Scholarships for Black Students
10 scholarships · Updated November 2026
These scholarships support Black and African American students, from high school seniors to doctoral candidates. The list includes awards reserved for Black students and broader programs for students of color that Black students can apply for.
Many of these programs pair the money with mentoring, internships or a cohort of fellow scholars. HBCU-focused awards and professional associations in fields like accounting, engineering and library science add more options. Our breakdown of how to find college scholarships covers more places to look.
Ron Brown Scholar Program
Offered by Ron Brown Scholar Fund / CAP Charitable Foundation
Scholarships for Black Students By The Numbers
- McKnight Doctoral Fellowship
Based on the 10 listings above. Typical award is the median top amount each sponsor publishes.
Where To Find Scholarships For Black Students
National programs like the Ron Brown Scholar Program pay large multiyear awards to Black high school seniors. Professional associations, such as the National Association of Black Journalists, fund students entering their fields, and programs for students of color, like the ALA Spectrum Scholarship in library science, are open to Black students as well.
HBCU Scholarships
The Thurgood Marshall College Fund supports students at its member HBCUs, and individual HBCUs run their own merit programs. The Cheatham-White Scholars Program at North Carolina A&T covers four full years of costs for a small group of students each year.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Are The Largest Scholarships For Black Students?
The Cheatham-White Scholars Program at North Carolina A&T covers four full years of costs, and the Ron Brown Scholar Program pays $40,000 over four years to Black high school seniors.
Can Students At Any College Apply?
Most awards on this page accept students at any accredited college. A few are limited to HBCUs or specific partner schools, and those listings say so.
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Why Trust The College Investor
The College Investor has helped millions of readers navigate paying for college and student loans since 2009. Every scholarship in our database is individually reviewed by our team before it goes live, and re-checked regularly so deadlines and links stay current.
Our Scholarship Standards
A listing here means our team checked that the award is real, currently active, and actually pays out. We won't list a scholarship that:
- Charges any kind of fee to apply
- Makes you join a paid membership, or sign up for an app or service, just to be eligible
- Has a privacy policy that would let the sponsor sell or misuse your information
- Collects essays, ideas, or contact details mainly to feed the sponsor's marketing
- Can't show a winner from the past 12 months, or offers no way to reach the sponsor
One nuance: established companies and nonprofits that run applications through their own systems may still be listed, even though creating an account there is part of applying.
Spot a listing that doesn't meet this bar? Email [email protected] and we'll review it. You can also read our editorial guidelines.