Daughters of the American Revolution is an organization of women who are direct descendants of soldiers and others who were involved with the independence efforts of the United States.
More recently, the group has welcomed a wide variety of members to promote inclusion and bolster their numbers. They work to study and preserve the history of the United States of America.
DAR offers scholarships to multiple high achieving students in many different categories. Ahead, we’ll take a look at these available scholarships, as well as the process you need to complete if you want them to consider you.
What Scholarships are Available?
There are several different Daughters of the American Revolution scholarship opportunities. These scholarships are open to the public and do not require DAR chapter sponsorship. You are, however, allowed to receive help from the DAR chapters that might give you a better chance of winning a scholarship from the organization.
Carefully review the application instructions we listed below, and check the DAR website for any updates to the process. There are a lot of Daughters of the American Revolution scholarship applications to sift through, and they will automatically deny anyone who fails to follow their instructions.
General Scholarship
The General Scholarship from the Daughters of the American Revolution is the Richard and Elizabeth Dean Scholarship. They award two of these scholarships each year, for the amount of $5,000 a year. The scholarship lasts for four years, which is usually enough time for these recipients to graduate college.
You will need to have a 4.0 GPA to qualify for this scholarship – or an applicable GPA based on your school’s requirements. Recipients also have to renew the scholarship every year. While this doesn’t require an additional application, you must send your renewal application with your current transcript for approval. To get approved, you must maintain a GPA of at least 3.25 in college.
Political Science, History, Government and Economics Scholarships
There are a few different DAR scholarships that fall into this category. The DAR designed these scholarships to award the best and brightest who plan on studying history and government during their time at college. The amount these scholarship offers vary, but each requires you to maintain a GPA of at least 3.25 to apply or renew.
The following scholarships are available for those seeking continuing education for history, political science, government, and economics. Some require special consideration – such as credit hours – so visit the DAR website if you want to learn more about applying.
Dr. Aura-Lee A. and James Hobbs Pittenger American History Scholarship – $2,000 a year for up to four years (multiple awarded per year).
Enid Hall Griswold Memorial Scholarship – One-time award of $2,000 (two awarded per year)
DAR Centennial Scholarship – One-time award of $2,500 (two awarded per year)
The Lucinda Beneventi Findley History Scholarship – One-time award of $2,000 (two awarded per year)
Some require special consideration – such as credit hours – so visit the DAR website if you want to learn more about applying.
Nursing Scholarships
There are even more medical and nursing scholarships available through DAR than there are history scholarships. Some of these scholarships give preference based on location or financial need, so make sure to check the specifications on the DAR website before applying.
The following are the current medical and nursing scholarships DAR offers:
Caroline E. Holt Nursing Scholarship – One-time award of $2,500 (three awarded per year, financial need)
Mildred Nutting Nursing Scholarship – One-time award of $2,000 (two awarded per year, financial need, preference to those in Lowell, MA)
Occupational/Physical Therapy Scholarship – (two awarded per year, financial need)
Madeline Pickett (Halbert) Cogswell Nursing Scholarship – One-time award of $2,500 (two awarded per year, must be members or descendants of members)
District of Columbia Nursing Scholarship – Annual award of $2,500 (two awarded per year, financial need)
Medical Scholarships
All medical scholarships require applicants to attend or receive an acceptance letter from an accredited medical school. The following scholarships are available for applicants who plan on going into the medical field – excluding the nursing scholarships listed above.
Alice W. Rooke Scholarship – $5,000 scholarship (one student, must reapply every year)
Irene and Daisy MacGregor Memorial Scholarship – Renewable yearly scholarship (no specific amount listed)
Dr. Francis Anthony Beneventi Medical Scholarship – $5,000 award (one student, must reapply every year)
Leslie Andree Hanna Medical Scholarship- One-Time award of $5,000 (one female student.
Specific Scholarships
These scholarships all fall into specific categories, and have a list of requirements you must meet to apply. You can apply for multiple scholarships in this category but must send an application for each to be considered.
The following is a list of the specific scholarships available through DAR.
The Leo W. and Alberta V. Thomas Utz Scholarship – Annual award of $4,000 for four years (three students; Math, Science, and English)
Margaret Howard Hamilton Scholarship – Annual award of $1,000 for four years (one student, accepted into the Harvey and Bernice Jones Learning Center)
Lillian and Arthur Dunn Scholarship – Annual award of $2,500 for four years (two students, children of NSDAR members)
Nellie Love Butcher Music Scholarship – One-time award of up to $5,000 (one student, education in piano or voice).
Arthur Lockwood Beneventi Law Scholarship – One-time award of $2,000 (one student, graduate school majoring in business administration)
Mary Elizabeth Lockwood Beneventi MBA Scholarship – One-time award of $2,000 (one student, MBA scholarship)
William Robert Findley Graduate Chemistry Scholarship – One-time award of $2,000 (one student, graduate school majoring in chemistry)
Michael T. and Mary L. Cloyd Scholarship – One-time award of $3,000 (two students, studying Archives Management)
Edward G. and Helen A. Borgens Elementary and Secondary Teacher Education Scholarships – One-time award of $1,500 (two students, 25 and older, teachers)
The Robert Hunter Swadley Horticulture Scholarship – partial tuition (variable amount, multiple students, major in horticulture)
American Indian Scholarships
There are three different American Indian scholarships available from DAR as well. The following is a list of scholarships available to those with American Indian descent.
DAR American Indian Scholarship – One-time award of $4,000 (multiple students, undergraduate preference)
Frances Crawford Marvin American Indian Scholarship – Annual award of a variable rate (one student, financial need)
Anne Trevarthen Memorial Scholarship – One-time award of a variable rate (one student, contribution needed)
Applying for a DAR Scholarship
You can begin your Daughters of the American Revolution scholarship application by visiting the Daughters of the American Revolution website and navigating to their scholarship section. There, they give you instructions on how to apply for their list of scholarships, as well as the checklist you should complete, so you have the best chance of getting accepted.
The Process
First, you should decide which scholarship you want to apply for. DAR has a long list of scholarships available, but there will be a lot of competition. Pick one that you think gives you the best chance of getting accepted.
Fill out the application packet for your corresponding scholarship and email the packet to the national vice chair for your category. We included the DAR checklist below for reference, which lists everything you need to include in your application.
You need to send all of your applicable information to the corresponding vice chair before February 15 of the year you’re applying (check their website for updates to this date). Include everything in the below checklist in a single email for convenience. Your entire application should be shorter than 15 pages.
You should not include any photographs or handwritten content. You should type everything, and adding any photographs will result in disqualification. DAR awards the Daughters of the American Revolution scholarship without consideration of race, gender, religion, or disability.
If DAR chooses you as a finalist for the application, they will inform you by a letter from NSDAR headquarters. You can apply for multiple scholarships if you decide to, but need to file each application separately.
Checklist
We took the following checklist straight from the Daughters of the American Revolution scholarship website. Still, you should check their current checklist for any updates they might have made. Make sure to include all of the following in your Daughters of the American Revolution scholarship application.
Scholarship application
A statement of your career objectives in 1,000 words or less
Most recent high school transcript, including class size, rank, and test scores
If you are applying while in college, you should include your college transcript and your major.
To qualify for the scholarship, you must have a GPA of 4.0 or an equivalent score based on your school’s grading scale.
Two to four letters of recommendation that cover your ability, integrity, work habits, character, potential, and volunteer activities.
A list of achievements, honors, and extracurricular activities on its own sheet of paper.
Photocopy of a document proving your citizenship, including birth certificate, naturalization papers, US passport. Make sure to cover the photo if you send a passport or your naturalization papers.
Financial Need Form if applicable for certain scholarships.
