Named scholarships & funds
When it comes to earning a college degree, the greatest obstacle can be funding.
For this reason, The University of Akron is pleased for the opportunity each year to assist talented, deserving students achieve their dreams, thanks to more than 1,300 named scholarships established through the kindness and generosity of thousands of ¹ú²úÂ×Àí alumni and friends, corporations, and foundations.
Scholarships truly are the best way to ensure that today’s students persist to graduation. Scholarships allow students to enroll full time and remain focused on their studies; they also reduce drop-out rates, decrease the stress of student loans, and shorten the road to graduation.
If you are interested in making a significant contribution to student success, please consider a gift to scholarships. You may also establish a named scholarship at The University of Akron, which can be created to honor a living person, in memory of a loved one, or to contribute to the growth of an area of study.
To learn more, please contact the Department of Development at 330-972-7238.
How do I apply for a scholarship?
This is not the page to apply for scholarships.
Students who want to apply for scholarships should visit the scholarship page on the Financial Aid site. You can find the link for the online application here.
The Department of Development does not accept applications for or distribute scholarships. Scholarships are distributed through the University’s Office of Student Financial Aid.
Search for a Named Scholarship
Brownbread, Esq., Jedediah Award
When Akron was 10 years old, it was like the Wild West – a freewheeling canal town full of gamblers, counterfeiters, and idle young men who drifted from place to place, looking for work as store clerks. Connecticut-born Samuel Alanson Lane (1815-1905) arrived in Akron as one of those "counter-jumpers" and soon founded a small four-page newspaper, “The Akron Buzzard.” Ostensibly devoted to cleaning the "filth" off the streets of Akron, “The Buzzard” attacked vicious and criminal behavior in the voice of Lane's country-bumpkin alter ego, Jedediah Brownbread, Esq. Brownbread wrote with startling honesty, comical spelling errors, and an abundance of humor. For this, Lane can be regarded as Akron's first humor writer. Later in life, Lane would serve Akron as sheriff, editor of the “Akron Daily Beacon,” mayor, and historian.
To honor the humor of Akron, The Jedediah Brownbread, Esq., Award was established and will award $100 to a student at The University of Akron who authors the most humorous paper or a paper that best uses or studies humor. Submissions will be limited to works written for University of Akron courses within the calendar year previous to the call for submissions. A committee of English Department faculty will judge the essays. The winner will be recognized at the annual English Awards Reception.