Scholarships For LGBTQ+ College Students

High school seniors, undergraduates, and graduate students in the LGBTQ+ community can pursue scholarships built for them. The awards below are open to candidates enrolled in colleges, universities, and technical or vocational programs. Amounts and deadlines change year to year, so confirm the current terms on each provider's site before you apply.

Better Brothers Los Angeles Scholarship

Supports Black LGBTQ+ students enrolled or enrolling in accredited degree, vocational, and licensing programs. Funds may go toward tuition, textbooks, and other academic costs.

Amount: $500-$5,000. Apply

Davis-Putter Scholarship Fund

A need-based award for college, university, or vocational students who are active in progressive movements for social and economic justice.

Amount: Up to $15,000. Apply

eQuality Scholarship Collaborative

For students who have shown service to LGBTQ+ communities in California. Applicants must be enrolled or planning to enroll in a two-year or four-year undergraduate program or medical school.

Amount: $6,000

Gamma Mu Scholarship

For gay men with a high school diploma or GED who have been admitted to an accredited college or vocational school. Applicants must be U.S. citizens under age 35.

Amount: $1,000-$2,500

Hampton Roads Pride Scholarship

A merit-based award for LGBTQ+ students and allies who show academic excellence and community involvement. Recipients must live in Virginia.

Amount: Varies. Apply

League Foundation LGBTQ Scholarships

Five awards for LGBTQ+ high school seniors. Each candidate needs at least a 3.0 GPA entering their first year of a college, university, or vocational program, plus U.S. citizenship or legal residency.

Amount: Varies

Little Bird Scholarship for LGBTQI Immigrants

For LGBTQ+ or intersex high school juniors or seniors who do not hold U.S. citizenship, green cards, or F-1 visas. Candidates must stay enrolled in an accredited nonprofit school in New York City.

Amount: $18,000. Apply

Live Out Loud Young Trailblazers Scholarship

For New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut residents graduating high school and pursuing a degree from an accredited college, university, vocational school, or other postsecondary program.

Amount: $5,000. Apply

Mark J. Glancey and John G. Gray LGBT Scholarship

A Mensa-sponsored award for LGBTQ+ students in degree programs at accredited colleges or universities. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents.

Amount: $1,000. Apply

New York Ramblers Scholarship

A need-based award for LGBTQ+ and ally student-athletes active in the LGBTQI community. Graduating high school seniors and current undergraduates ages 15-21 qualify.

Amount: $2,500. Apply

Pedro Zamora Young Leaders Scholarship

Funded by the National AIDS Memorial in honor of educator and activist Pedro Zamora, for students committed to ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic while pursuing public service leadership. Current or incoming undergraduates age 27 and younger at U.S. community colleges or four-year universities may apply.

Amount: $5,000. Apply

PFund Scholarship

For LGBTQIA+ community members who live in or attend postsecondary programs in Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, or Wisconsin. Candidates must be at least 17.

Amount: $1,000-$12,000. Apply

Point Foundation Community College Scholarship Program

Provides financial support and academic coaching to LGBTQ+ students who attend or plan to attend an accredited community college before transferring to a four-year school or earning an associate degree.

Amount: $4,800. Apply

Prism Foundation Scholarship

A merit-based award for students attending or planning to attend community college, college, or vocational/technical school. Applicants should show strong engagement with Asian and Pacific Islander and/or LGBTQIA+ communities.

Amount: $1,000-$5,000. Apply

Acorn Equality Fund Scholarship

For LGBTQ+ people and allies with permanent residency in downstate Illinois (all counties except Cook, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, and Will). Each applicant needs a 3.5 GPA and demonstrated financial need.

Amount: $1,000-$4,000. Apply

Asian and Pacific Islander Queer Women and Transgender Community (APIQWTC) Scholarship

Two annual awards for Asian/Pacific Islander lesbian, bisexual, or queer women or transgender people pursuing technical, professional, trade, or other tuition-based learning. Applicants need to show professional commitment and community involvement.

Amount: $2,500. Apply

Audre Lorde Scholarship

Offered by ZAMI NOBLA, the National Organization of Black Lesbians on Aging, for Black lesbians 50 and older. Funds apply to continuing education in accredited technical, undergraduate, and graduate programs.

Amount: $1,000. Apply

BIPOC Scholarship for LGBTQ Students

For Black, Indigenous, and people of color in the LGBTQ+ community, with financial assistance, coaching, and community support. Applicants must be enrolled or planning to enroll at an accredited community college, four-year school, or graduate program.

Amount: $1,500. Apply

Chinn Scholarship for LGBTQ Atheist Activism

For students in vocational, college, graduate, or law school who are members or allies of the LGBTQ+ and atheist communities and active in LGBTQ+ and atheist causes at school or with other students.

Amount: $500

Deloris Carter Hampton Scholarship

For LGBTQ+ women of color with a history of activism or leadership in LGBTQ+ communities. Applicants must live in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, or Washington and pursue a degree in dance, education, or women's health.

Amount: Varies. Apply

James Crump Memorial Scholarship

From the Pride Foundation, for students planning a career in nursing, medicine, social work, teaching, or another helping profession in the northwest U.S. Applicants must live in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, or Washington but may study elsewhere. Open to self-identified LGBTQ+ students, LGBTQ+ family members, and allies who show strong support for the community.

Amount: Varies. Apply

Keith Williams Law Group Scholarship

For students accepted into or enrolled in an accredited postsecondary program who can show how they overcame adversity from difficult home lives, socioeconomic disadvantage, disability, or racial, ethnic, or gender bias.

Amount: $1,500. Apply

LGBT Heart Scholarship Fund

Supplemental funding for graduate students in health professions who have shown commitment to change in LGBTQ+ communities. Applicants must be LGBTQ+ community members.

Amount: $2,000

Point Foundation Flagship Scholarship

A need-based award, renewable up to four years, for students earning undergraduate, graduate, or doctoral degrees at accredited institutions. Recipients also get leadership development, mentoring, and coaching.

Amount: Varies. Apply

The Tang Scholarship

A need-based award for LGBTQ+ students of Asian or Pacific Islander descent who graduated from a high school in one of the nine San Francisco Bay Area counties. Renewable for up to three more years.

Amount: $15,000

Out for Education Scholarship

For LGBTQ+ students ages 17-25 who graduated from a Houston-area high school or plan to attend an accredited college or university in the Houston area. Applicants need at least a 2.75 GPA.

Amount: $1,000-$2,500

Traub-Dicker Rainbow Scholarship

For lesbians planning to attend undergraduate or graduate school in the United States. Applicants should show commitment to community service and leadership on LGBTQ+ issues.

Amount: $4,000. Apply

Markowski-Leach Scholarship

For students who identify as LGBTQ+, hold at least a 2.5 GPA in all prior college coursework, and show promise as a role model for other LGBTQ+ people. Funds apply only at San Francisco State University, Stanford University, UC Berkeley, UC San Francisco, or UC Hastings College of Law.

Amount: $2,500. Apply

Ronald P. Wilmot Scholarship

A need-based award for children of gay or lesbian parents enrolling in or attending a full-time undergraduate or graduate program. Applicants must live in the greater San Francisco Bay area.

Amount: Up to $2,000. Apply

The Welcoming Project

Two annual scholarships for undergraduate and graduate study, open to U.S. citizens and international students. Candidates must show a contribution to LGBTQ+ activism that benefits the community.

Amount: $500. Apply

Frequently Asked Questions

Can nursing students use these scholarships? Yes. Most of these awards fund any accredited degree, vocational, or licensing program, which includes nursing. A few, like the Pride Foundation's James Crump Memorial Scholarship, specifically favor students heading into nursing and other helping professions.

Are these need-based or merit-based? Both. Some, like the Davis-Putter and Point Foundation Flagship awards, are need-based; others, like Hampton Roads Pride and Prism Foundation, weigh merit and community involvement. Read each provider's criteria before applying.

Do the amounts and deadlines change? Yes, often year to year. Always confirm the current award amount, deadline, and eligibility on the provider's own site before you apply.

Can I combine an LGBTQ+ scholarship with federal aid? Usually. Private scholarships generally stack with federal aid, though they can affect your financial-aid package. Start with the FAFSA to establish federal eligibility, then layer scholarships on top.

Are any of these open to non-citizens? Some are. The Little Bird Scholarship for LGBTQI Immigrants and The Welcoming Project accept applicants without U.S. citizenship. Most others require citizenship or permanent residency, so check each award's terms.