David and Catherine Thompson Space Technology Scholarship

To help support our future aerospace professionals, the AIAA Foundation provides scholarships and graduate awards annually to undergraduate and graduate students in science or engineering programs.

In the past 20 years, the AIAA Foundation has provided over 1,300 scholarships and graduate awards to students at more than 150 colleges and universities worldwide.

The AIAA Foundation Undergraduate Scholarships Program offers scholarships to college sophomores, juniors, and seniors each year, and recipients can apply to renew their scholarship annually until they reach graduation.

Through its annual Graduate Awards Program, the AIAA Foundation presents awards to graduate students doing excellent research in the air and space sciences.

Undergraduate Scholarship and Graduate Award applications must be submitted online. Applicants must be AIAA Student Members. To become a Student Member, register online.

Applicants may apply for up to three (3) scholarships or graduate awards. On the application form, you will indicate your primary award preference, along with two (2) secondary awards for which you would like to be considered. Please note that applicants with no demonstrated academic interest in the subject area of the award will not be considered, so please carefully select the awards that most closely correspond to your area of 
academic interest.

Undergraduate Scholarships

The recipient of the scholarship will be selected on the basis of the following criteria:

• College/University Transcripts (if you’ve attended more than one College/University, transcripts for all graduate level work from ALL schools must be provided), including all graduate work completed through the most recent Fall term. Transcripts should be uploaded as one .pdf document via your online application. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable, however, if you are offered a scholarship or graduate award you will be asked to send copies of your official transcripts to AIAA for grade and GPA verification.

We do not accept high school transcripts.

• Assessment of a 500-1,000 word essay specifying the applicant’s career objectives and an outline of the academic program required to achieve the career objectives.
• Assessment of award or scholarship-specific writing prompt if applying for a TC or Section-sponsored award.
• Two (2) professional letters of recommendation. These letters should be from any combination of academic or career references (advisors, supervisors, bosses, cohort leaders, etc.) and must be submitted via the online application system. Letters of recommendations may not be submitted by relatives.
• Resume or CV highlighting any professional experiences, extracurricular activities, awards/certifications, etc.

An official transcript is the University's certified statement of your academic record. The official paper transcript is printed on security-sensitive paper and contains the University seal and signature of the University Registrar.