Al Ponte Graduate Scholarship

Award Amount
Application deadline
Awarded By:

Association of Former Intelligence Officers (AFIO)

Number of Awards & Eligibility: The number of awards offered varies annually. This year, three awards will be offered.
In order to qualify, students must meet the following criteria:
  1. This award is for U.S. students.
  2. Must be a U.S. citizen.
  3. Must be a member of the Associaton of Former Intelligence Officers (AFIO); or the child or grandchild of a member of the AFIO; or the child or grandchild of a serving intelligence professional.
  4. Must have a focus in international relations and/or intelligence.
  5. Must apply no earlier than his/her senior year of college and no later than his/her second year of graduate studies.

In order to qualify, students must meet the following criteria:

Description: This scholarship is available for U.S. graduate students who have a career focus in international relations or intelligence. The applicant must be a member of the Associaton of Former Intelligence Officers (AFIO), OR the child or grandchild of a member of the AFIO, OR the child or grandchild of a serving intelligence professional.

Application requirements for the Al Ponte Graduate Scholarship are:

  • Recommendation letter
  • Official Transcript
  • Cover letter
  • Resume
  • Photograph
Additional Information: The applicant will be considered for each scholarship he/she specifies. If he/she is granted one, he/she will not be considered for others. Occasionally, the AFIO grants scholarships to individuals who received and award in prior years, so previous applicants and/or recipients may reapply. Applications are evaluated by a special AFIO committee. Evaluations will be impressionistic and personal, by committee consensus, and with decisions final. Evaluation criteria may include merit, character, estimated future potential, background (for example, parent's AFIO membership or careers, etc.), and relevance of the applicant's studies to the full spectrum of national security interests and career ambitions. Scholarships will not be awarded to students attending foreign universities or schools not U.S.-accredited, nor to law schools (foreign or domestic).

Award Amount: $5,000 annually, non-renewable. Tuition grants will be paid directly to the bursar/registrar of the university concerned. Under NO circumstances will payments be made directly to awardees.  The total dollars awarded for this scholarship is $15,000.

Deadline Information:

Deadline for this scholarship is Thursday, June 1, 2023

Deadline Information:

Deadline for this scholarship is Thursday, June 1, 2023

Application information is available on the Association of Former Intelligence Officers (AFIO) website. There is no application form necessary to apply for this award. To be considered, the applicant must submit the following materials: a cover letter that describes, in as much detail as possible, any relevant, prior experience as well as his/her future plans to which this grant would be applied; a resume including address, age, college, experience and extracurricular activities; one letter of recommendation; and a recent photograph. If the applicant qualifies for several scholarships, he/she must specify in his/her cover letter the scholarships for which he/she wishes to be considered. The applicant only needs to submit one set of application materials for all scholarships. For this scholarship, the student must be sure to specify whether he/she is applying for the undergraduate or graduate scholarship. Application materials should be submitted through the online application form and must be received by the deadline date.
About Association of Former Intelligence Officers (AFIO):
Contact Information: Albano Ponte, AFIO Scholarship Committee
Address: 7700 Leesburg Pike Suite 324 Falls Church, Virginia 22043

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