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Pathway to Opportunity Scholarship
The application will close 3:00 PM Central Time, April 17 or after 100 applications are submitted.

Certain retired executives of Duke Energy have established a scholarship program to assist students who plan to continue their education in college or vocational school programs.

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 the sponsor and eligible applications are reviewed by Scholarship America’s evaluation team.

Applicants to the Pathway to Opportunity Scholarship must:

  • Be high school seniors or graduates, or current college undergraduates.
  • Plan to enroll in full-time undergraduate study at an accredited two-year or 4-year college or university, vocational technical school, or certificate program* for the upcoming academic year
    *Short-term certification programs must be through an accredited institution and the program must begin sometime during the 2025-26 academic year which, for the sake of this program, is considered to be the months of August 2025 through April 2026.

Children of employees of Duke Energy are ineligible to apply.

Awards

Scholarship America will select recipients from the applications and awards will be granted as follows:

  • Awards of $2,500 each to the top-ranked applicants pursuing a 2-year or 4-year degree
  • Awards of $1,000 each to the top-ranked applicants pursuing a certificate at an accredited institution

Awards can be used for any education-related expenses

Awards are not renewable, but students may reapply to the program each year they meet eligibility requirements.

Awards are for undergraduate study only.

Notification

All applicants will be notified in May.

Payment of Scholarships

Scholarship America processes scholarship payments on behalf of The Pathway to Opportunity Scholarship. Payment is made in August to the accredited institution on behalf of the recipient.

Selection of Recipients

Scholarship recipients are selected on the basis of:

  • Academic record
  • Demonstrated leadership and participation in school and community activities
  • Work experience
  • A statement of educational and career goals and objectives
  • Unusual personal or family circumstances
  • Financial need

Selection of recipients is made solely by Scholarship America. In no instance will any retired or current officer or employee of Duke Energy play a part in the selection.

Not all applicants to the program will be selected as recipients. All applicants agree to accept the decision as final.

As part of your application, you must upload the following:

  • A current, complete transcript of grades. Grade reports are not accepted. Transcripts must display:
    • Student name
    • School name
    • Grades
    • Credit hours for each course and term in which each course was taken.

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. If you are uploading a college transcript, those scores are not required.

Your application is not complete unless all required materials are submitted electronically.

The Pathway to Opportunity Scholarship has partnered with Scholarship America. Selecting the button below will redirect you to the Scholarship America Student Hub!

Please make sure to add studentsupport@scholarshipamerica.org as well as the program email address provided below in the footer as safe senders in your email contact list.