University of Washington 2025 Early Learning Equity Scholarship

We are excited to share the newly launched Early Learning Equity (ELE) Scholarship, made possible by an extremely generous gift from the Ballmer Group. The mission of this scholarship is to strengthen, increase, retain and diversify Washington state’s early learning education workforce by removing financial barriers to degree programs.

This 2-year scholarship supports newly enrolled Early Care & Education and Early Childhood & Family Studies - Teaching and Learning students, or those returning after 1 or more years away from UW. It covers a student’s unmet financial need, including the cost of attendance for Washington state residents. Applicants must demonstrate a commitment to entering or remaining in the early education field after graduating.

Open to all ECE and ECFS students, the ELE Scholarship is committed to increasing underrepresented students in the early learning field, especially those who identify as First Generation and/or BIPOC*, especially underrepresented minority* students.

Current and prospective UW students interested in the scholarship are welcome to schedule a virtual advising appointment with Savanna Carreño, Early Learning Scholarship Community Liaison.

*BIPOC: An acronym used to refer to Black, Indigenous and People of Color. It is based on the recognition of collective experiences of systemic racism. As with any other identity term, it is up to individuals to use this term as an identifier.

• Table of Content
• About University of Washington
• Early Learning Equity Scholarship
• Aim and Benefits of Early Learning Equity Scholarship
• Requirements for Early Learning Equity Scholarship Qualification
• Interview date, Process and Venue for Early Learning Equity Scholarship
• Application Deadline
• How to Apply

About University of Washington

University of Washington's Department of Law opens in downtown Seattle. The school is housed in two rooms of a building known as "Old North," located at Fourth and Union. John T. Condon is appointed dean and is the only full-time professor. The first class has at least 34 students including a student of African-American heritage, a Japanese student and three women.

Early Learning Equity Scholarship

Application Deadline	15 Jun 2025
Country to study	United States
School to study	University of Washington
Type	Undergraduate
Sponsor	University of Washington
Gender	Men and Women

Aim and Benefits of Early Learning Equity Scholarship

The scholarship amount is dependent on a student’s calculated unmet financial need. Unmet financial need is calculated by the Office of Student Financial Aid, using your WASFA or FAFSA, and other sources of financial assistance you have available to help pay for your education, which may include private scholarships, UW departmental scholarships, and government grants/scholarships. 

These are some factors that may impact your total scholarship amount:

• Additional or loss of government, UW, or some private scholarships or grants
• Significant changes to your financial aid package, which may increase or decrease your award amount
• Not meeting satisfactory academic progress, leading to a loss of financial aid
• Student changes from full-time to part-time or vice versa
• Student withdraws from the university
• Studying abroad or double majoring (applies to ECFS only)

Requirements for Early Learning Equity Scholarship Qualification

In order to be considered for the scholarship, you must meet the following requirements:

• Be a Washington state resident
• Be a newly enrolled student, or returning to UW after at least one year away, and admitted to one of our early learning bachelor’s degree programs:
  • Early Childhood & Family Studies (Teaching & Learning)
  • Early Care & Education
• Submitted or in the process of submitting one of the following financial aid applications for the academic year you hope to receive funds for:
  • Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
  • Washington Application for State Financial Aid (WASFA)
• Committed to joining or remaining in the early learning education workforce after graduating, and working in WA state
• Clearly demonstrates an understanding of and commitment to racial equity and educational justice for children, families and communities that are disproportionately impacted by systemic racism and poverty
• Will be or is within their final 2 years of program completion. Occasional exceptions may allow for up to 1 additional year of funding on a case-by-case basis.

DACA recipients and other undocumented Washington residents must submit a WASFA application to be eligible for state financial aid, including the ELE Scholarship.

Interview date, Process and Venue for Early Learning Equity Scholarship

Step 1: Application screening

Applications are screened to ensure they meet the eligibility criteria.

Step 2: Application review

Our selection team reviews applications and score them using a comprehensive rubric. The selection team consists of staff and faculty familiar with the ECE and ECFS programs.

Step 3: Award determination

Recipient amounts are determined by student's unmet financial need, which is calculated by the Office of Student Financial Aid.

Step 4: Decision letter

Applicants receive decision letters prior to the start of the quarter. If selected, you MUST reply to notify us whether you accept or reject the award.

Although we do our best to process applications and send decision letters to applicants as quickly as possible, sometimes unforeseen circumstances may delay the process (i.e. systems being overwhelmed, financial aid undetermined, etc.). We understand that scholarships and financial aid are critical factors in a student’s educational success and wellbeing. We aim to distribute letters to applicants prior to the start of the quarter and will communicate as immediately as possible of any issues we may come across that impact this timeline.

If you have questions about the scholarship, please reach out to [email protected]. 

The Office of Merit Scholarships, Fellowships, & Awards team has advisors that coach students on submitting strong applications and interview preparation for local, national and international scholarships, grants or fellowships you may be considering.

Application Deadline

June 15, 2025

How to Apply

Interested and qualified? Go to University of Washington on uweducation.communityforce.com to apply

1. Apply for and be accepted to the ECE or ECFS program
   1. Note: you do not need to have received a decision letter at the time you submit the ELE scholarship application. The award is contingent upon being accepted into the program.
2. Ensure your FAFSA or WASFA is submitted for the correct academic year
   1. We recommend submitting by UW’s priority deadline, January 15 for the next academic year to ensure your paperwork is processed in a timely manner.
3. Login into CommunityForce with your UW NetID and complete the application.

For more details visit University of Washington Scholarship Webpage