College Scholarships For LGBTQ+ Students
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Reviewed by Genny Beemyn, Ph.D., and Shane L. Windmeyer, M.S., Ed., Campus Pride
LGBTQ+ students face a variety of obstacles, financial ones included. They may have less support from their families and more demands on their expenses. LGBTQ+ students might also have fewer resources to work with, as some may choose not to fill out the FAFSA because they are forced to disclose the sex assigned to them at birth.
Earning a scholarship can help mitigate some of these concerns. Scholarships generally include some sort of merit or geographic requirement and require candidates to submit transcripts, letters of recommendation, written essays, and other information.
Organizations like the Human Rights Campaign and Campus Pride host scholarship databases, which students can use to find more of these general scholarships. They can also consult with high school counselors and colleges in their state to find more regional opportunities.
Scholarships established for LGBTQ+ college students are available from several public and private organizations, as well as individual donors. Some welcome all LGBTQ+ applicants, while others may focus on specific subgroups. Check out our list of LGBTQ+ scholarships below for more details.
General LGBTQ+ Scholarships
These general scholarships are offered to all students who identify as LGBTQ+. Some are limited to students who reside in specific regions of the country, while others are available at the national level.
Who Can Apply: LGBTQ+ undergraduate or graduate students enrolled full time at a four-year accredited college or university in the United States are encouraged to apply.
Amount: Varies each year
Who Can Apply: The Pride Foundation awards several scholarships annually and offers online workshops for potential applicants. Scholarships are awarded to LGBTQ+ and allied students in specific geographic areas, those in financial need, and to LGBTQ+ youth lacking community support resources.
Amount: $3,250 to $12,000
Who Can Apply: High school students compete for scholarships through a themed essay contest on queer studies or other designated topics. In addition to scholarships, winners receive mentoring, counseling, and tutoring services.
Amount: $1,000
Who Can Apply: Designed to honor LGBTQ+ students who have overcome hardships or discrimination, this annual award goes to LGBTQ+ youth activists.
Amount: $10,000
Who Can Apply: These scholarships are awarded annually to LGBTQ+ students with GPAs above 3.0 who have made community service contributions and have been accepted to an accredited US college or university.
Amount: Changes annually depending on funding
Who Can Apply: Applicants must identify as LGBTQ+, and must be enrolled in a program that provides a degree or teaching credential with a minimum GPA of 2.5 at one of the following universities: San Francisco State University, Stanford University, University of California at Berkeley, University of California San Francisco, or University of California Hasting College of Law.
Amount: Varies each year
Who Can Apply: Applicants must attend any postsecondary institution and reside in downstate Illinois. Downstate Illinois includes all counties except the following: Cook, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, and Will.
Amount: $1,000 to $4,000
Who Can Apply: Applicants must identify as LGBTQ+, be between ages 17–25, and have graduated from a Houston-area high school or plan on attending an accredited college or university in the Houston area. This area includes the following counties: Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Montgomery, and Waller counties.
Amount: Varies each year
Who Can Apply: This scholarship is designed for students who are the children of gay or lesbian parents that have financial need or display academic excellence. Students must reside in one of the following areas to qualify: San Francisco, the Peninsula (Sunnyvale and north), Alameda, Contra Costa, Solano, Marin, or Sonoma counties.
Amount: $2,500 to $5,000
Who Can Apply: This scholarship is open to students pursing post-secondary education in the coming academic year who reside in Oregon or the following counties in southwest Washington: Clark, Cowlitz, Skamania, and Wahkiakum. Applicants must have resided in one of these locations for at least one year. They must also identify as LGBTQ+ or have an LGBTQ+ parent.
Amount: Varies each year
Who Can Apply: This scholarship is available to graduating high school seniors in the following Southern California counties: Imperial, Kern, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, Santa Barbara, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, and Ventura.
Amount: $1,000 to $3,000
Who Can Apply: This scholarship is only offered to graduating high school seniors who identify as LGBTQ+ and live in the tri-state area of New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey. Awards are given only to applicants approved by the scholarship committee based on a variety of application materials.
Amount: $10,000
Who Can Apply: The 49 Fund was founded in the aftermath of the 2016 Orlando nightclub shooting and provides 10 $4,900 scholarships annually to deserving gay students in Central Florida.
Amount: $4,900
Discipline-specific LGBTQ+ Scholarships
These scholarships are designed for LGBTQ+ students who want to pursue a career in a specific discipline or industry. They usually include merit-based requirements and other restrictions based on each discipline.
Who Can Apply: Intended for LGBTQ+ students pursuing careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) fields, this scholarship is available to applicants with a commitment to the LGBTQ+ community and those who have finished two years of college with a 3.0 GPA or higher.
Amount: $5,000
Who Can Apply: Applicants must plan on pursuing a career in journalism and demonstrate a passion for the field. They must also demonstrate an awareness of the issues facing the LGBTQ+ community and the importance of fair and accurate news coverage.
Amount: Varies each year
Who Can Apply: This fellowship is available to students who are accepted into schools that participate in this initiative. Students will serve as ambassadors of the LGBTQ+ community at large and take an active role in on-campus LGBTQ+ activities.
Amount: $10,000 per academic year or $20,000 total scholarship
Who Can Apply: United Airlines partners with the National Gay Pilots Association to offer this scholarship to full-time juniors, seniors, or graduate students in an accredited aviation college or aeronautical science program. Applicants must be FAA Instrument rating certified, have a minimum GPA of 3.0, and have earned at least a private and instrument pilot certificate.
Amount: Amount Varies
Demographic-based LGBTQ+ Scholarships
Some scholarships are designed specifically for one group within the LGBTQ+ community or intersect with other specialized scholarships. These scholarships include options for just men or women, people of a specific ethnicity, or intersections of other attributes with being a member of the LGBTQ+ community.
Who Can Apply: Applicants must have completed high school or earned their GED by June of the application year, be admitted to an accredited institution during the fall of the following year, and must be a gay male US citizen under 35 years of age.
Amount: $1,000 to $2,500
Who Can Apply: This annual scholarship is awarded to LGBTQ+ high school seniors, undergraduates, and graduates who identify as women. The program supports students who have demonstrated academic excellence and to make a difference through community service.
Amount: $1,500 to $3,000
Who Can Apply:This scholarship is awarded to Asian/Pacific Islander students with at least 25% ancestry and who graduated high school in the Bay Area with a minimum GPA of 3.0. Students must also be enrolled in college full-time.
Amount: up to $15,000
Who Can Apply: Applicants for the Chinn Scholarship must be college students or transitioning from high school to collegiate study, have a minimum GPA of 2.5, identify as atheist, and be involved in LGBTQ+ atheist activism.
Amount: $500
Additional Resources for LGBTQ+ Students
Our Experts
Meet the experts from Campus Pride that helped Best Colleges vet the most inclusive college in each state for LGBTQ+ students.
Genny is a leading expert on the experiences of trans people in the United States, particularly the lives of trans students, and on the development of trans-inclusive college policies and practices. They are the director of the Stonewall Center at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and the Trans Policy Clearinghouse coordinator for Campus Pride.
Shane is a leading author on gay campus issues, national leader in gay and lesbian civil rights and a champion for LGBTQ issues on college campuses. He is cofounder and executive director of Campus Pride. Windmeyer is also the author of The Advocate College Guide for LGBTQ Students, the first-ever college guide profiling the "100 Best LGBTQ-Friendly Campuses." More info online at www.shanewindmeyer.com.