Center for Architecture Design Scholarship

Scholarship Sponsored by Center for Architecture

Center for Architecture / AIA Scholarship — Reworded Summary

Overview
Supported jointly by the Center for Architecture and the American Institute of Architects (AIA), this merit-based scholarship is intended for students pursuing their first professional degree in architecture or a related design discipline at an accredited program located in New York State. School deans or program chairs may nominate up to two students from their institution. Nominees should demonstrate strong academic performance and documented financial need; financial eligibility will be assessed according to the nominating school’s Financial Aid Officer.

Purpose
Provide merit scholarships to deserving students working toward their first professional degree in architecture, design, engineering, planning, or a closely related field in accredited programs within New York State.

Who May Apply
- Students enrolled in an accredited New York State program who are pursuing their first professional degree in architecture or a related design field.
- Each architectural school or accredited design program’s dean or chair may nominate up to two students based on academic achievement and demonstrated financial need.
- Final-year students are not eligible.
- Nomination by the dean or chair of the accredited program the applicant is currently attending is required.
- Students may not be nominated for both the Center for Architecture Design award and the Allwork award.

How Financial Need Is Determined
The Financial Aid Officer at the nominating school will determine a student’s financial need; applicants do not need to submit separate financial-need documentation for the scholarship.

Eligible Engineering Programs
- Architectural
- Civil
- Electrical
- Environmental
- Mechanical
- Structural

Eligible Design Programs
- Architectural
- Environmental
- Furniture
- Industrial
- Interior
- Landscape
- Sustainable
- Urban

Graduate (M.Arch) Notes
- Graduate students enrolled in an NAAB-accredited M.Arch program in New York State are eligible only if their undergraduate degree is not in architecture.
- Current M.Arch students who hold a 4-year degree in architectural studies or other non-accredited pre-architecture programs are also eligible.

Submission Requirements and Deadlines
- All application materials, including letters of recommendation, must be RECEIVED electronically by March 20, 2026 at 5:00 pm ET.
- All materials must be submitted digitally through the online application form.
- Maximum combined upload size per submission (portfolio plus both recommendation letters and any other attachments) is 30 MB.

Letters of Recommendation
- Applicants should include complete application materials, including recommendation letters, whenever possible.
- Recommenders may send letters separately and directly to scholarships@centerforarchitecture.org. Ask recommenders to use this subject line format: [LAST NAME – CFA Design Recommendation].
- The dean or chair must provide an individual letter of recommendation for each student they nominate; that letter will serve as the formal nomination.
- The Financial Aid Officer (not the dean/chair) is responsible for addressing the student’s financial need.

Other Important Details / Frequently Asked Questions (Key Points)
- Deadline extensions for extenuating circumstances are not available; applications received after the deadline will not be reviewed.
- Hand-delivery is not permitted; all submissions must be uploaded online by the stated deadline.
- The Center for Architecture’s financial support for students is provided through this scholarship program; additional direct financial aid outside the program is not available.
- High school students are not eligible; applicants must be current students nominated by their program’s dean or chair.
- Applicants will be notified of award decisions by early May.
- Past recipients’ full submissions are not available for review, though information about recent recipients can be found on the Center’s website or recipient announcements.

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