Black at Microsoft Scholarship Program
The Seattle Foundation and Microsoft Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) have established a scholarship program to assist current high school seniors of African descent (for example, African American, African, Ethiopian, etc.) and plan to continue their education in 4-year college or university pursuing a STEM or Business-related field of study.
Black at Microsoft Scholarship Program
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 Black at Microsoft Scholarship Program must:
- Be a high school senior of African descent (for example, African American, African, Ethiopian, etc.)
- Plan to attend a four-year college or university in the US in the fall immediately following your high school graduation
- Plan to enroll in full-time undergraduate study in Engineering, Computer Science, Computer Information Systems, or one of the following Business programs – Business Administration, Finance, or Marketing at an accredited four-year college, university, in the United States, for the entire upcoming academic year
- Demonstrate a passion for technology
- Demonstrate leadership at school or in the community
- Have a minimum grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale or its equivalent
International students are eligible to apply if enrolling in a US college or university.
Employees and children of employees of Microsoft are ineligible.
Awards
If selected as a recipient, the student will receive an award ranging from $2,500 to $5,000. Up to 55 awards will be granted. The awards are as follows:
5 awards of $5,000:
Awards are renewable up to three years or until a bachelor’s degree is earned, whichever occurs first, on the basis of satisfactory academic performance maintaining a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale, full-time enrollment, and continued enrollment in the eligible major.
50 awards of $2,500:
Awards are one-time only. Past recipients cannot reapply.
Awards are for undergraduate study only.
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.
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 The Seattle Foundation. Payment is made in early August. Payments are made payable to the school and mailed to the school.
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
- Short essay*
- An online recommendation
*Essay Topic:
Describe how you plan to engage in the technology industry in your career. (2,000 characters- approximately 500 words or less)
Financial need, as calculated by Scholarship America, must be demonstrated for the student to receive an award.
Selection of finalists is made by Scholarship America. Microsoft will select recipients. 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.
- Upper secondary school diploma or certificate, if earned (International applicants only).
- Results of examinations (International applicants only).
- English translations for any non-English documents.
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 March 19, 2026 3:00 PM Central Time.
Your application is not complete unless all required materials are submitted electronically.
