UNCF and Other Scholarships for Black Students

UNCF: More Than a HBCU-Only Fund

The United Negro College Fund awards more than $62 million in scholarships every year through a mix of named, sponsor-funded programs. UNCF supports students at more than 600 schools nationwide, which includes its network of 36 member HBCUs but reaches well beyond them.

Current UNCF programs include the Fund II Foundation UNCF STEM Scholars Program for students in science and engineering majors, the UNCF/Koch Scholars Program, the K-12 Education Fellowship for future teachers, the Frederick Douglass Bicentennial Scholarship Program, and Health Care Scholars United, funded by the United Health Foundation, which pays renewable merit-based awards of up to $5,000 a year for students pursuing health care careers.

Each program carries its own deadlines and eligibility rules, so check the specific program page before you assume you qualify. UNCF's scholarship portal lets you filter by major, school type, and award amount, which is faster than reading every program page individually.

Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF)

The Thurgood Marshall College Fund runs three scholarship categories. Gap Completion Scholarships target students with an urgent, specific financial shortfall close to graduation. Access Scholarships cover tuition, fees, and on-campus housing for students getting into college for the first time. Programmatic Scholarships cover tuition, fees, and room and board and usually come tied to a specific corporate or foundation sponsor with its own criteria.

TMCF awarded more than $20 million in scholarships to over 2,000 students during the 2023-2024 academic year, and has passed $500 million in total scholarships and career readiness funding since it started. Most individual TMCF awards are one-time, non-renewable grants rather than four-year packages, so plan to reapply each year rather than counting on the same award repeating.

TMCF eligibility varies by scholarship, but many require enrollment at a TMCF member school, a public HBCU or predominantly Black institution. Some programs are open to students at any accredited institution. Read the eligibility section on each individual scholarship listing before you apply, since TMCF explicitly requires meeting every listed requirement, not most of them.

Building a Full Application List

• Apply to both UNCF and TMCF in the same cycle. Their programs do not overlap, and stacking a UNCF STEM award with a TMCF Access Scholarship is common for students who qualify for both.

• Check your specific college's financial aid office. HBCUs and predominantly Black institutions often run their own alumni-funded scholarships that never appear in a national database.

• Look at your intended major's professional association. Many fields run scholarships aimed at increasing Black representation in that profession, separate from UNCF and TMCF.

• Start early. Programmatic Scholarships tied to a single corporate sponsor often close fast once the sponsor's budget for the year runs out.