We list 25 verified scholarships for Black, HBCU, and first-generation college students, representing over $623,000 in available awards. 5 of them restrict eligibility to Black or African American students by the sponsor's own criteria; the rest are open to any student who meets their other requirements. 5 have a confirmed upcoming deadline, the nearest in 21 days.
This catalog is deliberately smaller than most scholarship directories. In August 2026 we rebuilt it from scratch after auditing the previous list and finding that roughly two thirds of its links were dead, and that eight of its listings pointed at domains that do not exist. Everything here now traces to a sponsor's own page, and anything we cannot confirm is held back rather than published. Read how we verify.
Closing soonest
| Scholarship | Sponsor | Award | Deadline | Min GPA | Who can apply |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| Coca-Cola Scholars Program Scholarship | Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation | $20,000 | September 30, 2026 | 3.0 | 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 |
| 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. |
| 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 |
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Showing 25 of 25 verified scholarships
2026 D.C. Future Legal Leaders Scholarship
HKM Employment Attorneys LLP
HKM Employment Attorneys offers a $1,000 scholarship for students in a pre-law, paralegal, or J.D. program at a campus within 60 miles of Washington, D.C. Applicants need a 3.0 GPA or higher, must be at least 18 at the time of submission, and submit a 250-word essay on the prompt "How I will use my legal education to serve my community," along with an unofficial transcript and a one-page resume. The deadline is October 15, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. local time.
AKA Educational Advancement Foundation Scholarships
Alpha Kappa Alpha Educational Advancement Foundation
The Alpha Kappa Alpha Educational Advancement Foundation administers a large portfolio of scholarships across undergraduate, graduate, and non-traditional student categories, with hundreds of individual awards listed in its portal. Merit awards generally require a 3.0 minimum GPA while financial-need awards require 2.5, and all of them ask applicants to demonstrate community service and involvement. Named programs include Thrive and Launch, aimed at sophomores and above with a demonstrated tuition gap, with some awards capped at $1,000. The common application deadline is April 15. Awards are open to students generally, not only to AKA members, though the portal lets members filter for member-restricted awards.
Amazon Future Engineer Scholarship
Amazon
The Amazon Future Engineer Scholarship awards up to $10,000 per year for four years, up to $40,000 in total, to high school seniors who have completed computer science coursework and plan to study computer science, software engineering, computer engineering, electrical engineering, or a related field. The package also includes a paid summer internship at Amazon. Its 2.3 GPA minimum is among the lowest of any major national technology scholarship, which makes it unusually accessible to strong students whose grades do not reflect their ability.
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 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.
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 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.
Coca-Cola Scholars Program Scholarship
Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation
The Coca-Cola Scholars Program awards 150 scholarships of $20,000 each year to graduating high school seniors selected on leadership, service, and academic achievement. The application for students graduating during the 2026-2027 academic year opened August 3, 2026 and closes at 5:00 p.m. Eastern on September 30, 2026. Applicants must be able to verify a minimum overall B (3.0) GPA in high school coursework.
Cooke College Scholarship Program
Jack Kent Cooke Foundation
The Cooke College Scholarship Program is the largest undergraduate scholarship available to high-achieving high school seniors with financial need. It is last-dollar funding applied after all institutional aid and can provide as much as $55,000 per year toward a bachelor's degree at any accredited four-year institution. Scholars also receive educational advising, cohort programming, graduate school funding, and access to a network of nearly 3,200 Cooke Scholars and alumni. The application for students graduating in spring 2027 opens August 19, 2026 and closes November 11, 2026, with semifinalists announced in January 2027 and recipients in March 2027.
Dell Scholars Program
Michael & Susan Dell Foundation
The Dell Scholars Program provides a $20,000 flexible scholarship that covers tuition and housing, plus a laptop, book credits, and access to emergency funds. It is aimed at students who have overcome significant obstacles, and its 2.4 GPA floor is deliberately lower than most national awards because the program weighs determination and grit alongside grades. Applicants must be Pell Grant eligible high school seniors participating in an approved college readiness program. The application window runs from December 15 to February 15.
Earl Warren Scholarship
NAACP Legal Defense Fund
The Earl Warren Scholarship is awarded annually by the Legal Defense Fund to rising law students whose commitment to racial justice shows outstanding potential for careers as civil rights and public interest attorneys. Awards are $15,000 per year for three years, a total of $45,000, provided scholars remain in good academic standing and continue to meet the criteria. Eligible applicants are students entering their first or second year of full-time study at an accredited law school. There is no minimum LSAT or GPA requirement; candidates are judged holistically. Scholars may also apply for LDF internships, externships, and guided research projects. Final decisions are made in mid-August or early September.
Herbert Lehman Education Fund Scholarship
NAACP Legal Defense Fund
The Herbert Lehman Education Fund is a national, highly competitive scholarship established in 1964 that makes annual awards to outstanding undergraduate and law school students with financial need. It was created to help Black students attend formerly segregated four-year colleges and universities in the South and to increase the number of Black Americans in the legal profession. Undergraduate awards generally do not exceed four years and the law school awards, offered in limited numbers to students committed to public interest law, generally do not exceed three years. There is no minimum test score or GPA requirement; the committee weighs GPA, test scores, recommendations, financial need, volunteer activities, and essays together, with no single component determining an award.
Jackie Robinson Foundation Scholarship
Jackie Robinson Foundation
The Jackie Robinson Foundation Scholarship supports graduating high school seniors who show academic excellence, leadership potential, financial need, and a dedication to community service. Scholars receive four years of financial support alongside mentoring and leadership development programming. Applicants do not need to be athletes and may attend any accredited, JRF-approved four-year institution. The most recent cycle closed January 7, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. EST.
NABJ Scholarships
National Association of Black Journalists
The National Association of Black Journalists awards scholarships annually to high school and college students pursuing journalism careers. Awards are worth up to $10,000 each and are named for media companies, corporations, NABJ founders, past presidents, task forces, and regions. Named awards include the Larry Whiteside Scholarship, the Visual Task Force Scholarship, the Monica Roberts and Thomas Morgan III LGBTQ+ Task Force Scholarships, and the Acel Moore and Pam Moore Scholarships. The main NABJ scholarship round closed February 27, 2026, with the Acel Moore and Pam Moore awards closing January 30, 2026. NABJ publishes a single status page listing every award and whether it is open or closed, which is the most reliable place to check.
NACME Scholarships
National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME)
NACME runs a scholarship portal for underrepresented students in engineering and computer science, listing around fourteen awards at any given time. The most common are NACME Block Scholarships worth $5,000, awarded through partner institutions including Texas A&M University, the University of California San Diego, and the University of Delaware, and Corporate Scholars programs run with Bechtel, Boston Scientific, GE Healthcare, GE Vernova, and GlobalFoundries that pair funding with a paid internship. Most awards require a 3.0 minimum GPA and an essay. Deadlines are staggered across the year rather than shared, so the portal is worth checking monthly.
National Black Nurses Association Scholarships
National Black Nurses Association
The National Black Nurses Association administers more than twenty named scholarships each year for students enrolled in nursing programs, including the Dr. Lauranne Sams Scholarship, the Dr. Millicent Gorham Scholarship, and the NBNA Social Justice Scholarship. Awards start at $1,000; in 2023 the association awarded 57 scholarships totalling over $257,000. Applicants must be NBNA members and members of a local chapter where one exists, must be enrolled in a nursing program at any level from LPN/LVN through doctorate, and must have at least one full year of school remaining.
National GEM Consortium Fellowship
National GEM Consortium
The GEM Fellowship funds master's and PhD study in engineering and computer science for students from underrepresented groups. It is one of the most substantial graduate funding routes in this space: PhD Employer Fellows receive full tuition and fees for up to five years plus a stipend of at least $16,000 per year, master's fellows receive a minimum $16,000 total stipend, and all fellows are matched with at least one paid summer internship at a GEM employer member. The minimum cumulative GPA is 2.8, which is notably lower than most graduate fellowships. Applicants must contractually agree to intern for two summers with their sponsoring employer, and must separately apply for admission to at least three GEM member universities.
National Society of Black Engineers Scholarships
National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE)
NSBE administers a portfolio of named scholarships for members pursuing engineering, computer science, mathematics, and related STEM degrees. Current programs include the Mamon & Cynthia Powers Scholarship at $10,000 (four awards), the Analog Devices Scholarship at $5,000 (two awards), the Tighe & Bond, Angela Barbee and Hatch scholarships at $5,000 each, and the NSBE Jr. Bridge Scholarship at $1,000 (twenty awards). All applicants must be registered, paid NSBE members, and the general floor is a 2.5 cumulative GPA, though individual awards set their own minimums ranging from 2.0 to 3.0.
QuestBridge National College Match
QuestBridge
The National College Match connects high-achieving students from low-income households with full four-year scholarships to QuestBridge's college partners. QuestBridge describes the award as a full four-year scholarship to 55 top colleges valued at over $360,000. The deadline for the current cycle is October 1, 2026. QuestBridge guides applicants toward households earning less than $65,000 a year for a family of four with minimal assets, though this is guidance rather than a hard cutoff.
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.
The Ally Financial Law Scholars
Congressional Black Caucus Foundation
The Ally Financial Law Scholars program is administered by the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation for students pursuing a law degree. It shares the foundation's common application window, opening in early January and closing in late March, with submissions through the CBCF scholarship portal. Immediate relatives of a CBC Member are not eligible.
The Gates Scholarship
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
The Gates Scholarship is a last-dollar award that covers the full cost of attendance not already met by other financial aid and the Student Aid Index. It is open to Pell-eligible high school seniors who plan to enroll full time in a four-year degree program at an accredited, not-for-profit US college or university. The 2026 application opened on July 15, 2026 and closes September 15, 2026. Because the award is last-dollar and tied to full cost of attendance, its value varies by student and institution rather than being a fixed sum.
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.
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.
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.
Questions about this catalog
How many scholarships are there for Black students?
Thousands exist across the United States, but the number that are current, real, and actually open at any given moment is much smaller than most directories imply. We list 25 that we have verified against the sponsor's own page. We would rather show you a short list you can trust than a long one that wastes your time on dead links.
Are all of these only for Black students?
No. 5 of our 25 listings restrict eligibility to Black or African American students in the sponsor's published criteria. The rest carry no race requirement and appear here because their other criteria, such as financial need, first-generation status, or HBCU enrollment, reach many Black students. Every listing is labelled so you know before you apply.
Does it cost anything to use this site?
No. Searching is free and always will be. We do not charge students, we do not require an account to browse, and we do not sell student data. The site is supported by clearly labelled sponsored listings and unobtrusive advertising, both of which are disclosed wherever they appear.
How often is this list updated?
The catalog was last verified on 2026-08-13. Each listing carries its own verification date, and we re-check links on a rolling basis. When a sponsor closes a cycle we switch the listing to its recurring pattern and record what the sponsor has said about the next round, rather than leaving a passed deadline on the page.
Can I submit a scholarship to be listed?
Yes, and sponsors regularly do. Send it through the submit form and we will check it against your own published page before it goes live. We list awards free of charge; a listing is never contingent on payment. Paid placements exist but are labelled "Sponsored" and their outbound links are marked so search engines do not treat them as editorial endorsements.