Awarding Scholarships

Each year the university awards named scholarships, made possible through the generosity of hundreds of individuals and organizations. View a complete list of endowed named scholarships offering crucial support to WCU students.

Supporting Scholarships

Scholarship funds fall into two general categories:

• Endowed scholarship funds - Endowed scholarships are WCU's number one philanthropic priority and can be established with a single payment or can be built with payments over a period of five years to reach the minimum endowment level of $25,000. Once fully vested, the fund will pay an annual distribution in perpetuity that will be used as the scholarship award.
• Annual scholarship funds - An annual scholarship fund provides an award to a current student for an academic year with no long-term investment of money used to establish the fund.

In addition to the type of scholarship, donors may choose criteria for the award including academic merit, degree program or college, demonstrated leadership, participation in student activities, athletics, financial need, or any combination of preferences.
learn more about establishing an endowment

Lifecycle of an Endowed Scholarship

• A scholarship is established through documentation of a gift agreement in partnership with the Office of Development.
• Prior to the fund's first valuation, donors can make an outright gift in the name of the fund to begin awarding their scholarship immediately. If the donor intends to make a gift to support a student during the following academic year, the donor must notify the director of donor relations by August 31. The gift should be received by the WCU Foundation no later than February 1.
• Students apply for scholarships through the university scholarship portal, available through MyWCU. The application period generally runs from October through January every year.
• Once an award is made, the student will be notified and a thank you note will be requested by the director of university scholarships.
• Awards made during WCU's fiscal year (July 1 - June 30) will be reflected in the fund's annual report mailed in fall/winter.

Meet Your WCU Scholars

WCU invites scholarship donors and representatives every year (usually in the fall) to the Madison Society Recognition and Scholarship Luncheon to have an opportunity to meet their scholarship recipients and connect over lunch.