Spectrum Scholarship

Award Amount
Application deadline
Awarded By:

American Library Association

Number of Awards & Eligibility: varies
In order to qualify, students must meet the following criteria:
  1. This award is for international and U.S. students.
  2. Must be a minority student in an underrepresented group: American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino or Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander.
  3. Must be a U.S. or Canadian citizen or permanent resident.
  4. Must major in library and information science or school library media.
  5. Must be enrolled in an accredited program and begin school no later than Sept. 1 or the fall semester immediately following the award. Please note: The student cannot have completed more than a third of his/her credit requirements toward the MLIS or school library media degree at the time of the award (June 1).
  6. Must attend an ALA-accredited school or an ALA-recognized NCATE program. A list of the eligible schools is available at www.ala.org/accreditedprograms/directory/search.
  7. Must enroll part time or full time.

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

Description: U.S. and Canadian citizens or permanent residents who are pursuing a graduate degree in library and information science at an ALA-accredited school are eligible for this award. Students must be minorities.

Application requirements for the Spectrum Scholarship are:

  • Application form
  • Personal statement
  • Official Transcript
  • References (3)
Additional Information: Established in 1997, the Spectrum Scholarship Program is ALA's national diversity and recruitment effort designed to address the specific issue of under-representation of critically needed ethnic librarians within the profession while serving as a model for ways to bring attention to larger diversity issues in the future. Recipients will be contacted by phone after June 1. All other applicants will be notified by mail after July 1.

Award Amount: $5,000 annually, non-renewable. Awards are paid in two installments directly to the recipient. Recipients also receive a number of non-scholarship benefits; detailed information on these benefits is available at www.ala.org/offices/diversity/spectrum/scholarshipinformation.  The total dollars awarded for this scholarship is $5,000.

Deadline Information:

Deadline for this scholarship is Sunday, March 1

Deadline Information:

Deadline for this scholarship is Sunday, March 1

Applications are available online on the American Library Association (ALA) website. Scholarship information is available by clicking the 'Scholarships for People from Underrepresented Groups' link. Please note: The student need only complete one application to apply for all scholarships for which he/she is eligible. The following components are required for all ALA scholarships: a completed online application (includes a personal statement); contact information for three professional references, who will be sent instructions for completion of the online reference form; and official academic transcripts from the institution where the student received his/her bachelor's degree and the institution where he/she is currently enrolled. Transcripts may be sent to ALA directly from the institution or be submitted by the student in an unopened envelope. Only official, sealed transcripts will be accepted. All application materials must be submitted online by the deadline.
About American Library Association:
Contact Information: Lillian Lewis, Scholarship Staff Liaison c/o Human Resource Development and Recruitment (HRDR)
Address: ALA Scholarship Clearinghouse 50 E. Huron St. Chicago, Illinois 60611

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