The Gates Millennium Scholars (GMS) Program is an academic

scholarship A scholarship is a form of Student financial aid, financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, Multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion, athleti ...

award and program for higher education, available to high-achieving

ethnic minority The term "minority group" has different meanings, depending on the context. According to common usage, it can be defined simply as a group in society with the least number of individuals, or less than half of a population. Usually a minority g ...

students in the United States. It was established in 1999 and funded by

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...

founder

Bill Gates William Henry Gates III (born October 28, 1955) is an American businessman and philanthropist. A pioneer of the microcomputer revolution of the 1970s and 1980s, he co-founded the software company Microsoft in 1975 with his childhood friend ...

through the

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation The Gates Foundation is an American private foundation founded by Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates. Based in Seattle, Washington, it was launched in 2000 and is reported to be the third largest charitable foundation in the world, holding $ ...

. Gates Millennium Scholars are provided with a full financial scholarship to attend any U.S. college or university, and are provided with leadership development opportunities, mentoring, as well as academic, financial and social support.

Background

The scholarship was started in 1999 as a result of a $1 billion grant from

founder

. The program is currently administered by the

United Negro College Fund UNCF, the United Negro College Fund, also known as the United Fund, is an American philanthropic organization that funds scholarships for black students and general scholarship funds for 37 private historically black colleges and universities. ...

and partner organizations including the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, APIA Scholars (formerly known as the Asian & Pacific Islander American Scholarship Fund), and Native Forward (formerly known as the American Indian Graduate Center). Since its inception, the scholarship has paid for more than 20,000 students to attend colleges and universities, and has awarded more than $614 million for education costs including tuition, fees, books and housing. There exist a total of 20,000 scholars as of the last cohort in the class of 2016. This was the original goal of the Foundation when starting this scholarship in 2000, ending in 2016. "It is critical to America's future that we draw from the full range of talent and ability to develop the next generation of leaders," said Gates, co-founder of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. "The Millennium Scholars program is intended to ensure that we build a stronger America through improved educational opportunities."

Goals

In establishing the scholarship, Gates Millennium Scholars, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation hoped to create a network of future leaders from around the world who would bring new vision and commitment to improving the life circumstances of citizens in their respective countries. Over time, it is anticipated that Gates Scholars will become leaders in all their respective fields, and will help to address global problems related to health, equity, technology, and learning - all areas in which the Foundation is deeply engaged.

Selection

To meet the minimum qualifications for the scholarship award, applicants must be high school seniors with at least a cumulative 3.3

grade point average Grading in education is the application of standardized Measurement, measurements to evaluate different levels of student achievement in a course. Grades can be expressed as letters (usually A to F), as a range (for example, 1 to 6), percentage ...

(GPA) on a 4.0 scale, eligible for the Federal Pell Grant, and plan to enroll full-time at an accredited U.S. college or university. Additionally, applicants must be a citizen, national or legal permanent resident of the United States, and be of

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, American Indian/

Alaska Native Alaska Natives (also known as Native Alaskans, Alaskan Indians, or Indigenous Alaskans) are the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples of Alaska that encompass a diverse arena of cultural and linguistic groups, including the I ...

, Asian-Pacific Islander or

Hispanic American Hispanic and Latino Americans are Americans who have a Spanish or Latin American background, culture, or family origin. This demographic group includes all Americans who identify as Hispanic or Latino, regardless of race. According to the ...

heritage. Ideally, applicants should be able to provide strong examples of personal success and growth (emotional maturity, motivation, preservation, etc.) and demonstrate outstanding leadership abilities. The scholarship program is highly competitive with only 1,000 students selected out of over 50,000 applicants. GMS scholars who choose to pursue

graduate studies Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachel ...

in the areas of education, engineering,

library science Library and information science (LIS)Library and Information Sciences is the name used in the Dewey Decimal Classification for class 20 from the 18th edition (1971) to the 22nd edition (2003). are two interconnected disciplines that deal with info ...

, mathematics,

public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the de ...

and science are eligible to receive continued funding.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official website
Scholarships in the United States Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation