| Scholastic Scholarships |
Scholar Chess Player Award-contact USCF (uschess.org)
Texas: U
.T. Dallas is known as one of the leading “chess universities” in all of America. The Denker is honored to have a long-standing relationship with the university and greatly appreciate their continued support of the Denker tournament.
This year was another milestone for their chess program, as they now truly have Chess Scholarships that are wholly separate from the Academic Excellence Scholarships. The Chess II Scholarship is similar to the former Distinction Scholarship and will go to the winner of the Denker.
The former Distinction provided:
Academic Distinction Scholarship
The Academic Distinction Scholarship covers cost of tuition and mandatory fees through eight semesters (four years) of enrollment. In addition, the Academic Distinction Scholarship provides a $1,000 per year contribution toward rental expenses for students who choose to live on campus. Recipients of this award who maintain appropriate course loads and remain in good standing in the scholarship program can complete their Bachelor’s degree at UTD without any cost for tuition and mandatory fees.
There is now an additional $1,000 per year in the:
Chess II Scholarship
This scholarship covers complete cost of tuition and mandatory fees through eight semesters (four years) of enrollment. In addition, the Chess II Scholarship provides a $1500 per semester contribution toward rental expenses incurred at University on-campus housing. The Chess Program Scholarship guidelines apply with regard to GPA requirements and probation.
Students may apply online and must meet admission requirements.
• University of Texas at Dallas offers Academic excellence and tournament-based scholarships. Approximate value is $18,000+. See www.utdallas.edu/orgs/chess/scholarships.html for more information. This link to a video is about UTD (University of Texas at Dallas) which is the sponsor of the scholarship that will be given at the Denker Tournament of High School Champions each year. This will give you a look into what the UTD chess is all about.
• University of Texas at Brownsville President’s Chess Scholarship offers two four-year scholarships to top students in South Texas. These scholarships will include tuition, books, and fees with a value of over $10,000 each.
•Connecticut: The University of Connecticut School of Engineering presents 3 recurring 4 year scholarships of $2000, $1000 and $500, ( $14,000 total ), to the top 3 high school finishers in the Connecticut State Chess Association K – 12 championship held yearly. Recipients must be able satisfy entrance requirements for the School of Engineering and maintain a 3.4 GPA while matriculating. For more information please go to http://www.uconnchess.uconn.edu/CTscholstchmp.html and http://www.engr.uconn.edu/chess.php
•Illinois: Shimer College awards a maximum of $2,000 per person per year. Contact Dr. David Shiner, chess coach, at david@shimer.edu or 312-235-3538.
•Maryland: The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) offers four types of four-year chess scholarships: 1. Chess-Player Scholar—for outstanding students rated over 2000 (various amounts depending on qualifications, up to $15,000/year plus out-of-state tuition differential) 2. Special Merit for Chess (various amounts, typically out-of-state tuition differential) 3. Tournament-Based Awards—to winners of U.S. Cadet and Maryland Sweet 16 (fixed dollar tuition) 4. UMBC Coca-Cola Chess Fellows—a limited number of fixed dollar tuition awards with $15,000/year food and housing stipends, in return for 100 hours of community service through chess per year. Candidates must be good students with extraordinary chess ratings (over 2500). Undergraduate and graduate students are eligible. To apply, simply submit an undergraduate application to UMBC and indicate your interest in chess. Both domestic and foreign students are eligible (except for tournament-based awards). More details can be obtained from their website: www.umbc.edu/chess.
• Missouri • Susan Polgar Foundation: We award scholarships at the Susan Polgar National Open (girls and boys). Each will be worth $1,000 per year (in-state tuition). For out-of-state, it would be equivalent to $9,000 per year or $36,000 total for four years. We offer a full scholarship for the winner of the Polgar Invitational. There are also other scholarship opportunities (partial and full) which are not related to any specific event. Contact Susan Polgar directly at SusanPolgar@aol.com.
•North Carolina • The North Carolina Chess Association and the Carolina Chess Foundation award a $1,500 scholarship to the winner of the K-12 Section at the N.C. State Scholastic Championships. For information, contact: Gary Newsom, President, N.C. Chess Association, gary.newsom@queencitychess.com • The Carolina Chess Foundation awards a $500 scholarship to the top Henderson County player in the Championship Section of the Henderson County Scholastic Championships. For information, contact: Charles Palmer, cpalmer@mchsi.com
•Tennessee: Tennessee Technological University offers a four-year scholarship, $3,000 per year ($12,000 total). For more information, contact Dr. Paul Semmes, psemmes@tntech.edu or (931) 372-3139 Tennessee Tech University will offer the following scholarships for each school year: To the winner of the high school section of the Tennessee State Scholastic Individual Finals Chess Tournament: A four-year University Academic Service Scholarship providing $4,000 per year for a total value of $16,000. To the second place winner of the high school section of the Tennessee State Scholastic Individual Finals Chess Tournament: A four-year University Academic Service Scholarship providing $2,500 per year for a total value of $10,000. To the winning team of the high school section of the Tennessee State Scholastic Team Finals Chess Tournament: Four members of the winning team will each be offered a four-year University Academic Service Scholarship providing $4,000 per year for a total value of $16,000. To the second place team of the high school section of the Tennessee State Scholastic Team Finals Chess Tournament: Four members of the winning team will each be offered a four-year University Academic Service Scholarship providing $2,500 per year for a total value of $10,000. For more information on these scholarships, see www.tntech.edu/scholarships/chess.
This is not a comprehensive list. For up-to-date chess scholarship information, please see uschess.org/scholastic/scholarship.php .
