Eligibility is identified by the university based on an examination of several basic criteria:

• Students in good academic standing.
• Student status of “regular student” (except for new immigrants with fewer than 10 years in Israel or members of a minority who were accepted as freshmen conditionally because of the Hebrew language proficiency exam)
• Minimum course load for the academic year
• Cumulative grades and GPA from previous year as explained below:

Cumulative grades and GPA from previous year: For double majors, cumulative grades for courses worth 30 credits, no less than 12 credits in each of the departments. For single majors, cumulative grades for courses worth 30 credits. For students in the joint program of the Faculty of Law, cumulative grades for courses worth 30 credits as a rule.

GPA from previous year: For double majors, a GPA that is in the highest 3% or 5% in one department and in the highest 10% in the other. For single majors, a GPA that is in the highest 3% or 5% in the department. Students in the joint program of the Faculty of Law, a GPA that is in the highest 3% or 5% in law and in the highest 20% in the joint department.

*Students accepted as sophomores or above based on previous studies at a different school are not eligible for an excellence scholarship based on their achievements in their previous institution of higher education.

Students identified as eligible will be notified in the first weeks after the start of the semester.

Students with high academic achievements not identified as excelling may contact the Scholarship Department to clarify or appeal their exclusion. An appeal regarding their ineligibility must be submitted by the end of the first semester.

Community Service: Receipt of the scholarship is contingent on community service of 25 hours per year (fourth-year students in the double major law program will do 12.5 hours of community service). Exemptions: Students in therapeutic departments in the Welfare and Health Sciences Faculty for ever year in which they do practical work/fieldwork studies as part of their departments’ curricula.

Donor Relations: The university makes every effort to raise funds from private donors and public institutions to encourage academic excellence. To express our gratitude and appreciation for the donors, you will, once you receive the scholarship, be asked to write a letter to a donor and, if necessary, participate in a ceremony or meeting with donors during the course of the academic year.

An outstanding merit scholarship is provided to students with a GPA in the highest 3%; an excellence scholarship is provided to students with a GPA in the highest 5%. The scholarship amount is determined every year anew based on the scholarship budget. (In 2017-2018, the excellence scholarships were in NIS 4,000 and NIS 4,500.)In their last standard year of study, students in programs where the standard course of study is 3.5 years (e.g. the joint program in the Faculty of Law, Occupational Therapy, Communications Disorders) will receive 50% of the excellence scholarship set for that year. The Scholarship Department credits the students’ tuition accounts with the scholarship amount.

If tuition was fully paid ahead of time, the Tuition Department in the Student Administration Division will deposit the scholarship funds into the students’ bank accounts. Students must therefore update their bank account information via the student portal, tab “Tuition.”

Cases in which an excellence scholarship is reduced or revoked:

• Withdrawing from the University, whether the decision is the student’s or the University’s.
• Failure to meet a basic criterion due to changes in the total tuition fee/GPA.
• based on the directions of the university’s Disciplinary Authority (see Disciplinary Regulations).
• Failure to fulfill community service, fully or in part, a scholarship condition.
• Failure to write a thank-you letter to the donor/not coming to a meeting with donors, as required by the Scholarship Department.
• Revocation or reduction of the scholarship is effected by the Tuition Department. Students must make sure to discharge their debts by the deadlines determined by the university.

Changes to the above criteria are possible.