American Airlines Education Foundation Scholarship
The American Airlines Education Foundation Scholarship is a scholarship program for children of team members who plan to continue their education in college or vocational-technical school.
American Airlines Education Foundation Scholarship
The American Airlines Education Foundation is proud to support our team members and their families by awarding hundreds of scholarships each year to children and dependents pursuing their education.
Recipients are selected based on academic excellence, and scholarships support full time undergraduate study at any accredited college, university or vocational program worldwide. The Education Foundation awarded nearly $1 million in scholarships to more than 350 students in 2025. This year, the Foundation has onboarded a new scholarship platform that will elevate and enhance the overall experience for applicants and internal teams.
In celebration of American’s centennial, the Education Foundation will join in the milestone by awarding an additional 100 scholarships for the 2026 scholarship cycle, further reinforcing the commitment to team members and their families.
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 American Airlines Education Foundation Scholarship must:
- Be dependent* children (age 26 and under) of full time American Airlines Group domestic and international team members who have a minimum of one year of employment and are actively employed at American at the time awards are announced. Applicants who have received a scholarship from this Program prior to the start of this current Program cycle shall not be required to meet eligibility requirements concerning any employment with the Sponsor.
*Dependent children are defined as biological and legally adopted children or stepchildren living in the team member’s household or primarily supported by the team member. - Be high school seniors/students in their final year of upper or higher secondary school, graduates or current technical or college/university undergraduate students
- 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
Awards
If selected as a recipient, the student will receive a $2,500 award.
First-generation students are eligible for a one-time additional $1,000 award.
Awards are not renewable; however, students may reapply to the Program each year they meet eligibility requirements.
Award amounts are listed in U.S. dollars (USD) and award payments will be issued in USD. Recipients may choose to receive award payments in their local currency when available.
Awards are for undergraduate study only.
Awards can be used for any qualified education-related expenses.
Notification
All applicants will be notified in June.
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.
Payment of Scholarships
Scholarship America processes scholarship payments on behalf of American Airlines Education Foundation. Payment is made 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
- A statement of educational and career goals and objectives
- Unusual personal or family circumstances
Financial need is not considered.
Academic evaluation will include a review of the grade/mark average based on the grading system used in the applicant’s country and a review of the results of academic examinations.
Application Process Note for students outside of the U.S. and Canada: While completing the application Profile, there is a request for GPA on a 4.0 scale. If your grading system does not use the 4.0 GPA scale, you can enter “0” to continue completing the Profile and application. This will not impact your application score and evaluation process will consider the academic documents* submitted with your application.
Selection of recipients is made by Scholarship America. In no instance does any officer or team member of American Airlines Education Foundation play a part in the selection. Not all applicants to the program will be selected as recipients. 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.
NOTE: (U.S. applicants only) 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.
*Due to differences in educational systems, applicants from countries other than the U.S. and Canada must provide the following materials:
- Upper secondary school diploma or certificate, if earned
- Results of examinations
- English translations for any non-English documents.
Your application is not complete unless all required materials are submitted electronically.
