Herb Alpert Scholarships for Emerging Young Artists

In partnership with the California State Summer School for the Arts (CSSSA), each year 21 students are selected to receive scholarships to pursue their academic and artistic dreams in higher education. Since 2008, the Foundation has provided over $4 million for the program.

The awards include three in each of seven categories: animation, film, creative writing, dance, music, theater and visual arts. Within each category, one student receives a $40,000 college scholarship and two students receive one-time awards of $2,500.

During the fourth week of the annual summer session, CSSSA department faculty choose the award winners. Students do not have to submit an additional application. The selection criteria include a balanced assessment of artistic talent, character and motivation; likeliness of success in college or a professional training program; and financial need.

The seven top $40,000 scholarship recipients receive professional financial aid consulting and coordination to assure that the students use the support to offset work and loan burdens they otherwise would have to carry, and that the scholarships do not supplant other financial aid provided by the colleges they choose to attend.