Carson Scholars Program

The Carson Scholarship Program offers scholarships to 4-11 grade students in the U.S. Students must be nominated by their school as one of its "best and brightest" and demonstrate strong community service. Recipients must maintain a minimum GPA of 3.75 on a 4.0 scale across the combined academic subjects of English/Reading/Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Studies, and Foreign Languages, and must attend an accredited K-12 school in the United States. The Carson Scholars Fund, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1994 by pediatric neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson and his wife, Candy. Each award is $1,000, given on the basis of academic achievement and humanitarian qualities. For the 2026 cycle, nominations opened October 15, 2025; the nomination deadline was December 17, 2025 (11:59 p.m. ET), and the application deadline was January 11, 2026 (11:59 p.m. ET). First-time applicants must submit their application, report card, and educator recommendation letter(s); recognized scholar applications must include a report card. Notification letters are mailed in March.