Legislation Increases Hathaway Awards Up To 70%
University of Wyoming students will be seeing a significant boost in their financial aid packages this fall, as a new state law marks the first major increase to the Hathaway Scholarship in nearly two decades.
Thanks to the passage of Senate File 47, the state is injecting an additional $7 million annually into the program. Starting July 1, 2026, the scholarship tiers will see jumps of up to 70%, with Honors award rising from $1,680 to $2,360 per semester.
What Is The Hathaway Scholarship?
Hathaway is Wyoming’s premier scholarship program that was designed to incentivize Wyoming high school students to stay in-state for college. This is done by providing merit-based financial aid that reflects GPA, ACT/SAT, and curriculum requirements.
Back in 1974, Governor Stanley Hathaway pushed for the creation of the Wyoming Permanent Mineral Fund. Essentially, minerals such as coal, oil and gas are finite, leading him to believe that the tax revenue from those resources should be put into a permanent “savings account.”
Three decades later, the Wyoming Legislature decided to use that concept specifically for education, creating a $400 million permanent endowment using those mineral royalties which lead to the first “Hathaway Merit Scholarship”.
Hathaway Today
Over the span of the last 20 years, inflation and tuition costs have caused the scholarship to cover less and less of a student’s bill. When the scholarship launched in 2006, the Honors level covered roughly 91% of tuition and fees at UW. By the start of 2026, that coverage had dropped to just 41%.
“Every year, the tuition gets higher and higher, yet the awards that [students] get… never go up,” said at-the-time representative Edwin Morales during a legislative hearing.
The New Award Tiers (Starting Fall 2026)
- Honors: $2,360 per semester (Up from $1,680)
- Performance: $1,770 per semester (Up from $1,260)
- Opportunity/Provisional: $1,180 per semester (Up from $840)
- Need-Based Max: $2,120 per year (Up from $1,575)
What This Means for Current Students
For current UW students, this is good news. These changes are designed to be automatic, and for those who are already receiving Hathaway, the increased amounts will reflect financial aid packages for the Fall 2026 semester without requiring a new application.
Students are encouraged to check their WyoRecords portal to ensure their “Hathaway Eligibility Verification Form” is complete.
For specific questions regarding unmet need or eligibility, the UW Office of Scholarships & Financial Aid in Knight Hall remains the primary resource for the student body.
