LGBT students face a variety of obstacles, financial ones included. They may have less support from their families and more demands on their expenses. LGBT students might also have fewer resources to work with, as some may choose not to fill out the FAFSA because of fears over selecting a gender.
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. Students can use the Human Rights Campaign’s scholarship database 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 LGBT college students are available from several public and private organizations, as well as individual donors. Some welcome all LGBT applicants, while others may focus on specific subgroups. Check out our list of LGBT scholarships below for more details.
General LGBT Scholarships
These general scholarships are offered to all students who identify as LGBT. Some are limited to students who reside in specific regions of the country, while others are available at the national level.
- Point Foundation Scholarships
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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 - Pride Foundation Scholarships
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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 - Queer Foundation Scholarships
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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 - Trans Student Educational Resources Scholarships
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Who Can Apply: Openly trans students who have contributed to the transgender community, or who may have suffered oppression, are encouraged to apply. Scholarships are awarded on a need-basis: your GPA, year in college, major, and documentation status are not considered.
Amount: $500 to $2,000 - Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG)
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Who Can Apply: Scholarships are awarded on a local and national level to graduating seniors who demonstrate a desire to serve the LGBTQ community. The program is open to LGBTQ individuals and allies.
Amount: $1,000 to $5,000 - Colin Higgins Courage Award
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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 - League Foundation Scholarships
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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 - Markowski-Leach Scholarships
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Who Can Apply: Applicants must identify as LGBT, 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 - GLBT Leadership & Advocacy Program and AGLCC Foundation Scholarships
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Who Can Apply: Students can apply for two different scholarships with one application. All applicants must be Texas residents, but they may attend school anywhere. AGLCC Foundation scholarships are awarded to residents of Travis County only. Preference is given to LGBT students, members of their family, or allies of the community.
Amount: Varies each year - Voice of My People Scholarship
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Who Can Apply: Applicants must be US citizens and permanent residents with a minimum GPA of 3.0. The scholarship is designed for students who identify as LGBT or who have parents who identify as LGBT.
Amount: $2,500 - Acorn Equality Fund Scholarships
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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 $5,000 - Out For Education Scholarships
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Who Can Apply: Applicants must identify as LGBT, 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 - LGBT Liberation Scholarships
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Who Can Apply: This scholarship is provided by My Bedroom Spice and honors LGBT students who face adversity and discrimination. Applicants must be at least 17 years of age and be accepted to/attending a full-time higher education program and have a minimum GPA of 3.0 in their last year of academic performance. These scholarships can only be applied to US colleges and universities.
Amount: $1,000 to $2,500 - The Ronald P. Wilmot Scholarship Fund
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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: $3,000 to $5,000 - Equity Foundation: Gregori Jakovina Endowment Scholarships
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Who Can Apply: These scholarships are designed for students of Oregon and southwest Washington who identify as LGBT, the child of LGBT parents, or an active ally involved in advancing LGBT equality. Some specific scholarship have stricter requirements than listed above.
Amount: $500 - Audria M. Edwards Scholarship Fund
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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 LGBT or have an LGBT parent.
Amount: Varies each year - Models of Excellence Scholarship
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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 - The LIVE OUT LOUD Educational Scholarship
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Who Can Apply: This scholarship is only offered to graduating high school seniors who identify as LGBT 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 - The 49 Fund Scholarships
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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 LGBT Scholarships
These scholarships are designed for LGBT 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.
- National Organization of Gay and Lesbian Scientists and Technical Professionals Scholarships
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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 - The Association of LGBTQ Journalists Scholarships
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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 LGBT community and the importance of fair and accurate news coverage.
Amount: Varies each year - Michael Greenberg Student Writing Competition
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Who Can Apply: This competition was established in the memory of a former National LGBT Bar Association board member who died in 1996 from complications with AIDS. Applicants must be enrolled in an ABA-accredited law school during the coming academic year to qualify.
Amount: $1,000 - Reaching Out LGBT MBA Fellowship
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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 LGBT community at large and take an active role in on-campus LGBT activities.
Amount: $10,000 per academic year or $20,000 total scholarship - The National Gay Pilots Association Education Fund
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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: $5,000
Demographic-based LGBT Scholarships
Some scholarships are designed specifically for one group within the LGBT 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 LGBT community.
- Gamma Mu Foundation Scholarships
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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 - Traub-Dicker Rainbow Scholarship
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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 - The Tang Scholarship
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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 - Deaf Queer Scholarship
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Who Can Apply: Applicants must be deaf or hard of hearing, identify as LGBT and be out, have a cumulative GPA of at least 2.5, and be a US citizen under the age of 25. The funds must be used towards school-related expenses.
Amount: $250 to $500 - American Atheists Chinn Scholarship
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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 LGBT atheist activism.
Amount: $500
Other LGBT Scholarships and Opportunities
There are also scholarships and other opportunities that are available for underserved sections of the LGBT community, such as conferences and other forms of professional development.
- Asexual Scholarship Foundation and the Asexual Spectrum Professional Network Scholarship
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Who Can Apply: This scholarship is open to all asexual or gray asexual students attending any form of school or training. Applicants fill out an application and write an essay, which will determine the awardee.
Amount: $500 - LGBT Muslim Retreat Scholarship
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Who Can Apply: This unique scholarship offers an opportunity for qualified applicants to attend the LGBT Muslim Retreat with the costs of registration, food, and lodging taken care of. Application criteria include financial need, geographic location, involvement with social justice, LGBT, or Muslim organizations, and explaining how attending the conference will help an applicant on their journey as an LGBT Muslim.
Amount: Varies each year