Dr. Bart Kamen Memorial FIRST Scholarship Fund

The Dr. Bart Kamen Memorial FIRST Scholarship Fund provides funding to undergraduate students pursuing biomedical engineering or pre-medical degrees. The Fund supports the vision of FIRST to transform our culture by creating a world where science and technology are celebrated and where young people dream of becoming science and technology leaders. By selecting students who have excelled in a FIRST program, the Fund seeks to honor the legacy of Dr. Bart Kamen by providing renewable monetary grants to undergraduate students who have, through their participation in FIRST programs, demonstrated the potential to develop Dr. Kamen’s brilliance at, and extraordinary passion for, improving the lives of patients.

Application opens annually; see FIRST newsletters and social for announcements. More details and past winners list available below.

The Dr. Bart Kamen Memorial FIRST Scholarship Fund Grant Selection Committee will make up-to four initial, renewable grants of $10,000 to selected students. Initial grants are renewable for up to three additional years provided the student continues to meet the eligibility criteria for the grant (listed below). Selection is based on academic performance, character, passion for biomedical engineering and/or medicine, and participation in FIRST programs. Financial need may also be considered, but is not a requirement.

The Committee’s decisions to select recipients for grants and all other decisions related to The Dr. Bart Kamen Memorial FIRST Scholarship Fund are final and not subject to any judicial or other review. By submitting an application, an applicant agrees that the Committee’s decisions are final and not subject to any judicial or other review.

Initial Grant Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible for consideration for an initial grant of $10,000 an Applicant must:

• Be a secondary school senior or graduate who has not yet commenced full-time undergraduate studies at a college or university.
• Have been accepted to, or applied for admission to, an Eligible Undergraduate Program, which means a full-time program in Biomedical Engineering or Premedical Studies or a program that allows students to pursue a chosen major while simultaneously completing a subset of medical school prep courses (e.g. biology, physics, chemistry and organic chemistry, so that the student will be qualified for admission to medical school upon graduation), at a college or university that (i) in the United States, is eligible to participate in the federal student financial assistance programs administered by the United States Department of Education under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 as amended, or (ii) outside the United States, is similarly accredited.
• Have participated as a team member for a minimum of one year on a FIRST LEGO League, FIRST Tech Challenge or FIRST Robotics Competition team.
• Complete the online application and submit accompanying documents on or before the specified deadline at: https://bartkamenmemorialfirstscholarship.submittable.com/submit
• If requested, participate in a telephonic, in-person, or online interview with the Grant Selection Committee.
• If selected as a recipient, furnish to FIRST a completed IRS form W-9.

The Dr. Bart Kamen Memorial FIRST Scholarship Fund Grant Selection Committee's decisions to select recipients for grants and all other decisions related to The Dr. Bart Kamen Memorial FIRST Scholarship Fund are final and not subject to any judicial or other review. By submitting an application, an applicant agrees that the Committee's decisions are final and not subject to any judicial or other review.  FIRST employees and officers, members of the FIRST Board of Directors, members of the Grant Selection Committee, and their spouses, parents, children, grandchildren, and siblings, and spouses of their parents, children, grandchildren, and siblings are ineligible. Recipients of The Dr. Bart Kamen Memorial FIRST Scholarship grants will be notified by April 1 of each year and will be made public in April of each year. Payment of the grant will be contingent upon admission to, and enrollment in, an Eligible Undergraduate Program by May 1.