African American Initiative Scholarship

Funded by the San Francisco Foundation and in partnership with UC Berkeley and the Cal Alumni Association, the African American Initiative (AAI) Scholarship provides African American students with financial support to help make their Cal education more accessible.

As of Fall 2025, this scholarship is for UC Berkeley first-year admits (non-transfer students) who demonstrate leadership potential and a genuine willingness to contribute positively to the Black community at Cal.

The AAI Scholarship is administered by the Cal Alumni Association in support of UC Berkeley’s continued commitment to Black and African American student success at Cal. The campus-wide African American Initiative is led by the Division of Equity and Inclusion at UC Berkeley in a comprehensive effort to address the underrepresentation of African American students, faculty, and staff at the university.

To apply to the African American Initiative Scholarship, please create a new account. It is important you create an account using an email you will have access to AFTER you have graduated from high school or community college. After creating an account, you will then have the opportunity to complete a general application and, if qualified, apply to specific scholarships.

Reminder: Recipients of the African American Initiative scholarship are required to live on the African American Theme Program floor. applicants are strongly encouraged to apply to live on the Afro Floor when they apply for housing. Your spot on the floor will be reserved if you are a recipient. Find out more about the Afro Floor here: https://reslife.berkeley.edu/academics/theme-programs/african-american-theme-program/

Award
$4000 - $8000
Deadline
03/30/2025
Supplemental Questions
  1. UC Application ID:
    PLEASE NOTE: Incoming UC Berkeley students, if this number is incorrect, we will be unable to consider you for any award.
  2. UC Berkeley Student ID (SID)
  3. CAA recognizes that heritage, identity, and belonging are complex topics. This Scholarship is intended to build the Black and African American community at UC Berkeley. For this reason this scholarship is only available to students with African/Black ancestry. Your answer to this question will not be visible to evaluators. This question is only to determine scholarship eligibility. Please supply the following information about your identity to be considered. Please Select All of the Following which apply to you:
  4. I understand that this scholarship is intended to build the Black and African American community at UC Berkeley and certify that I am of African/Black ancestry. Your answer to this question will not be visible to evaluators. This question is only to determine scholarship eligibility.
  5. The application evaluators will not have access to your UC application, but the following question(s) were/are formatted to align closely with UC Personal insight questions. You can reuse your personal insight answers for this application if you feel they are relevant. Your answers must be submitted in a plain-text format with no style or formatting (e.g. italics, boldface, bullet points, underlining, accent marks, etc.). Please DO NOT include any links in your answer. Each answer must fall under the specified 350 word limit. Your essay will automatically cut off once you have reached the word limit. If you wish to add a paragraph break, please use a double return. Before you begin, take a moment to think about your answers. Be sure to check spelling and grammar before submitting your essays. There is no right or wrong way to answer these questions. It’s about getting to know your personality, background, interests and achievements in your own unique voice.
  6. Essay 1: What work have you done until now to positively uplift the Black community? Please provide at least two concrete examples.
  7. Essay 2: How are you hoping to engage with the Black community on campus? Please describe your vision and tie it to who you are and your story.
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