We list 13 verified high school seniors scholarships for Black students. Awards range from $5,000 to $360,000, and the largest is the QuestBridge National College Match from QuestBridge at Full four-year scholarship (valued over $360,000). The next deadline is September 15, 2026 for the The Gates Scholarship.
2 of these are restricted to Black or African American students by the sponsor's own criteria, and 5 more are aimed at students from underrepresented backgrounds without imposing a formal race requirement. The lowest GPA requirement in this group is 2.3, and 6 listings publish no GPA minimum at all. 7 are renewable for more than one year.
Every listing below links to the sponsor's official page and shows the date we last checked it. We do not take a cut of any award and we never charge students.
Compare these scholarships
| Scholarship | Sponsor | Award | Deadline | Min GPA | Who can apply |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| CBC Spouses Essay Contest | Congressional Black Caucus Foundation | Varies (amount not published by the sponsor) | Annually, late March (applications open early January) | 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 |
| 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 |
| Dell Scholars Program | Michael & Susan Dell Foundation | $20,000 | Annually, February 15 (applications open December 15) | 2.4 | Open to all · National |
| Jackie Robinson Foundation Scholarship | Jackie Robinson Foundation | Varies; four-year award plus mentoring and leadership programming | Annually, early January | None stated | Minority-focused · National |
| NABJ Scholarships | National Association of Black Journalists | Up to $10,000 | Annually, late February (some awards close late January) | None stated | 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 |
| 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 |
| QuestBridge National College Match | QuestBridge | Full four-year scholarship (valued over $360,000) | October 1, 2026 | None stated | 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 |
| 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 |
| UNCF Scholarships | United Negro College Fund (UNCF) | Varies by program | Rolling; individual programs open and close throughout the year | None stated | Minority-focused · National |
All 13 listings
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 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.
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.
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 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 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.
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.
Frequently asked questions
What high school seniors scholarships for Black students are available right now?
We list 13 verified high school seniors scholarships for Black students. The nearest deadline is September 15, 2026 for the The Gates Scholarship, worth Full cost of attendance not covered by other aid from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. 4 of our listings in this group have a fixed upcoming deadline; the rest run on recurring annual cycles.
Do I need a high GPA for high school seniors scholarships for Black students?
Not necessarily. The lowest published GPA requirement among these 13 listings is 2.3, and 6 of them publish no GPA minimum at all. Sponsors that do not state a minimum typically assess applications holistically, weighing essays, financial need, recommendations, and community involvement alongside grades.
Are these high school seniors scholarships for Black students only for Black students?
2 of these 13 listings restrict eligibility to Black or African American students in the sponsor's own criteria. A further 5 are run by organisations whose mission centres on Black or minority students but which do not impose a formal race requirement. The rest carry no race requirement at all and are open to any student who meets the other criteria. We label every listing so you know which is which before you spend time on an application.
What is the largest of these high school seniors scholarships for Black students?
The largest is the QuestBridge National College Match from QuestBridge at Full four-year scholarship (valued over $360,000). It is renewable, so the figure reflects support across more than one year. Its deadline is October 1, 2026.
How do you check that these listings are accurate?
Every listing is read off the sponsor's own page before it goes live, and each one records the date it was last checked plus a note saying what was confirmed. Anything a sponsor does not publish, such as an award amount or a GPA floor, is left blank rather than guessed. Listings we cannot verify are held back rather than published.