Students with a declared major— or intending to declare a major— in agriculture or natural resources areas of study may be eligible for current scholarship programs.
USDA/1890 National Scholars Program
The USDA/1890 National Scholars Program seeks to increase the number of minorities studying agriculture, food, natural resource sciences, and related disciplines.
The program provides full tuition, employment, employee benefits, fees, books, and room and board each year for up to 4 years to selected students pursuing a bachelor’s degree in agriculture, food science, natural resource science, or a related academic discipline at one of 19 designated 1890s land-grant universities and Tuskegee University. The scholarship may be renewed each year, contingent upon satisfactory academic performance and normal progress toward the bachelor’s degree.
Scholars accepted into the program will be eligible for noncompetitive conversion to a permanent appointment with USDA upon successful completion of their degree requirements by the end of the agreement period. (5 CFR 213.3202) (Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018 - Section 12519) If selected, scholars must commit to at least one year of service to USDA for each year of financial assistance provided. The details of this requirement will be outlined in the service agreement for the scholar, their universities, and the USDA sponsoring agency.
General Eligibility
To be eligible for the USDA/1890 National Scholars Program scholarship a student must:
Be a U.S. citizen
Have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better (on a 4.0 scale)
Have been accepted for admission or currently attending one of the nineteen 1890 Historically Black Land-Grant Universities.
Study agriculture, food, natural resource sciences, or other related academic disciplines
Demonstrate leadership and community service
Submit an official transcript with the school seal and an authorized official's signature
Submit a signed application (original signature only)
21 ACT, 1080 SAT scores
Who Should Apply
The USDA/1890 National Scholars Program is available to high school seniors entering their freshman year of college and rising college sophomores and juniors.
All application materials must be postmarked by the deadline on Monday, January 31, 2022, and sent to the university liaison (or universities) selected by the applicant to attend. (University addresses and contact information are included in the back of the application.)
Learn more and apply by January 31 to the USDA/ 1890 National Scholars Program.
GACD Scholarship
To encourage study and careers in soil and water conservation related fields, GACD administers one $1,000 scholarship each year. The scholarship is given to students majoring in, or intending to major in, a soil and water conservation related area. Acceptable areas of study include, but are not limited to, agricultural education, agronomy, horticulture, plant pathology, and agricultural communications.
The applicant may be a high school senior, or a freshman, sophomore, junior, senior or graduate student from Georgia at any accredited college, school, or university in the United States. Applicants in their first semester of college should send their high school transcript and proof of college enrollment. Students must maintain a GPA of at least 2.75 and be in need of financial assistance. There will be no discrimination on basis of race, sex, or religion. An individual may not compete for a scholarship that he or she has won in past years. The scholarship payments are disbursed according to the fund.
The GACD Scholarship winner is selected by the Scholarship Committee. Disbursements will be made in two payments of $500.00 paid to the student upon receipt of proof of satisfactory completion of each of two semesters of full-time academic work.
Learn more and apply by December 31 to the GACD Scholarship.