Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship Program

The Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship Program is a federally-funded and state-administered merit-based scholarship program in the United States.

Program History

It is designed to recognize exceptionally able high school seniors who show promise of continued excellence in postsecondary education. The United States Department of Education's Office of Postsecondary Education awards funds to state education agencies, which award scholarships (also known as Byrd Honors Scholarships) to eligible applicants. Students receive scholarship funds which are to go towards college expenses.

Funding

The Byrd Honors Scholarships were established in 1985, providing $1,500 nonrenewable scholarships to eligible students. In 1993, the program was expanded to allow students who successfully completed their first year of college to reapply for stipends for the following three years. This brought the scholarship to its current value of $6,000 over four years. [ [http://byrd.senate.gov/issues/byrd_education/byrd_education.html Byrd.senate.gov] ] To pay for the over 27,000 scholars supported by the program, appropriations for the program have been near $40,000,000 annually. [ [http://www.ed.gov/programs/iduesbyrd/gtepiduesbyrd.pdf Ed.gov] ]

Application Requirements

Each state sets the criteria for awarding the Byrd Honors Scholarships in addition to federal requirements. In any case, all applicants must be high school graduates who:
* have been accepted for enrollment at institutions of higher education(IHEs);
* have demonstrated outstanding academic achievement;
* and who show promise of continued academic excellence.

References