American Foreign Service Association Scholarship
Scholarship Sponsored by American Foreign Service Association
Visit AFSA’s Community Force Profile to submit scholarship applications.
Deadlines
- Merit Award applications: due by Midnight EST, March 9, 2026.
- Financial Aid scholarship applications: due by Midnight EST, April 17, 2026.
Overview
The AFSA Scholarship Program provides college funding for children of American Foreign Service Association (AFSA) members whose parents served or are serving in the Foreign Service. Awards include financial aid scholarships for tax-dependent undergraduates and several awards for graduating high school seniors: academic merit awards, art merit awards, and a community service award. These programs are funded entirely by gifts and bequests from the Foreign Service community; no AFSA membership dues are used for scholarships. Since its founding, AFSA has awarded nearly $7.4 million in scholarships to more than 3,000 young people.
Who is eligible
- Applicants must be the child of a Foreign Service employee whose parent is an AFSA member. The parent may be active, retired, separated, or deceased.
- Financial aid is intended for tax-dependent undergraduates.
- High school seniors may apply for academic merit, art merit, and community service awards.
- For full eligibility details, please see AFSA’s eligibility page.
Other opportunities
Children whose parents are not in the Foreign Service may be eligible to participate in AFSA’s high school essay contest; consult the contest page for more information.
What the site covers (Basic information)
- Eligibility requirements
- Program summaries
- How merit awards are scored
- Scholarships FAQ
Program governance
AFSA manages the scholarship program with oversight that ensures donor intent and fair award distribution.
Award recipients
We take pride in our yearly awardees and their accomplishments. To see examples of recent winners, view:
- AFSA’s 2025 Academic Merit Award winners
- AFSA’s 2025 Art Merit, Community Service, and Best Essay winners
We encourage every eligible Foreign Service child to apply — AFSA is honored to support and celebrate the next generation of leaders.