Gates Millennium Scholars Program

The Gates Millennium Scholars (GMS) Program is an academic scholarship award and program for higher education, available to high-achieving ethnic minority students in the United States. It was established in 1999 and funded by Microsoft founder Bill Gates through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Gates Millennium Scholars are provided with a full financial scholarship to attend any U.S. college or university, and are provided with leadership development opportunities, mentoring, as well as academic, financial and social support.

The scholarship was started in 1999 as a result of a $1 billion grant from Microsoft founder Bill Gates. The program is currently administered by the United Negro College Fund and partner organizations including the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, the Asian & Pacific Islander American Scholarship Fund, and the American Indian Graduate Center. Since its inception, the scholarship has paid for more than 20,000 students to attend colleges and universities, and has awarded more than $614 million for education costs including tuition, fees, books and housing. There exist a total of 20,000 scholars as of the last cohort in the class of 2016. This was the original goal of the Foundation when starting this scholarship in 2000, ending in 2016.

To qualify for the scholarship award, applicants must have a 3.3 grade point average (GPA) on a 4.0 scale, possess outstanding leadership abilities, demonstrate significant financial need, plan to enroll for the first time at an accredited U.S. college or university. Additionally, applicants must be a citizen, national or legal permanent resident of the United States, and be of African American,American Indian/Alaska Native,Asian-Pacific Islander or Hispanic American heritage. They must also have demonstrated leadership through community service or other extracurricular activities.

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