Nate Thomas Public Service Scholarship

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Academic Information





Access to advanced higher education often provides an individual with the tools, knowledge, resources, and strategies to improve their lives and impact their community. This is particularly important in the underserved communities, where access to higher education is too often inaccessible due to a lack of access to finances and other resources.

In response to this need, Illinois Tech’s Office of Graduate Admissions is proud to offer The Nate Thomas Public Service Scholarship to help be that bridge for students to access advanced education in STEM disciplines.

Scholarship Details

The scholarship is geared toward college graduates who have earned a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited university and who plan to continue their education by pursuing a STEM-related field of study at Illinois Tech. Scholarship recipients will receive up to $7,500 per semester to use toward tuition during their first year. In addition, recipients will receive student support such as tutoring, mentoring, career services, persistence support, and possible additional scholarships and resources from Illinois Tech alumni STEM practitioners.

Qualified scholarship applicants will:

  • Meet the minimum undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or graduate GPA of 3.4 on a 4.0 U.S. scale
  • Be a U.S. citizen, permanent resident, or DACA eligible
  • Be accepted to a degree-seeking master’s program at Illinois Tech
  • Complete and submit a 500-word essay describing your commitment to working with socioeconomically underrepresented or disadvantaged populations and how you plan to continue this work in the future.
Nate Thomas

In Honor of Nathaniel “Nate” Thomas who established the trailblazing Early Identification Program for minority recruitment at Illinois Tech. During his 22 years at the university, Thomas served in multiple leadership positions, and was instrumental in helping Illinois Tech expand outreach, recruitment, and campus services to African-American and Hispanic students from Chicago and across the nation.