA information between UNT departments and donors coordinating related award processes; 
6. Preference shall be given to applicants who are seniors, fifth-year students or students who are otherwise in the final year of their undergraduate computer science, computer engineering or information technology program (or its successor) and who are also preparing to be high school computer science teachers under the Teach North Texas program (or its successor).

About the Scholarship

The funds being given by the donors will be used for the following purpose: To provide need-based scholarships for undergraduate students majoring in computer science (or its successor). 

Requirements

To be eligible for consideration, an applicant for the scholarship must meet the following criteria:

1. Meet the minimum entrance and continuing academic performance standards of the university (or its successor) in effect at the time of any award;
2. Maintain full-time enrollment as established by the university, unless the student is nearing completion of their degree program and does not need full-time enrollment;
3. Enroll as an undergraduate student majoring in computer science (or its successor);
4. Demonstrate eligibility for need-based financial assistance as determined by completion of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) (or its successor), which includes an application process that contains written release from the student to share FAFSA information between university departments and donors coordinating related award processes;
5. Be a first-generation student; in the event no applicant meets this criterion, then students who are not first-generation students will be eligible for consideration.

Deadline

April 15; Email CSEScholarships@unt.edu for more information.

For DOCTORAL students only

NSF granted this award under the title ‘SFS-NEW: Advancing Learning and Leadership Through an Integrated Multidisciplinary Doctoral Program in Information Assurance’. See the documents below for more details.

SFS_PhD_Requirements.pdf
NSF_SFS_Flyer_2017-09-21.pdf

For Master's students only

$1,000 ($500 each semester) Scholarship, 1 year total
Awarding Department: Computer Science and Engineering
Department contact:  (CSE@unt.edu)
Career: Graduate
Classification: Master’s
Major: CSCE
Minimum Cumulative GPA: 3.50
FAFSA: Encouraged, but not required
Other: Must meet UNT Toulouse Graduate School and Departmental Admission Guidelines and must be an incoming student

Scholarship Application Deadline: March 1
Award Semester: Fall

About the Scholarship

The Melanie Leigh Wilson Dewey Memorial Graduate Scholarship in Computer Science provides support for master’s students in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering.

It honors the memory of Melanie Leigh Wilson Dewey, a graduate program administrative specialist within the Department of Computer Science and Engineering (CSCE) who passed away while serving in the Department of Computer Science & Engineering.

Melanie began working at UNT in October 2015 with Dr. Krishna Kavi and Dr. Robert Akl in the National Science Foundation sponsored UNT Network Centered Systems Industry / University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC). She transferred in 2018 to the Computer Science and Engineering departmental office where she began her role as the graduate program administrative specialist and served as the first point of contact for CSCE graduate applicants, most of whom were international students. Melanie assisted the students by helping them navigate the UNT application process, including discussing leveling courses and English Language Proficiency requirement; meeting with them one-on-one when they arrived at UNT or within the United States; and helping them get registered and settled into university life.

“Melanie was one of the kindest people I’ve ever known, and a joy to work with. She was always looking for creative ways to do a task or a way to brighten someone’s day,” said Diana Bergeman, administrative coordinator in the department at the time of Melanie’s passing. “If you told her she couldn’t do something, that just made her more determined to do it, and do it perfectly. That was her personality – she never gave up on her family, her friends, and definitely not ‘her students,’ as she liked to call them.”

Melanie learned on June 9, 2020, that she had cancer. Unfortunately, her health deteriorated rapidly and on July 9, 2020, at just 40 years old, she passed away.

Requirements

To be eligible for consideration, an applicant for the Scholarship must meet the following criteria:

• Meet the minimum entrance and continuing academic performance standards of the University (or its successor) in effect at the time of any award;
• Maintain full-time enrollment as established by the University, unless the student is nearing completion of their degree program and does not need full-time enrollment;
• Enroll as a student in majoring in computer engineering (or its successor) at the University; in the event no applicant meets this criterion, then students enrolling full-time in any computer science degree program at the University will be eligible for consideration;
• Demonstrate eligibility for need-based financial assistance as determined by completion of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) (or its successor), which includes an application process that contains written release from the student to share FAFSA information between University departments and donors coordinating related award processes;
• Be classified as a sophomore or junior at the time of any award;
• Have a UNT GPA of at least a 2.75 on a 4.0 scale (or its equivalent).