Joseph Sumner Smith Scholarship
Unitarian Universalist Association
Award: $250–$1,000
Deadline: Jul 31, 2026
To provide financial assistance to promising ministerial students in their 2nd or 3rd year of seminary who have already proven their capabilities. Qualifications: Applicants must be students enrolled full-time or at least half-time in a Masters of Divinity degree program leading to fellowship as Unitarian Universalist (UU) ministers; must be citizens of the United States or Canada. Selection criteria: Priority is given those grantees that have demonstrated outstanding ministerial ability secondarily to students with the greatest financial need, especially those who hold historically marginalized identities. How to apply: Applicants must submit1,500 word essay; write a one-paragraph bio of self which may be shared with the scholarship donors; describe call to the Unitarian Universalist ministry; submit resume (no more than three pages); the financial aid application, annual expenses, and net worth forms; have financial aid officer fill out the specified form of the application; have a Unitarian Universalist minister in full fellowship (not a faculty member from theological school) fill out a recommendation form; have faculty advisor or another faculty member a recommendation form. Focus: Religion.