Updated as of October 8, 2024.
About the Scholarships
The National Federation of the Blind (NFB) Annual Scholarship Program annually provides more than a quarter million dollars in cash and prizes to blind college students (undergraduate and graduate students).
Award
- $8,000
- 30 scholarships are available
- Merit-based; based on academic excellence, community service, and leadership
- Financial assistance to attend the annual Convention of the National Federation of the Blind in its entirety. The Convention typically occurs over one week in early July, and its venue changes each year.
Eligibility
- Legally blind
- Residing in the United States, the District of Columbia, or Puerto Rico
- Will be 18 years old before July of the year of application.
- Pursuing or planning to pursue a full-time, post-secondary course of study in a degree program at a U.S. institution in the fall of the year of application (one scholarship may be given to a person employed full-time while attending school part-time)
- Must participate in the entire NFB National Convention and in all of its scheduled scholarship program activities (finalists will receive assistance to attend the national convention).
- Must attend the annual Convention of the National Federation of the Blind, reference above.
Deadline
- Typically, the end of March.
Application
Jim Halladay HumanWare/NFB Scholarship
Award
- Four scholarships are available; Merit-based
- $1,000 and a Brailliant BI40 braille display
- Financial assistance to attend the annual Convention of the National Federation of the Blind in its entirety. The Convention typically occurs over one week in early July, and its venue changes each year.
Application process
- Same eligibility requirements as the NFB Scholarship above; apply using the NFB Scholarship online application.
- To be considered for this additional award, on the application, select the checkbox to get access to the Humanware scholarship application questions as well.
- NOTE: Even though the same application is used, the selection process for these Humanware scholarships is entirely separate from the selection process for the 30 NFB scholarships.
- Those selected as Humanware/NFB scholarship winners will be notified separately by Humanware of their winner status.
- If NFB scholarship applicants do not wish to fill out the application questions for the Humanware/NFB scholarships, simply do not check the box within the NFB scholarship application and bypass the associated questions.
Eligibility
- Legally blind
- Residing in the United States, the District of Columbia, or Puerto Rico
- Will be 18 years old before July of the year of application.
- Pursuing or planning to pursue a full-time, post-secondary course of study in a degree program at a U.S. institution in the fall of the year of application (one scholarship may be given to a person employed full-time while attending school part-time)
- Must participate in the entire NFB National Convention and in all of its scheduled scholarship program activities (finalists will receive assistance to attend the national convention).
- Must attend the annual Convention of the National Federation of the Blind, reference above.
Deadline
- Typically, the end of March.
Application
Contact the Bridges Helpdesk for More Information
Email: Helpdesk@imagemd.org
Text: Send to: (410) 357-1546
Voice mail: Call (410) 357-1546, leave a voice mail message, and we will return your call
This unique project is being coordinated through The IMAGE Center of Maryland, a center for independent living in Towson, and it is funded by a grant from the Maryland Department of Education Division of Special Education/Early Intervention Services.