KICA Green & Gold Scholarship Nomination Request

Since its creation in 1952, Kansas Independent College Association has sought to recognize students each academic year who demonstrate the commitment to excellence, virtue, and integrity, and who honor the myriad ways that students who attend KICA institutions receive an education that prepares them for a lifetime of success in their personal and professional lives.

Each academic year, KICA will award the following scholarships:

New Horizons Scholarship:
For students who are the first in their immediate family to attend college.

Growing Kansas’ Future Scholarship:
For students who are from outside of Kansas and are committed to live and work in Kansas after completing their degree.

Better Life Scholarship:
For students who have come back to college to complete a degree after a period of absence from college.

William Tschudy Scholarship for Business & Public Service:
For students who intend to pursue graduate education and a career that combines public service and business, including public finance, or public accounting.

Future Leaders Scholarships:
For students who have demonstrated talent and commitment to contribute to their field, of the following:
• The Arts
• Business
• Education
• Faith
• Health Professions

Eligibility Criteria

Students must be nominated by their institution to be considered for any scholarship. Furthermore, students may be nominated for multiple scholarships. Any KICA member institution in good standing may nominate. There is no limit to the number of nominations an institution may submit. However, KICA reserves the right to ensure distribution of scholarships across member institutions prior to granting multiple awards to a single institution, provided sufficiently qualified nominees are submitted.

To be nominated for any Green & Gold Scholarship, a student must meet the following criteria:
  1. Nominees must be enrolled as a full-time degree-seeking undergraduate student at a KICA member institution in good standing.
    • Exception #1: Part-time degree-seeking undergraduate students may be nominated for the Better Life Scholarship but must meet all other eligibility criteria.
    • Exception #2: Graduate students may be nominated for any “Future Leaders” Scholarship but must meet all other eligibility criteria.
  2. Nominees must have earned at least fifty percent (50%) of the credit hours required to earn their degree as of June 30 of the year in which the student is nominated.
    • Exception #1: Nominees for the Growing Kansas’ Future Scholarship and the William Tschudy Scholarship for Business & Public Service must have earned at least seventy-five percent (75%) of the credit hours required to earn their degree as of June 30 of the year in which the student is nominated.
  3. Nominees must have a minimum grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.
  4. Nominees must be enrolled or expected to be enrolled in a degree-program at a KICA institution in the subsequent fall term.
    • Exception #1: Nominees for the William Tschudy Scholarship for Business & Public Service may defer distribution of their award for up to three (3) years.
The following additional criteria apply to specific scholarships:

New Horizons Scholarship: Nominees must have attested on their FAFSA that the nominee’s parents have “Less than a college degree.”

Growing Kansas’ Future Scholarship: (1) Nominees must have declared a home address from outside of Kansas prior to their initial enrollment at the nominating institution; and (2) Nominees must provide evidence of an accepted employment position in Kansas OR an attestation that the student is actively seeking employment in Kansas.

Better Life Scholarship: (1) Nominees must have either transferred into the nominating institution from a Kansas community college or re-started at the nominating institution after a minimum of two-years of non-enrollment in higher education; and (2) Nominees must have earned at least thirty-seven point five (37.5%) of the credit hours required to earn their degree prior transferring or re-enrolling in the current institution.

William Tschudy Scholarship for Business & Public Service: (1) Nominees must be completing an undergraduate degree in either business (including finance, accounting, etc.) or the social sciences (including political science, history, economics, etc.); and (2) Nominees must declare an intention to enroll in a graduate degree program at a KICA institution in business and/or social sciences.

Future Leaders Scholarships: Nominees must have declared a major in a discipline identified by the institution as fitting the following CIP codes:
  • Arts: 50.****
  • Business: 45.06** or 52.****
  • Education: 13.****
  • Faith: 38.**** or 39.****
  • Health Professions: 31.05**, 34.****, 42.****, or 51.****
Recipients will be announced in mid-April. All awards except for the William Tschudy Scholarship will be disbursed in their entirety in the subsequent August (prior to the start of the fall term). The William Tschudy Scholarship is deferrable for up to three years. Awards are not automatically renewable. However, recipients may be nominated again for the same award or a different award in subsequent years.

Submission Process

Students wishing to be considered must submit a nomination request by Friday, March 27, 2026 at 12:00 PM (CST). All materials must be submitted by the institution (not the individual student) through the KICA website.

Registration is no longer available because the registration deadline has passed.