Established in 2009, the American University (AU) Frederick Douglass Distinguished Scholars Program promotes educational access and opportunity while enhancing educational diversity. Bringing together the best of AU—academic excellence, leadership development and international engagement—Frederick Douglass Scholars inspire, encourage and expect high achievement. Together, they are AU's premier academic community for enterprising students dedicated to careers in social justice and improving under-resourced, underserved communities around the world.

Currently, ten students are attending the university as Frederick Douglass Distinguished Scholars. The scholarship provides full tuition, room and board and is renewable for a total of four years of undergraduate study, provided scholars satisfy academic performance requirements.

Students applying as freshmen who would like to be considered for the scholarship must complete the Frederick Douglass Distinguished Scholars Program application by January 15.

Preference will be given to first-generation students as well as those from diverse ethnic, cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. Academically, the most competitive applicants should have:

• a 3.9 GPA (unweighted) or 4.1 GPA (weighted) and
• athletes, first-generation students and students from diverse ethnic, cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds are strongly encouraged to apply.

For more information, please contact the director of the Frederick Douglass Distinguished Scholars Program at 202-885-6213 or fds@american.edu.

To Apply

To apply to the Frederick Douglass Distinguished Scholars Program, simply complete the online application by clicking on the image below.