The Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG) and the National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent (SMART) Grant are federal programs available to students who are:

• Pell eligible.
• U.S. citizens and non-citizens such as permanent residents that are eligible for federal student financial aid.

Additional program-specific requirements are listed below.

In addition to the general requirements above, the ACG is available to students who:

• Are in their first or second year of study — not beyond 60 cumulative hours.
• Are recent high school graduates.
• Have completed a rigorous secondary school program of study.
  • UT Austin awards the ACG to Texas residents who completed the Recommended and Distinguished high school plans.
• Have a 3.0 cumulative GPA for renewal in the second year.

In addition to the general requirements above, the SMART Grant is available to students who:

• Are in their third or fourth year of study.
• Fifth year only if the program requires five full years of study, which means the program would require more than 150 cumulative hours.
• Must be pursuing a major in mathematics, science (including physical, life, and computer sciences), technology, engineering, or a critical foreign language, such as Arabic, Chinese, Korean, Japanese and Russian, determined critical to national security.
• Must document progress in an eligible program of study.
• Maintain at least a cumulative 3.0 GPA.

*Important Notice! The Academic Competitiveness Grant and the Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent Grant (SMART Grant) have been discontinued by the federal government. This means these grants cannot be offered after the 2010-2011 academic year.