Spectrum Scholarship

Scholarship Sponsored by American Library Association

Overview
The Spectrum Scholarship Program seeks to increase racial and ethnic diversity within the library profession by recruiting and financially supporting students who identify as American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, Middle Eastern and North African, and/or Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander. Administered by the American Library Association (ALA), the program aims to develop future leaders who will help transform libraries and library services and to broaden ALA’s leadership pipeline.

Award specifics
- The Spectrum Scholarship is a one-time, non-renewable award of $5,000, disbursed in two payments (September and January).
- Recipients are invited to attend the Spectrum Leadership Institute during the summer after their first year of graduate study. The Institute—an important component of the Spectrum experience—provides professional development, mentorship, and networking. The Institute package is valued at more than $1,500 and includes travel, lodging, meals, and complimentary registration for the ALA Annual Conference in the year following selection.
- Depending on available funding, Spectrum typically funds as many scholarships as possible—generally about 60 awards each year.

Important dates
- Applications open September 1 and close March 1 annually.

Who may apply
Applicants should identify with one or more of the following groups: American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, Middle Eastern and North African, and/or Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander. Candidates must be planning to enroll in an ALA-accredited graduate program in library and information science or an AASL-recognized School Library Media program.

Residency requirement
You do not have to be a U.S. citizen to apply; however, applicants must be citizens or permanent residents of the United States or Canada.

Eligibility requirements (summary)
To qualify for a Spectrum Scholarship, applicants must:
- Self-identify as one or more of the racial/ethnic groups listed above.
- Be accepted to or enrolled in an ALA-accredited graduate LIS program or an AASL-recognized School Library Media program.
- Begin enrollment no later than September 1 (or the start of the fall semester) following acceptance of the award.
- Hold either full- or part-time student status.
- Maintain at least a two-class-per-semester course load while receiving scholarship funds.

Application process
Spectrum Scholarships are applied for through the ALA Scholarship Clearinghouse, which allows applicants to submit to multiple ALA scholarships with a single application. The application window runs from September 1 through March 1 each year. Required materials include:
- A completed online application (includes a personal statement).
- Three professional references submitted using the reference fields in the online application (references submitted outside the official form will not be accepted).
- Official academic transcripts from the institution that awarded your bachelor’s degree. If you are currently enrolled in an MLIS or an AASL-recognized School Library Media program, you must also provide an official transcript from your current institution. Only official (sealed) transcripts will be accepted.

Where to find answers
For more details and answers to common questions about the scholarship and application steps, consult the Spectrum Scholarship Frequently Asked Questions page on the ALA website.