Diversity Scholarship at CIIS - $200,000 Fund for the 2020 - 2021 Academic Year

About

CIIS is a university committed to diversity, inclusion, and advocating for social justice. The university, guided by these principles, is offering forty $5,000 Diversity Scholarships for the academic year 2020-2021.

In line with our institutional mission of embracing traditions that enhance social and political liberation, these scholarships are intended to support the recruitment of a diverse student body, particularly students who are historically underrepresented in higher education.

32 Diversity Scholarships will be offered to new students starting their first semester in Fall 2020.
8 Diversity Scholarships will be offered to new students starting their first semester in Spring 2021.

Diversity scholarship recipients...

Are historically underrepresented in higher education, as indicated on the application form.
Demonstrate a commitment to advocating for diversity and inclusion among the campus and larger community, as articulated in the essay questions below.
Have financial need as determined by the Financial Aid Office and federal guidelines, based on financial information submitted by the student to the Financial Aid Office by the deadline.

Eligible applicants:

Have turned in all required materials for a Complete Admissions Application to one of our degree-granting programs by the deadline.
Have submitted either a FAFSA application (domestic students) or the CIIS International Student Aid application (international or undocumented students) by the deadline.
Will be a new degree-seeking student in their first semester of their new degree program at CIIS for the semester to which they are applying and be officially admitted by the CIIS Admissions Office. (The scholarship is not open to change of program applicants from within CIIS. Students who graduated from CIIS and are applying to a new degree program at CIIS are eligible for consideration if they are applying before the start of their first semester.) Students may apply for the Diversity Scholarship prior to knowing of their admissions status but will only be eligible to receive the scholarship if they are admitted to one of our degree programs.

Note: All above points must be met in order to be considered for the scholarship. The Diversity Scholarship Committee takes into account a student's mix of academic merit and financial need.

Requirements to Receive the Scholarship

In order to receive the scholarship, you must be:

Entering CIIS as a new student (not an internal change of program or readmitting student). Continuing alumni are welcome to apply but must be applying for their first semester of their new degree program. The scholarship is not open to readmitted students or students continuing into their second or later semester of study, or students returning from a leave of absence.
Enrolled as a full-time student. (For ITP students only, a 6-unit course load is considered full-time.)
Officially admitted into a degree-seeking program of study at CIIS.
Fully or conditionally admitted to CIIS. Applicants who are provisionally admitted are eligible for consideration, but the scholarship will not be awarded and released to provisionally admitted students until they become fully admitted.

More importantly, you must have submitted all application materials by the deadline.

Scholarship applications are due by the 15th of each month (Oct 15, Nov 15) and applicants will be notified by the 15th of the subsequent month.

Overlap with other CIIS Scholarships

Students applying for the Diversity Scholarship can also be eligible for the CIIS Opportunity Scholarship, but are not eligible for additional named scholarships at CIIS. If selected for the Diversity Scholarship and another named scholarship, students need to choose which scholarship to accept.

Award Notification and Distribution

Timeline for Selection

The Diversity Scholarship Committee reviews scholarship applications once a month from October 15th to November 15th. 3-5 recipients are chosen each month. All eligible applicants who meet the eligibility criteria by the 15th of each month are considered during each session.

The Diversity Scholarship Committee will notify applicants of the outcome of their application via email by the 15th of the following month if the applicant is chosen for that round.

Award Distribution

This award is a one-time tuition-remission credit, awarded in a student’s first year and is not renewable.
The $5,000 award will be distributed over 1-2 semesters with $2,500 awarded in spring, and $2,500 in summer if student is enrolled in a program that offers summer classes. If a student is enrolled in a program that only offers spring but not summer classes, then the $5,000 award will be distributed in one semester to a Spring 2021 start student, provided their tuition bill exceeds $5,000. (If that is not the case, the award will be distributed as $2,500 in Spring 2020 and $2,500 in their next subsequent semester of enrollment, provided the tuition bill exceeds these amounts.)

Please review all eligibility rules and then fill out this application in its entirety by the posted deadlines to be considered.

First Name

First Name (legal)

Last Name

Email Address

Birthdate

Please identify your...

Program of Study at CIIS

Country/countries of citizenship:

Please select your cultural, national, ethnic, and/or racial identity:

Asian

Black or of African Descent or belonging to the African Diaspora

Indigenous (American Indian or Alaska Native or First Nations or Aboriginal)

Latino/a/x or Hispanic

Middle Eastern

Native Haiwaiian or Other Pacific Islander

White

Feel free to expand on your cultural, ethnic, or racial identity.

Please expand on your gender identity if you selected "Other Gender Identity" above.

Please expand on your sexual orientation if you selected "Other" above.

Which scholarship(s) would you like to be considered for? (You can select multiple.)

Are/were you the first in your family to earn a Bachelor's degree?

Yes

No

Would you like to be considered for this scholarship on the basis of a disability status?

Yes

No

Are you a veteran or active military personnel?

Yes

No

Are you a single parent?

Yes

No

Have you submitted a complete application for admission to one of our programs (including all needed materials, such as official transcripts, goal statement etc.)?

Yes

No

In order to be considered for the Diversity Scholarship, we need your complete financial aid application.

Domestic students: Have you submitted a complete FAFSA application and marked CIIS as one of the receiving schools?
International or undocumented students: Have you filled out a complete international student aid application and submitted it to the CIIS Financial Aid Office?

Have you submitted all needed information for financial aid consideration to CIIS?

Yes

No

You will not be able to be considered for the Diversity Scholarship if you do not submit all information needed for financial aid consideration to the CIIS Financial Aid Office by the posted deadline.

Describe your sociocultural background, your relevant life experiences and circumstances, and how you see them relating to this scholarship in 500 words (or less).For example, what does it mean for you (and your community) to get this degree? What makes you an ideal candidate for this scholarship? How would this scholarship relieve financial obstacles at this time?

You will hear from us by the 15th of the following month. The final notification date is December 15th, 2020.

Diversity Scholarship Application Spring 2021

Diversity Scholarship at CIIS - $200,000 Fund for the 2020 - 2021 Academic Year

Eligible applicants:

Timeline for Selection

You will hear from us by the 15th of the following month. The final notification date is December 15th, 2020.

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