Fellowships and Scholarships for Minorities

There are many foundations that sponsor minority students and provide support in finding scholarships, locating internships, and building leadership and personal development skills. We’ve assembled a list of foundations that provide academic support, fellowship opportunities, and scholarships for minority students below.

1. Emma Bowen Foundation

For students interested in a career in journalism and mass communications, this foundation may be perfect for you. The Emma Bowen foundation helps place people of color in paid internships with top media and technology companies. Applicants must be a student of color (African-American, Asian-American, Latino, or Native American) and college student or graduating high school senior. Other qualifications apply.

2. McNair Scholars Program

The McNair Scholars Program provides several opportunities for graduate students, from research fellowships and internships to funds for work in a specific field of study. Funding and resources are geared toward anything from majors of study to minority students and general graduate/scholars programs.

3. Posse Foundation

The Posse Foundation seeks to provide students with the tools and opportunities needed to secure internships and jobs in a variety of industries. Posse is located in Atlanta, the Bay Area, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, and Washington, D.C. Posse partner schools award Posse Scholars four-year, full-tuition leadership scholarships.

4. The LAGRANT Foundation

The LAGRANT Foundation is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to increase the number of ethnic minorities in the fields of advertising, marketing, and public relations by providing scholarships, career and professional development workshops, mentors, and internships. The program is available to African American/Black, Alaska Native/Native American, Asian American/Pacific Islander, and Hispanic/Latino undergraduate and graduate students.

5. The Gates Scholarship

The Gates Scholarship is a full-ride scholarship for exceptional, Pell-eligible, minority high school seniors. The scholarship is awarded to 300 student leaders annually to promote their academic and professional success. Applicants must be:

• A high school senior
• From at least one of the following ethnicities: African-American, American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian & Pacific Islander American, and/or Hispanic American
• Pell-eligible
• A US citizen, national, or permanent resident
• A minimum cumulative weighted GPA of 3.3

Applicants must also plan to enroll full-time in a four-year degree program at a US accredited not-for-profit private or public college or university.

6. EDSA Minority Scholarship

EDSA is a planning, landscape architecture, urban design, and graphic design firm. The EDSA Minority Scholarship was established to help minority students of cultural and ethnic backgrounds continue their landscape architecture education. Minority students are eligible if they are in their final two years of undergraduate study or pursuing a graduate degree in landscape architecture.

7. ESA Foundation Scholarship Program

The ESA scholarship program “assists women and minority students who are pursuing degrees leading to careers in Computer and Video Game Arts.” Up to 30 scholarships of $3,000 each are awarded each year (15 to graduating high school seniors and 15 to current college students). Applicants must be:

• Women or minority students
• Pursuing degrees leading to careers in computer and video game arts (high school seniors must already be accepted into a program)
• Enrolling or enrolled in a full-time undergraduate course of study at an accredited four-year college or university in the United States
• Maintaining a grade point average of 2.75 or above on a 4.0 scale (or its equivalent)
• US citizens

8. The Jackie Robinson Foundation Scholarship Program

The Jackie Robinson Foundation Scholarship Program was created to help minority college students pay for college and provide mentorship for success. Jackie Robinson Foundation Scholars receive four-year grants to help cover the costs of attending the school of their choice and are enrolled in the foundation’s four-year mentoring program, “42 Strategies for Success.”

9. UNCF

UNCF is the country’s biggest private scholarship provider to minority group members. Each year, they “award more than $100 million in scholarships to more than 10,000 students at more than 1,100 schools across the country.” UNCF awards a variety of scholarships, and most require that you apply for financial aid through the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). Applicants must also:

• Have a minimum GPA of 2.5 on a 4.0 scale
• Be enrolled or planning to enroll full-time in a college or university
• Have filed the FAFSA
• Demonstrate financial need verified by the financial aid director of the college or university they wish to attend