AIGA - Contact

Contact

The call for applications opens on February 7, 2024. Deadline: April 21, 2024.

Please be mindful of these times near deadlines. Emails received after 5:00 p.m. ET and prior to midnight the day of a deadline will be reviewed the following morning and applications will be accepted.

For updates, follow @AIGADesign.

FAQs

Please read the Rules and Eligibility page carefully. In most cases you will quickly find the answers and will be able to continue on your own. Please plan ahead to avoid delays in response time. Your patience is appreciated.

Deadlines

The deadline is April 21, 2024 at 11:59 p.m. PT. The deadline for letters of recommendation is April 30. Reminders can be sent through the application portal.

Supported Majors:

Communication design (includes: graphic and visual design, interaction design, game design)
Illustration (includes: animation and computer animation)
Photography

Note: AIGA Worldstudio DxD Scholarships do not support: industrial design, interior design, film, architecture, landscape design, theater and costume design, fine art, etc. but hopes to open up some of these categories in future years.

Please keep in mind that decisions are made on how your work compares to students in your category (communication design, illustration, photography). If your major/area of study can be clearly considered within one of these three categories, you may proceed with the application.

Portfolio Samples and Self-Portraits

Completed tutorials do not qualify.

A.I. Generated or Assisted art is not eligible. We will not consider A.I. text-to-image generated work samples.

Enrollment

If you have not decided on the school you will be attending, please indicate your first choice when completing the application.

Student ID is not a required field at the time you complete your application. When notifications are emailed in July/August, recipients will have the opportunity to update their school and Student ID information. It will be required to disburse awards.

Tips

Please begin to assemble your materials, request references, and upload your information well in advance of the deadline.

For the Financial Information section, see the Application Guide > Finacial Information > “check list” or download an Excel version of the “cheat sheet” to calculate income, expenses, and unmet need. More information can be found on the FAFSA website. Please contact your school’s financial aid department or guidance counselor for assistance.

All materials are required by the deadline. As a courtesy to your references, please plan to complete your application and alert your references one week before the deadline. Log in to check the status of pending letters of recommendations and send reminder emails to your references as needed.

References

If a reference does not receive an email from AIGA by April 22, please confirm the email is correct. Emails may get caught by a spam filter. Advise references to check spam/junk folders if not received. Emails are from AIGA Worldstudio Scholarships. The subject line contains TIME SENSITIVE.

For portfolio tips, watch recordings or read articles from the 2020 and 2021 virtual AIGA Portfolio Festival.

Evaluation and Notification

Entries will be evaluated by a jury of creative professionals appointed by AIGA, WorldStudio, and DxD. Jurors will take into account a number of factors when making selections, including: quality of submitted portfolio work, financial need, academic record, ability to communicate a point of view visually through work samples and in written essay, demonstrated commitment to give back to the community, letters of recommendation.

When considering applications, jurors evaluations are made through a lens focused on our aim to increase representation in the profession.

Scholarships are awarded in the amounts of $2,500–$3,000. One or two top awards may be given in an amount up to $5,000 at the jury’s discretion.

All applicants will be notified by email in August. Please check your spam/junk folders. Please do not call to check on the status of your application.

AIGA will notify schools of financial awards and disburse scholarship funds directly to the institution’s Financial Aid Office or Bursar’s Office in August and confirm receipt by mid-September. Honorable Mention Awards are paid directly to the student. Should you be an award recipient, you or your school will be required to submit a W9 form to AIGA for accounting and tax purposes. AIGA is unable to complete award payments without this information.

Students are required to notify AIGA if there should be a change in their academic/enrollment status. Students must be enrolled to be eligible for award payments. At this time, we are unable to defer scholarship awards.