Every award below has been checked against the sponsor’s own page, and each one shows the date we checked it. Where a sponsor does not publish something, such as an award amount or a GPA requirement, we leave it blank rather than guessing.
The largest awards
Ranked by what they are actually worth over the life of the award rather than the headline figure.
| Scholarship | Sponsor | Award | Deadline | Min GPA | Who can apply |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cooke College Scholarship Program | Jack Kent Cooke Foundation | Up to $55,000 per year (last-dollar) | November 11, 2026 | 3.8 | Open to all · National |
| QuestBridge National College Match | QuestBridge | Full four-year scholarship (valued over $360,000) | October 1, 2026 | None stated | Open to all · National |
| The Gates Scholarship | Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation | Full cost of attendance not covered by other aid | September 15, 2026 | 3.3 | Open to all · National |
| Ron Brown Scholar Program | Ron Brown Scholar Fund | $40,000 over four years ($10,000 per year) | Annually, December 1 | None stated | Black students only · National |
| Coca-Cola Scholars Program Scholarship | Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation | $20,000 | September 30, 2026 | 3.0 | Open to all · National |
| Dell Scholars Program | Michael & Susan Dell Foundation | $20,000 | Annually, February 15 (applications open December 15) | 2.4 | Open to all · National |
| Amazon Future Engineer Scholarship | Amazon | Up to $40,000 ($10,000 per year for four years) plus a paid Amazon internship | Announced annually; Amazon has not published the next cycle's dates | 2.3 | Open to all · National |
Jack Kent Cooke is the largest single award here, at up to $55,000 per year as last-dollar funding, and its application window opened on 19 August 2026. QuestBridge is the only one that reliably produces a genuine full ride, matching students to 55 partner colleges. Ron Brown is the largest award in this list that explicitly restricts eligibility to Black students.
HBCU-specific funding
Both of these are portals. You create one profile and are matched to awards you qualify for, and new programmes open throughout the year rather than in a single window.
UNCF Scholarships
United Negro College Fund (UNCF)
UNCF is the largest private scholarship provider to minority students in the United States, awarding more than $62 million each year to students attending more than 600 schools. Rather than a single award, UNCF operates a portal of hundreds of named programs with their own deadlines and criteria, including the Fund II Foundation UNCF STEM Scholars Program, the UNCF/Koch Scholars Program, and the Frederick Douglass Bicentennial Scholarship Program. Students create one profile and are matched to the scholarships they qualify for, so the practical advice is to register early and check the portal monthly as new awards open throughout the year.
Thurgood Marshall College Fund Scholarships
Thurgood Marshall College Fund
The Thurgood Marshall College Fund supports students at publicly-supported HBCUs and predominantly Black institutions. TMCF has awarded more than $500 million in scholarships and career readiness programming, including over $20 million in the 2023-2024 academic year across more than 2,000 students. Its awards fall into three types: Gap Completion Scholarships for students with urgent financial need, Access Scholarships covering tuition, fees and on-campus housing, and Programmatic Scholarships covering tuition, fees and on-campus room and board. Students apply by creating a profile in the TMCF scholarship portal, which then matches them to the awards they qualify for.
Zelle Community Development & Entrepreneurship Scholarship
Congressional Black Caucus Foundation
This Congressional Black Caucus Foundation award supports MBA students pursuing small business ownership through acquisition at one of five participating HBCUs: Claflin University, Howard University, Jackson State University, Morgan State University, and Virginia State University. Applicants must be a member of their institution's Entrepreneurship through Acquisition (ETA) club or program. The 2026 deadline was March 13, 2026.
Awards restricted to Black students
These five restrict eligibility to Black or African American students under the sponsor’s own published criteria. Because the pool is structurally smaller, they are the best return on an application if you qualify.
Ron Brown Scholar Program
Ron Brown Scholar Fund
The Ron Brown Scholar Program awards twenty four-year scholarships of $40,000 each ($10,000 per year) to Black or African American high school seniors who demonstrate academic excellence, exceptional leadership potential, financial need, and a record of community service. Applications close December 1 each year, with counselor recommendation letters due December 15 and winners notified April 1. Current college students are not eligible; applicants must apply during their senior year of high school.
CBC Spouses Education Scholarship
Congressional Black Caucus Foundation
The CBC Spouses Education Scholarship supports African American or Black students pursuing an undergraduate, graduate, or doctoral degree. It is administered by the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation through its scholarship portal, and the application window runs from early January to late March each year. Immediate relatives of a CBC Member are not eligible. The foundation does not publish a fixed award amount for this scholarship.
CBC Spouses Visual Arts Scholarship
Congressional Black Caucus Foundation
The CBC Spouses Visual Arts Scholarship supports African American or Black students pursuing a degree in the visual arts. It is one of several Congressional Black Caucus Foundation awards that share a common application window running from early January to late March, submitted through the foundation's scholarship portal. Immediate relatives of a CBC Member are not eligible.
CBC Spouses Performing Arts Scholarship
Congressional Black Caucus Foundation
The CBC Spouses Performing Arts Scholarship supports African American or Black students pursuing a degree in the performing arts. Like the foundation's other awards it runs on a common cycle opening in early January and closing in late March, with applications submitted through the CBCF scholarship portal. Immediate relatives of a CBC Member are not eligible.
CBC Spouses Essay Contest
Congressional Black Caucus Foundation
The CBC Spouses Essay Contest is open to qualified African American and Black high school juniors and seniors. It is one of the few Congressional Black Caucus Foundation awards aimed at students who have not yet started college, and it runs on the foundation's common early-January to late-March cycle through the CBCF scholarship portal.
The four Congressional Black Caucus Foundation awards share a single application window running from early January to late March, submitted through one portal, which makes them unusually efficient to apply for together.
By field of study
Engineering, computing and STEM
| Scholarship | Sponsor | Award | Deadline | Min GPA | Who can apply |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National GEM Consortium Fellowship | National GEM Consortium | Full tuition and fees plus a stipend from $16,000 per year, and a paid internship | Annually; GEM does not publish the fellowship deadline on its program page | 2.8 | Minority-focused · National |
| National Society of Black Engineers Scholarships | National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) | $1,000 - $10,000 depending on the award | Varies by award; GPA verification windows close July 31 and February 26 | 2.5 | Minority-focused · National |
| NACME Scholarships | National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME) | $5,000 for most awards | Staggered; individual awards close throughout the year | 3.0 | Minority-focused · National |
| Amazon Future Engineer Scholarship | Amazon | Up to $40,000 ($10,000 per year for four years) plus a paid Amazon internship | Announced annually; Amazon has not published the next cycle's dates | 2.3 | Open to all · National |
GEM is the standout for graduate study: full tuition, a stipend from $16,000 a year, and a paid internship, at a 2.8 GPA floor that is far below comparable fellowships.
Law
| Scholarship | Sponsor | Award | Deadline | Min GPA | Who can apply |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Earl Warren Scholarship | NAACP Legal Defense Fund | $45,000 total ($15,000 per year for three years) | Annually, May 1 | None stated | Minority-focused · National |
| Herbert Lehman Education Fund Scholarship | NAACP Legal Defense Fund | Varies (renewable for up to four years for undergraduates, three for law students) | Annually, April 1 for undergraduates and May 1 for law students | None stated | Minority-focused · National |
| The Ally Financial Law Scholars | Congressional Black Caucus Foundation | Varies (amount not published by the sponsor) | Annually, late March (applications open early January) | None stated | Minority-focused · National |
| 2026 D.C. Future Legal Leaders Scholarship | HKM Employment Attorneys LLP | $1,000 | October 15, 2026 | 3.0 | Open to all · Campus within 60 miles of Washington, D.C. |
Healthcare and nursing
Journalism and media
A note on what is not here
Several sponsors commonly listed in articles like this one are absent, deliberately. The National Black MBA Association’s own portal currently states that no scholarships are available. A number of corporate programmes that circulate widely on aggregator sites had sponsor pages returning 404 when we checked in August 2026.
We would rather show you a shorter list that works than a longer one that wastes a weekend. If you know of an award we are missing, send it to us and we will verify it against the sponsor’s page.
See what closes next or the full catalogue.