Scholarships - American Foreign Service Association (AFSA)

The American Foreign Service Association (AFSA), established in 1924, is the professional association and labor union of the United States Foreign Service. AFSA's principal missions are to enhance the effectiveness of the Foreign Service, to protect the professional interests of its members, to ensure the maintenance of high professional standards for both career diplomats and political appointees, and to promote understanding of the critical role of the Foreign Service in promoting America's national security and economic prosperity.

To be eligible for the AFSA Scholarship Fund Program:

Only the children of Foreign Service employees, whose parent(s) is a member of the American Foreign Service Association (AFSA), are eligible to apply for an AFSA award/scholarship. A student must be claimed as a dependent on the most recent IRS tax form by his/her parent(s) or guardian(s). An AFSA member is or has been an employee (active duty, retired, deceased, and/or separated) with a foreign affairs agency as defined by the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (Department of State, USAID, USIA, USAGM, FCS, FAS or APHIS). Children of AFSA Scholarship Committee members are ineligible for AFSA awards or scholarships. For those high school students whose parents are not in the U.S. Government Foreign Service, please view information on AFSA’s High School Essay Contest.

Financial Aid Scholarships

To be eligible to apply for an AFSA undergraduate Financial Aid Scholarship, a student must:

• Be a current high school senior or college freshman, sophomore or junior.
• Be a dependent child of a Foreign Service employee who is an American Foreign Service Association (AFSA) member. The AFSA member must be or have been an employee (active duty, retired, deceased, and/or separated) with a foreign affairs agency as defined by the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (Department of State, USAID, USIA, USAGM, FCS, FAS or APHIS).
• Have a minimum GPA of 2.75.
• Demonstrate financial need.

To apply, you will need to visit the International Scholarship & Tuition Services account login page by clicking here. If you do not already have an account with ISTS, you can create one there.

Please visit AFSA's Financial Aid Scholarships FAQ page for the answers to frequently asked questions about financial aid scholarships.

Merit-Based Scholarships

To be eligible to apply for a competitive AFSA Merit Award (Academic and/or Art or Community Service Award), a student must:

• Be a current high school senior.
• Maintain a satisfactory academic record (a minimum cumulative 3.25 GPA out of a 4.0 scale is needed to apply for Academic Merit Award and a cumulative 2.75 GPA on a 4.0 scale is needed to apply for the Art Merit Award). Not all that apply will win an award.

To apply, you will need to visit the Community Force account login page by clicking here. If you do not already have an account with Community Force, you can create one there.

The AFSA scholarship program is open to the children of Foreign Service employees whose parents must also be members of the American Foreign Service Association. The employee may be active-duty, retired, separated or deceased. 

The Scholarship Fund grows primarily through individual and organization support and how its portfolio investments are performing. All donations to the AFSA Scholarship Fund are tax-deductible and are acknowledged upon receipt. On average, AFSA awards aid to approximately 100 Foreign Service children totaling close to $350,000 a year.

Individual and Organizational Support

AFSA works closely with affiliated Foreign Service organizations. We have the flexibility that allows the AFSA Scholarship Fund to form a unique relationship with each body listed below.

• DACOR - AFSA administers DACOR’s Financial Aid Scholarships. They provide $40,000 in financial aid scholarships to undergraduate who are pursuing a foreign affairs degree.
• CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield Federal Employee Program