Fall 2025 Campaign
Participating colleges and universities will each offer two annual, renewable scholarships that cover a minimum of 50% tuition to selected international undergraduates dedicated to furthering the #YouAreWelcomeHere message. Applicants are required to either answer a short essay question or present a multimedia project about their ideas for applying their leadership skills on their future campuses.
Campaign Goals
Strengthen the message of #YouAreWelcomeHere.
Create a globally recognized scholarship program for international students with consistent standards at participating U.S. colleges and universities.
Provide increased access to U.S. higher education for talented international students.
Develop future world leaders who will advance intercultural understanding.
Create a lasting legacy of welcoming international students to U.S. institutions.
Student Applicant Criteria
First-year international applicant in any field of study/major to a participating college or university. International applicant is an individual who holds citizenship in a country outside the U.S. and who does not also possess U.S. citizenship or permanent residency.
Applicant demonstrates interest and initiative in promoting intercultural learning and exchange.
Applicant meets the admission criteria and adhere to the deadlines at each college or university. Details will vary from school to school.
Applicants must complete the YAWH scholarship application and a 500-1000 word essay or a two-to-five minute video* answering the following prompt,
“Tell us about your leadership skills in your school or community, and how you plan to continue applying your leadership skills at the U.S. institution you are applying to.”
*Some participating colleges and universities will only accept essays. Check with individual schools for details.
Timeline
January 1, 2025 - Colleges and universities should confirm their participation in the academic year 2025 - 2026 scholarship campaign with NAFSA by submitting the sign-up form.
Institution Deadlines (typically in Spring or Summer 2025) - Students should complete a #YouAreWelcomeHere scholarship application for each selected institution by the institutions’ deadline, including either an essay or multimedia submission explaining how they will apply their leadership skills in the campus community.
September 1, 2025 - Colleges and universities should notify NAFSA of their institution’s scholarship recipients by submitting this form. More information will be sent directly to participating institutions. Please contact us with any questions.
COLLEGE & UNIVERSITY REPRESENTATIVES
Review the terms of the scholarship program:
Commit to two (2) #YouAreWelcomeHere freshman scholarships for Fall 2025. Recognizing that projecting yield is an imperfect science, we will make our best effort to enroll two awardees but may come in slightly above or below this goal.
Fund the scholarships with institutional money.
The scholarships will be additive. They are not relabeled awards or drawn from preexisting scholarship funds.
The scholarships offer at least 50% of published annual (out-of-state) tuition costs (excluding fees).
The scholarships will be renewable for the length of the degree program (maximum of 2 years for an associate’s degree or maximum of 4 years for a bachelor’s degree) provided the student makes satisfactory academic progress; as determined by the institution.
Select students who meet the criteria as outlined in the #YouAreWelcomeHere scholarship program.
Share relevant data, including application received, student information, scholarship awards, etc. about scholarship applicants and awardees with NAFSA (in accordance with GDPR and other applicable laws).
Adhere to scholarship application and promotion timeline.
Promote the #YouAreWelcomeHere campaign and scholarship awardees using the campaign hashtag.
Accept, process, and select completed applications for the #YouAreWelcomeHere scholarship.
Create a #YouAreWelcomeHere scholarship page on the institution’s website and link back to YAWH website. See this page from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County as an example.
This pledge is valid for one academic year of the form. Participants can renew annually to confirm ongoing participation.
Join the many universities offering the #YouAreWelcomeHere scholarship! The sign-up form for the Fall 2025 scholarship is available here.
STUDENTS
Please visit our student page for more information about how to apply for the scholarship. You can find a list of participating institutions below. All questions should be directed to the college or university to which you are applying.
Participating Colleges and Universities
The following institutions have committed to offering two #YouAreWelcomeHere scholarships beginning Fall 2025. For details on a particular institution's scholarship, please contact the institution directly. This list may change without notice.
*Denotes the universities that made the original #YouAreWelcomeHere commitment.
Adelphi University (Garden City, New York)
Ball State University (Muncie, Indiana)
California State University San Marcos (San Marcos, California)
Cedar Crest College (Allentown, Pennsylvania)
Clarkson University (Potsdam, New York)
Concordia College* (Moorhead, Minnesota)
Furman University (Greenville, South Carolina)
George Mason University (Fairfax, Virginia)
The George Washington University (Washington, D.C.)
Hawaii Pacific University (Honolulu, Hawaii)
Illinois College (Jacksonville, Illinois)
Kirkwood Community College (Cedar Rapids, Iowa)
La Roche University (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
Lebanon Valley College (Annville, Pennsylvania)
Lock Haven University (Lock Haven, Pennsylvania)
Loras College (Dubuque, Iowa)
Miami University (Oxford, Ohio)
Michigan State University (East Lansing, Michigan)
Middlebury Institute of International Studies (Monterey, California) (NOTE: The Middlebury Institute is a graduate student-serving institution)
National Louis University (Chicago, Illinois)
Old Dominion University (Norfolk, Virginia)
Rochester Institute of Technology (Rochester, New York)
Rutgers University-Camden (Camden, New Jersey)
Salve Regina University (Newport, Rhode Island)
St. Catherine University (St. Paul, Minnesota)
St. Francis College (Brooklyn Heights, New York)
St. Thomas Aquinas College (Sparkill, New York)
State University of New York at New Paltz (New Paltz, New York)
Stony Brook University (Stony Brook, New York)
Temple University* (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
Towson University (Towson, Maryland)
University of Idaho (Moscow, Idaho)
University of Maryland, Baltimore County (Baltimore, Maryland)
University of Mount Union (Alliance, Ohio)
University of Saint Joseph (West Hartford, Connecticut)
University of Southern Indiana (Evansville, Indiana)
The University of Tulsa (Tulsa, Oklahoma)
University of Wisconsin - Stout (Menomonie, Wisconsin)
University of Wisconsin - Superior (Superior, Wisconsin)
Valparaiso University (Valparaiso, Indiana)
Wayne State University (Detroit, Michigan)
Western New England University* (Springfield, Massachusetts)
West Virginia University (Morgantown, West Virginia)
Widener University (Chester, Pennsylvania)
Wilkes University (Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania)
Wright State University (Dayton, Ohio)
SCHOLARSHIP QUESTIONS?
STUDENTS
Please contact the participating college or university of your choice. The full list can be found above. You can find some additional information on our student page.
COLLEGE & UNIVERSITY REPRESENTATIVES
Please contact us.