BAE Systems FIRST® Scholarship Program
A scholarship for high school seniors who live near a BAE Systems facility.
BAE Systems FIRST® Scholarship Program
BAE Systems’ Electronic Systems has established a scholarship program to assist high school seniors who live within 70 miles of a BAE systems facility who plan to continue their education in college or vocational school programs. Scholarships are offered each year for full-time study at an accredited institution of the student’s choice.
The program is administered by Scholarship America®, the nation’s largest designer and manager of scholarships and other education support programs for corporations, foundations, associations, and individuals. Eligibility for individual programs is determined at the sole discretion of the sponsor and eligible applications are reviewed by Scholarship America’s evaluation team.
Eligibility
Applicants to the BAE Systems FIRST® Scholarship Program must:
- Be high school seniors who live within 70 miles of one of the BAE Systems facilities listed below*
- Be on a FIRST ® team (FRC or FTC) that has been sponsored by BAE Systems’ Electronic Systems (ES) sector during the 2025-2026 competition season.
- Plan to enroll in full-time undergraduate study at an accredited two- or four- year college, university or vocational-technical school for the entire upcoming academic year.
- Plan to pursue one of the following fields of study:
- Mechanical Engineering/Materials Engineering
- Manufacturing Engineering
- Electrical Engineering/Electrical and Computer Engineering
- Computer Engineering
- Interdisciplinary Engineering (Including Electromechanical Engineering)
- Computer Science
- Physics
- Optical Engineering
- Aerospace Engineering
- Robotics Engineering
- Software Engineering
- Mathematics (must have minor in Computer Science)
- Have a minimum grade point average of 3.25 on a 4.00 scale (or its equivalent).
- Demonstrate a willingness to accept an internship with Sponsor by completing an internship application on the Sponsor’s website when directed. Subsequent internship opportunities will be based on performance.
- Must be able to comply with BAE Systems’ security and employment requirements. The requirements are detailed here.
- Alabama
- Huntsville, AL: 620 Discovery Drive Suite 325, Huntsville, AL 35806
- California
- San Diego, CA: 10920 Technology Drive, San Diego, CA 92127
- Indiana
- Fort Wayne, IN: 4250 Airport Expressway, Fort Wayne, IN 46809
- Cedar Rapids, IA: 855 35th Street NE, Cedar Rapids, IA, 52498
- Burlington, MA: 600 District Ave, Burlington, MA 01803
- Lexington, MA: 2 Forbes Rd, Lexington, MA 02421
- Plymouth, MA: 36 Cordage Park Circle, Plymouth, MA 02360
- Nashua, NH: 65 Spit Brook Rd, Nashua, NH 03060
- Merrimack, NH: 130 Daniel Webster Hwy, Merrimack, NH 03054
- Hudson, NH: 65 River Rd, Hudson, NH 03051
- Totowa, NJ: 100 Campus Rd. #1, Totowa, NJ, 07512
- Wayne, NJ: 150 Parish Road, Wayne, NJ 07470
- Endicott, NY: 1098 Clark St, Endicott, NY 13760
- Greenlawn, NY: 450 Pulaski Road, Greenlawn, NY 11740
- Austin, TX: 6500 Tracor Lane, Austin, TX 78725
- Manassas, VA: 9300 Wellington Road, Manassas, VA 20110
Awards
If selected as a recipient, the student will receive:
- The authorized distribution for new awards is $10,000. Up to 8 awards of $1,250 each will be granted.
- Awards are renewable up to three years or until a bachelor’s degree is earned, whichever occurs first, based on maintaining a cumulative GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale and continuing to major in a required field of study.
- Awards are for undergraduate study only.
Notification
Applicants will be notified in July. Not all applicants to the program will be selected as recipients.
Notifications are sent via email. When setting up your account, avoid using a school or work email. Instead, use an active, personal email address that you will continue to have access to.
Please make sure to add studentsupport@scholarshipamerica.org as well as the program email address as safe senders in your email contact list.
Payment of Scholarships
Scholarship America processes scholarship payments on behalf of BAE Systems Information and Electronic Systems Integration Inc. Awards will be paid in one installment in early August.
Selection of Recipients
Scholarship recipients are selected on the basis of:
- Academic performance
- Demonstrated leadership and participation in school and community activities
- Work experience
- Statement of educational and career goals and objectives
- Unusual personal or family circumstances
- An online recommendation
Financial need is not considered.
Selection of recipients is made by Scholarship America. In no instance does any officer or employee of BAE Systems Information and Electronic Systems Integration Inc. play a part in the selection. All applicants agree to accept the decision as final.
Requirements
As part of your application, you must upload the following:
- A current, complete transcript of grades. Grade reports are not accepted. Transcripts must display:
- Student name
- School name
- Grades
- Credit hours for each course and term in which each course was taken.
- Copy of the first two pages of the most recently filed IRS Form 1040 used for the Financial Information section of the application. Please black out all social security numbers and bank account information.
NOTE: If you are providing SAT or ACT test scores, and those scores are not listed on your high school transcript, you will need to upload a copy of your test score report(s) separately. If you are uploading a college transcript, those scores are not required.
One online recommendation form must be submitted on your behalf no later than May 19, 2026 3:00p.m. Central Time.
Your application is not complete unless all required materials are submitted electronically.
