Adolescent and Young Adult Scholarship Program

The Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Program Scholarship is designed to provide funding to support the educational goals of MD Anderson cancer patients and survivors.

Applications will be accepted for the 2023-2024 academic year from April 2, 2023 through April 30, 2023. The AYA Scholarship application can be accessed here.

Eligibility requirements

The applicant must:

• Be a high school senior, high school graduate or GED recipient.
• Be a current or past patient with a cancer diagnosis who received treatment at MD Anderson.
• Be between the ages of 16-39.
• Be enrolled in or accepted for enrollment in an accredited trade, undergraduate or graduate school.
• Submit proof of registration for classes (proof of acceptance will be accepted in leu of proof of registration for incoming freshman).
• Submit an official transcript that includes grades from the most recent semester. If it is not possible to get an official transcript electronically, a copy of the official transcript can be uploaded by the patient.
• Submit two letters of recommendation. Letters can be written by a variety of people (teachers, coaches, community leaders, etc.) but should not be from relatives or MD Anderson employees.
• Recommendation letters should tell us about the person and why he or she would be a good candidate for this scholarship. They must include the writer’s name, address and telephone number, and should be from this calendar year.
• Submit a 300-500 word essay describing how cancer has impacted your life and how this scholarship would contribute to your life goals.
• Plan to obtain 18 hours across 2 semesters (15 hours if one of the two semesters is a summer semester). Partial scholarships may be considered under extenuating circumstances.
• Maintain at least a 2.0 grade point average
• Complete and sign the scholarship application by stated scholarship deadline. Incomplete or late applications will not be accepted.
• Not have previously received an AYA Scholarship at MD Anderson (previously called the Pediatric College Scholarship).

Selection process and awards

Applicants are evaluated based on application, grade point average, quality of essays and quality of recommendations. Applications are reviewed and evaluated by the MD Anderson AYA Scholarship Committee. Scholarships are awarded on an objective basis. 

Awardees will be notified via email (at the email address provided on the application) by June 3, 2023.

If you have any questions, contact Wendy Griffith (AYA Program Manager) at WEGriffith@mdanderson.org .