Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship Program
Encyclopedia
The Robert C. Byrd
Honors Scholarship Program was a federally-funded and state-administered merit-based scholarship program in the United States.
's Office of Postsecondary Education awarded funds to state education agencies, which awarded scholarships (also known as Byrd Honors Scholarships) to eligible applicants. Students received scholarship funds which were to go towards college
expenses.
Funding for the scholarship was eliminated for the 2011-2012 school year. As a result, new awards are not being given for that year, and payments for returning students will not be distributed.
Robert Byrd
Robert Carlyle Byrd was a United States Senator from West Virginia. A member of the Democratic Party, Byrd served as a U.S. Representative from 1953 until 1959 and as a U.S. Senator from 1959 to 2010...
Honors Scholarship Program was a federally-funded and state-administered merit-based scholarship program in the United States.
Program History
It was designed to recognize exceptionally able high school seniors who showed promise of continued excellence in postsecondary education. The United States Department of EducationUnited States Department of Education
The United States Department of Education, also referred to as ED or the ED for Education Department, is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government...
's Office of Postsecondary Education awarded funds to state education agencies, which awarded scholarships (also known as Byrd Honors Scholarships) to eligible applicants. Students received scholarship funds which were to go towards college
College
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...
expenses.
Funding
The Byrd Honors Scholarships were established in 1985, providing $1,500 nonrenewable scholarships to eligible students. In 1993, the program was expanded to allow students who successfully completed their first year of college to reapply for stipends for the following three years. This brought the scholarship to its final value of $6,000 over four years. To pay for the over 27,000 scholars supported by the program, appropriations for the program were nearly $40,000,000 annually.Funding for the scholarship was eliminated for the 2011-2012 school year. As a result, new awards are not being given for that year, and payments for returning students will not be distributed.
Application Requirements
Each state set the criteria for awarding the Byrd Honors Scholarships in addition to federal requirements. In any case, all applicants were to be high school graduates who:- had been accepted for enrollment at institutions of higher education(IHEs) in the United States;
- had demonstrated outstanding academic achievement;
- and who showed promise of continued academic excellence.