Fund For Leaders Scholarship Expands Eligibility
Part-time students now eligible; application closes Feb 25, 2023
Interested in finding additional financial assistance to help you through seminary? LSTC is happy to announce an opportunity designed to assist you in carving your path in the world of leadership: The ELCA Fund for Leaders Scholarship, now accepting applications.
The ELCA Fund for Leaders Scholarship Program is designed to provide full tuition financial support for students of tremendous promise attending ELCA seminaries. The scholarship, which was a component of presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton’s 2016 Leadership Initiative, has so far awarded 60 full-tuition seminary scholarships in addition to scholarships supported by the Fund’s general endowment.
“You can be both,” says ELCA Fund for Leaders Scholarship recipient and first year LSTC student Lyndsay Monsen. “You can be involved in both social justice leadership and have a pastoral calling.”
This year, in a new pilot program, both full and part-time students are eligible for Fund for Leaders support. The Fund supports the ELCA Fund for Leaders Full-Tuition Scholarship for new students, the ELCA Fund for Leaders Federal Chaplaincy Ministries Scholarship for current students preparing for ministry as a VA or Federal Prison chaplain, the ELCA Fund for Leaders Mission Developer scholarship for current students including Theological Education for Emerging Ministries (TEEM) candidates, and the ELCA Fund for Leaders Synod, Congregation or TEEM Scholarship, which is an invitation-based scholarship through synods and congregations.
Additional details regarding the Fund for Leaders Full-Tuition Scholarship Program are below:
- Eligible candidates must be planning to enroll in fall 2023. They must have received a positive entrance decision or at least begun the process of seeking candidacy for rostered ministry in the ELCA.
- Candidates may begin the Fund for Leaders application process before they have been accepted to seminary. Candidates are encouraged to apply to seminary and a Fund for Leaders scholarship simultaneously.
- Recipients of Fund for Leaders scholarships may apply their full-tuition scholarship to any ELCA seminary that has offered them admission.
- Scholarships are awarded to students for the duration of their required seminary coursework, provided they remain in good standing with their seminary and in their candidacy process.
- Current ELCA seminary students who have completed no more than one semester of coursework are also welcome to apply.
Part-time student eligibility is as follows:
- The student must be planning to take no less than ½ coursework load.
- The student should expect to complete their degree in 5 years from the start of their scholarship (including internship).
- The student should still be planning to START their studies in the fall (only students with one full semester completed can apply. Students who studied part time for a year would now be eligible).
You can find additional FAQs here. The Fund is happy to answer any questions about the application process directly. They can be reached at fundforleaders@elca.org or 800-638-3522.
For more information and instructions