Wade Scholarship Program

Who are WSP Scholars?
Wade Scholarship Program is a magnet for talent. We seek to mitigate the underrepresentation of people of African descent in STEM. We seek scholars who wish to become diverse, multidisciplinary emerging leaders and guide them to collaborate, innovate, and communicate to address complex challenges facing society.

We are providing scholarships to Wade Scholars who are admitted to an engineering master’s degree program within the Top 30 US graduate schools of engineering based on the US News & World Report ranking and HBCUs with graduate engineering programs.

Who are we looking for?
We seek African Americans and other Black applicants of African descent, already located in the USA, with a bachelor’s degree in a STEM discipline from any accredited college or university in the U.S. or abroad and who want an engineering master’s degree.

Note: we are not able to help students to gain visas to enter the USA.

What does the scholarship cover?
Scholars receive funding for master’s-level coursework (3.3 semesters if on the semester system, or 5 quarters if on the quarter system). The scholarships pay the cost of tuition, on campus housing, a food allowance, instructional supplies, other academic expenses, as specified on the school’s website. The maximum award is $50,000 per student.

What is the WSP Criteria?
The following factors are considered holistically by the scholarship selection team at WSP.

Upon admission to your chosen university, and selection as a WSP recipient, you will be offered financial support.

A WSP scholar will have:

1. Independence of Thought:

Exhibits first-step mental sharpness
Seeks out knowledge and new experiences
Full of original ideas
Makes sense of ambiguity
Can hold a contrarian or dissenting point of view
Intellectual curiosity
2. Purposeful Leadership Qualities:

Driven to self-improvement
Capacity to bring others along
Self-awareness
Persistent and resilient
3. Civic Mindset: Humble and kind

Supportive and accountable
Embraces differences
Concerned for and helpful to others
4. Undergraduate Achievements:

Evidence of extracurricular activities
Compelling letters of recommendation
Compelling Statement of Purpose
Currently the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) is not required for most disciplines. If you have taken the GRE previously, you have the option to submit the results.

The Top US universities are competitive schools. We encourage students with the highest levels of undergraduate success to apply.

When is the scholarship application deadline?
Our deadlines for the Fall (Autumn) 2025 academic year are the same as the deadlines for applicants’ selected school and discipline but not later than January 17, 2025. Applicants are requested to check their selected school’s website for deadlines. Applicants are encouraged to apply to more than one graduate school, if possible.

As part of the application process for the Wade Scholarship Program, applicants will be asked to upload a copy of the application they submitted to at least one of the universities they applied to.

Scholarship awards will be announced on March 28, 2025.

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What is WIT and why are you sponsoring scholarships?
The Wade Institute of Technology (WIT) is a new STEM college in organization based in Palo Alto. WIT is being organized by Minority Television Project Inc. (MTP), a 35-year-old noncommercial educational entity. MTP owns and operates KMTP-TV 33, a public television station licensed by the Federal Communications Commission to serve the San Francisco Bay Area. Our graduate scholarship funding has been provided by MTP which seeks to make transformative changes in the technology ecosystem.

Who are the WIT principals?
WIT founders and directors are concerned about the lack of representation of students of African descent at top US graduate engineering schools. We seek to support students of African descent by eliminating financial stress as they pursue their dreams.

The WIT principal adviser is Thomas Ehrlich, former Dean of Stanford Law School; Provost of University of Pennsylvania; and President of Indiana University. He also was a member of the Board of Trustees of Bennett College. Currently he is an Adjunct Professor at Stanford Graduate School of Education.

Our founders, directors, and officers are:

Herb Anderson, Chair
Jawara Lumumba, Vice Chair
YoungSu Yoo, Secretary
Lorna Jones, Director
Gwendolyn May, Director
Barbara Wade, Director
Kyla Talley, Director
Daryl Harris Sr., Director
Booker T, Wade Jr., Executive Director
Dianne Millner, General Counsel