The Alliance/Merck Ciencia (Science) Hispanic Scholars Program is now open to applicants.
The National Alliance for Hispanic Health and Merck Ciencia established the scholarship program to improve Hispanic student access to higher education in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). The program offers two types of scholarships, one for high school seniors pursing STEM degrees and the other for college STEM majors.
The eligibility criteria for the two types of scholarships is:
Ciencia National Scholarships Program for College STEM Majors
This program provides a $2,000 one-time scholarship for students from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, U.S. territories and Puerto Rico.
- An eligible applicant must:
- Be a student of Hispanic heritage.
- Be in good academic standing and enrolled full-time in an accredited college/university.
- Have a minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 2.75 on a 4.0 scale (or the equivalent).
- Be a declared major in a STEM discipline and pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in a STEM field, including Bachelor’s degrees offered in partnerships between community colleges and four-year institutions.
Alliance/Merck Ciencia Scholars Program for High School Seniors
This $42,500 scholar package includes up to $20,000 in scholarship (or up to $5,000 each of four years of college) and up to $22,500 in summer internship stipends (or up to $7,500 each of three summers).
- An eligible applicant must:
- Be a student of Hispanic heritage.
- Be a senior attending a high school in Brownsville, TX; Elizabeth, NJ or Los Angeles, CA.
- Have a minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 2.75 on a 4.0 scale (or the equivalent).
- Be in good academic standing in high school.
- Have applied or intends to apply for full-time study at an accredited college/university that grants a bachelor’s degree in a STEM field (proof of enrollment will be required before disbursement of scholarship funds).
- Be committed to major in a STEM field in college.
The application deadline is March 15, 2012.