Graduate Scholarships

From 2002 through 2009, the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation provided some of the nation’s most exceptional college graduates with up to $300,000 each in support for graduate or professional study.  This scholarship was one of the most generous, competitive, and flexible graduate scholarships in the nation, attracting extraordinary students interested in every field of graduate and professional study.

During the eight years of this program, with the help of review panels comprised of distinguished faculty and university admissions officers, we selected nearly 400 outstanding students from among several thousands of applicants.  We continue to provide support to these students as they complete their graduate studies.  We are deeply grateful for the work of our partner institutions in nominating these remarkable individuals for this award and providing the Foundation with the opportunity to build a community of talented Jack Kent Cooke Scholars.

The Foundation, like other endowed institutions, experienced significant financial losses in 2008 and early 2009, and as a result, we faced difficult choices regarding the future of some of our programs.

In August 2009, we announced that, going forward, we will award new graduate scholarships only to students who have received an undergraduate scholarship from the Foundation.  The Foundation offers two types of undergraduate scholarships: an undergraduate transfer scholarship is for exceptional students with financial need transferring from a two-year college to a four-year college and a college scholarship for students graduating from the Foundation’s Young Scholars Program. These students have all come through rigorous selections processes and the Foundation seeks to further advance their educational endeavors as they pursue graduate study.  All of our undergraduate scholarship recipients are, therefore, eligible to apply for a one-time award of up to $50,000 to support their graduate or professional studies. 

The Foundation’s decision does not affect any current Jack Kent Cooke Scholars who have already received a graduate scholarship from us.

The Board of Directors and staff of the Foundation remain fully committed to our Scholars’ education and the education of future cohorts of Scholars. 

Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Changes to the Graduate Scholarship Program

1.   Are colleges and universities still eligible to nominate students for the graduate scholarship?
No.  Unfortunately, the Foundation will no longer be accepting nominations from colleges and universities for the graduate scholarship program.  Future graduate scholarships will be limited to the Foundation’s undergraduate scholarship recipients.

2.    Will the Foundation’s decision to limit the graduate scholarship program affect students who have already received a graduate scholarship from the Foundation?
No.  The changes to the graduate program do not affect existing Scholars. 

3.    What do you mean when you say that you “will award new graduate scholarships only to students who have received an undergraduate scholarship from the Foundation?” 
Only those students who have or will receive college or undergraduate transfer scholarships from the Foundation will be eligible to apply for funding from the Foundation to support graduate studies. 

4.    I am not familiar with the undergraduate transfer scholarship.  What is that? 
The undergraduate transfer scholarship is for students transferring from a two-year college to a four-year college.  The two-year institution nominates the students, who are then selected by an outside panel of admissions professionals and faculty.   The Foundation selects up to 50 students a year for this scholarship.  For more information about this program, please visit the Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship page.

5.    How does a student receive a college scholarship? 
Every year, the Foundation selects approximately 50-60 talented 8th graders (who apply at the end of the 7th grade) from a pool of well over 1000 applicants to become Young Scholars and receive individualized support throughout high school.  These Young Scholars may apply for college scholarships from the Foundation.  These are the only students to whom we provide college scholarships (see question 4 to learn about our undergraduate transfer scholarship program).  You can learn more about this program on the Young Scholars Program page.

6.    At our institution, we currently have a student who is a recipient of an undergraduate transfer scholarship/college scholarship from the Foundation.  Does this student need to be nominated by the institution for a graduate scholarship?
No.  The Foundation will send information about the graduate scholarship directly to recipients of our undergraduate transfer and college scholarships and interested students will apply directly to the Foundation for support.

7.    Can a student who is currently enrolled as a college student at a four-year institution apply for support to complete his or her undergraduate education? 
No.  The only scholarships the Foundation offers for current undergraduate students are the undergraduate transfer scholarship and college scholarship discussed above in questions 4 and 5.  Students who are currently enrolled at a four-year institution would not be eligible for either of those scholarships.