The American Express Scholarship Program was established in 1987 and is currently funded by the American Express Foundation to encourage and recognize academic excellence and help American Express employees fund their children’s undergraduate college education. Scholarship awards may be used for undergraduate study at accredited colleges or universities in the U.S. and Canada.
The program is administered by Scholarship America®, the nation’s largest designer and manager of scholarships and other education support programs for corporations, foundations, associations, and individuals. Eligibility for individual programs is determined at the sole discretion of American Express Foundation, and eligible applications are reviewed by Scholarship America’s evaluation team.
Applicants to the American Express Scholarship Program must be:
Scholarship recipients are selected based on:
The number of recipients is determined by the number of eligible applications received. Per IRS Revenue Procedure 76-47, no more than 25% of eligible applicants may receive an award.
Selection of recipients is made by Scholarship America. In no instance does any officer or employee of American Express Company or American Express Foundation play a part in the selection. Applicants, recipients and schools are screened to comply with U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) requirements. Not all applicants to the program will be selected as recipients or receive a one-time honorarium. All applicants agree to accept the decision of Scholarship America as final.
All applicants will be notified in early May.
American Express Foundation reserves the right to review the conditions and procedures of this scholarship program and to make changes at any time, including termination of the program.
Students selected as recipients will receive an award amount based on their level of financial need. Award amounts are determined as follows:
Financial need awards are renewable for up to three years or until a bachelor’s degree is earned, whichever occurs first, provided American Express continues the scholarship program. Renewal is based on maintaining satisfactory academic performance in a full-time undergraduate program.
Awards are for undergraduate study only and are granted without regard to race, color, creed, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or national origin.
Scholarship America processes scholarship payments on behalf of American Express Foundation. Payments are made in equal installments in late August and December 15. Checks are mailed to each recipient’s home address and are made payable to the school.
All commitments are made by the American Express Foundation and are not dependent on continued parental employment at American Express Company.
As part of your application, you must upload the following:
NOTE: If you are providing SAT or ACT test scores, and those scores are not listed on your high school transcript, you will need to upload a copy of your test score report(s) separately.
One online recommendation form must be submitted on your behalf no later than February 13, 2025 4:00 pm Central Time.
Your application is not complete unless all required materials are submitted electronically. You’ll be sent a confirmation email directly after the successful submission of your application.
