Marquette announced the expansion of its Urban Scholars Program to offer 40 full tuition, four-year scholarships annually to high achieving, low income scholars from high schools in the Milwaukee area.
Rooted in the university’s tradition of increasing access to higher education, Urban Scholars was founded in 2006 to offer scholarships to graduating seniors with a history of leadership and service. The scholarship program renews the emphasis on being inclusive and modeling a more diverse community.
“This year we celebrated the 50th anniversary of our Education Opportunity Program, which was a groundbreaking commitment to diverse students from Milwaukee,” President Michael R. Lovell said. “The expansion of our Urban Scholars Program reaffirms Marquette’s commitment to serving low-income scholars from our city. t is an exciting opportunity to improve access to the transformative educational experience that Marquette University has offered for nearly 140 years. Through the Urban Scholars program, students will be provided support and resources within a program that has demonstrated a record of student success, as well as institutional knowledge often missing for first-generation students.”
Since its inception, Urban Scholars has a graduation rate of over 90% with a near-99% retention rate following the first semester.
“We are very proud of the work our Urban Scholars staff has done to identify and support outstanding students over the years and we are looking forward to the expansion of our program,” John Baworowsky, vice president of enrollment management, said. “I appreciate President Lovell and the university giving us this opportunity to bring in more young people from our community that are often underrepresented and may not have the opportunity to get a Marquette education otherwise for reasons outside their control.”
High school seniors interested in the Urban Scholars Program should apply for admission to Marquette now and complete the Urban Scholars Program application in mid-October when it becomes available. Urban Scholars has an application deadline of Jan. 15, 2021, for fall 2021 applicants. These scholarships will go to students from financially disadvantaged backgrounds who show great academic promise. The award is based on academic merit and demonstrated financial need.
The award is renewable each year for up to five years, or ten semesters, of the recipient’s undergraduate program — provided the student remains in good academic standing and annually files for FAFSA. A select number of room and board scholarships are also available through an ongoing fundraising campaign. For students who do not receive these awards, Federal Pell Grant funds and other grants that are not tuition-specific are able to be applied to room and board.
Learn more at marquette.edu/urban-scholars.