Scholarship Details

 

Our 2018 JBF Scholarship application period is now closed. Sign up to receive news and updates about 2019 JBF scholarships via email. 
 

Types of Scholarships and Areas of Study

Scholarships vary from year to year. Applicants may be planning to study a variety of disciplines, including:

  • Culinary arts
  • Baking and pastry
  • Hospitality management
  • Food studies (including history, economics, anthropology, sociology)
  • Agriculture
  • Sustainability
  • Food security

There are three basic types of awards:

  • Friends of James Beard: Cash grants applied to tuition (and sometimes other school-related expenses)
  • James Beard School Scholarships: Tuition waivers granted by educational institutions, which are renewable in some cases
  • Grants for working culinary professionals that cover expenses from programs offering experiential learning at farms, fisheries, wineries, and other venues of food production, under the auspices of the Jean-Louis Palladin Professional Work/Study program
  • JBF's National Scholars Program, which launched in 2016, provides ten high-impact scholarships of $20,000 each to food-focused candidates of exceptional talent. Candidates for the ten (10) National Scholarships are selected according to academic merit, as well as personal and professional recommendations. To ensure regional diversity of this national program, one awardee will be selected from each of the ten geographic regions defined by the James Beard Foundation Awards.

The James Beard Foundation Scholarship Program is administered with the assistance of Scholarship America of St. Peter, Minnesota, a well-respected nonprofit organization dedicated to making post-secondary education available to all. Since its founding over 50 years ago, Scholarship America has distributed $3.7 billion in financial aid to over 2.3 million students.

Finalists will be reviewed by the James Beard Foundation Scholarship Selection Committee, under the direction of JBF leadership. Recipients will be notified by the end of August.

Getting Ready to Apply

Although each scholarship will have its own requirements, there is some general information you’ll need to complete the application for the James Beard Scholarship Program:

  • Identify the school you plan to attend
  • Transcript if you are a senior in high school
  • Transcript from post-secondary schools
  • Identify the discipline you plan to study
  • Cumulative grade point average from your most recent school
  • Rank-in-class, if applicable
  • SAT and/or ACT scores, if applicable
  • List of your paid work experience
  • List of your school and community volunteer activities (unpaid)
  • Brief statement of your professional goals and aspirations
  • Brief statement of any unusual family or personal circumstances
  • Brief essays for certain scholarships (see listing)
  • Financial data information (contained in the application)
  • A completed applicant appraisal form (see form in application) from a school counselor or advisor, or a work supervisor who knows you well

Please read the descriptions for all scholarships carefully, as some have additional requirements. International students may qualify for many, but not all, of our scholarships, and are encouraged to apply.