The myriad scholarship opportunities for African American students that are now available reflect the the history of under-representation of these students in higher education.
Banks, government offices and non-profit organizations alike have all campaigned to raise funds to give students of diverse backgrounds the opportunity to attend two-year and four-year universities, and as a result African American students face more scholarship choices than ever.
The United Negro College Fund is one of the largest sources of college money for African Americans. The fund has teamed up with a number of corporate sponsors to provide scholarship money to African American students in a number of disciplines, and also offer general scholarships for students who haven’t chosen a major yet.
The UNCF also offers a one-stop portal for all of these opportunities through their website, which makes it easy to find out about a large number of scholarships for African Americans at one time.
Many scholarships for African Americans are specifically earmarked for students attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), which are 100 two- year and four-year institutions of higher learning that are committed to maintaining a predominately African American student body. A complete list of these colleges can be found here, and most of these college are in the South and Mid-Atlantic.
You don’t need to attend an HBCU to qualify for a scholarship for African American students.
There are quite a few major national initiatives focused on diversifying fields like engineering, medicine and law, where African Americans (as well as some other minority groups) have been largely under-represented.
General scholarships for African Americans are sponsored by companies like Ronald McDonald House Charities, and can be applied to any institution. Most scholarship requirements include moderate to high SAT scores and proven leadership skills. Awards can range anywhere from $1,000 to $10,000…and that’s without having to choose a major or field of study!
This is only the tip of the iceberg for scholarships for African Americans. For more information, please read through the profiles on our Student Scholarship Search pages.
American Chemical Society Scholarship
(and American Dream scholarships) >>>
