NDAB College Scholarships

University students stand in a group

Scholarship Program

Part of NDAB’s mission is to encourage people who are blind or visually impaired to find employment. For those young people who aspire to a trade or profession, some more education beyond high school is required. Knowing that the ever-rising cost of tuition can cause a financial barrier in achieving one’s career goal, we have a scholarship program to help.

The NDAB established a college scholarship fund in 1990. These scholarships are granted annually to entering freshmen, undergraduate and graduate students who are blind or vision impaired with plans to attend an institution of higher learning. One $2,000 and two $1,000 cash awards will be given to three qualifying students.

A vocational scholarship was added to the program in 2004, when Emma Skogen remembered NDAB in her will. The Emma Skogen Scholarship annually grants a $1,000 cash award to a vision impaired student with plans to attend a vocational or trade school.

Previous applicants and recipients of our scholarships are encouraged to reapply so we may financially support your efforts toward achieving gainful employment.
If you have any questions or would like more information, contact our scholarship chairperson:
Tracy Wicken.
Phone: 701-772-7669.
Email: trwicken@nd.gov.

Criteria

  • All applicants must have a visual impairment that cannot be corrected with prescription glasses or contacts.
  • Applicants must be a resident of North Dakota or reside in a border city, e.g., Fargo-Moorhead or Grand Forks-East Grand Forks.
  • Applicants for the $2,000 scholarship should be a full-time student with a GPA of 2.5 or better on a 4 point scale. Applicants for the $1,000 scholarships may be a part-time student.
  • Applicants need not be members of NDAB to apply.
  • All applicants will receive the current year’s membership, if not already a NDAB member. As a member, you will receive issues of both The Promoter and the ACB Braille Forum newsletters to keep you informed of advocacy efforts, new technologies and special events. You will also receive invitations to the NDAB State Convention and our adult summer camp.

Selection

All scholarships are awarded on the basis of academic excellence, service to the community and financial need. The NDAB Executive Board will review the selection of applicants, first screened by the Scholarship Committee. Applicants will be notified of the final selection by May 1st.

Scholarship recipients will be formally announced and acknowledged during the awards banquet of the State Convention. An additional stipend will be presented to scholarship recipients who attend the State Convention in June. Scholarship checks will be sent when proof of college registration is shown.

Deadline

Scholarship applications must be received by March 15th. Late submissions will not be considered.
Please, complete all application sections and attach required documents.
Click on the application link below to download and print out the form. Mail the completed application form and supporting documents, postmarked by March 15th or send via email to our scholarship committee chairperson.

Tracy Wicken
733 Dawn Circle
Grand Forks, ND 58203

Email trwicken@nd.gov

NDAB Scholarship Application (Type-in) [Microsoft Word document]

NDAB Scholarship Application (Write-in) [Microsoft Word document]

Additional Scholarships

The American Council of the Blind (ACB) annually awards approximately 20 scholarships ranging in amounts from $1,000 to $2,500 to entering freshmen, undergraduate and graduate college students who are legally blind, maintain a 3.3 GPA and are involved in their school/local community.

To learn more, please visit www.acb.org/scholarship-application.