WIA Scholarship Program
The WIA Scholarship Program is devoted to furthering the academic efforts of deserving animation students who demonstrate artistic talent, a passion for animation, a financial need, and a promising future in our industry.
Applicants who have identified themselves as women, non-binary, or a person of underrepresented gender identity* and who are enrolled in schools all over the world to pursue various aspects of animation production are encouraged to apply.
2023-2024 SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATIONS ARE OPEN!
The WIA Scholarship Program is open between October 4th, 2023 through November 3rd, 2023 at 11:59pm PDT.
IMPORTANT DATES*
Application process opening: October 4, 2023
Deadline for application: November 3rd 2023 at 11:59pm PDT
Expected Rewards Communication: February/ March 2024
Announcement & awards ceremony: March 2024
*WIA may update these dates if necessary.
Eligibility Requirements
- Must be an active WIA Maker-level member. You can read more about our membership levels on our JOIN PAGE.
- If attending an accredited college or university:
- The applicant must be registered during the 2023-2024 academic school year as an undergraduate student in the sophomore, junior or senior year of study, or a graduate student.
- If the applicant is taking online courses:
- All online classes must be a minimum duration of 3 to 6 months long. Find a list of approved online schools HERE.
- All applicants must provide proof of at least one previous course they have taken that meets the outlined requirements above within the 2022-2023 academic year.
- All applicants must provide proof of current enrollment in class for the duration outlined above within the 2023-2024 academic year.
- Major: any field and aspect of animation production
- Cumulative GPA of 2.85 minimum on a 4.0 scale
- Applicants do not need to be US citizens or permanent residents to apply. In compliance with U.S. federal regulations, any non-U.S.citizen who receives a scholarship from WIA must not be listed on the published “Specially Designated Nationals” terrorism watch list
- Age: 18+
- Previous scholarship recipients are not eligible to apply.
Required Application Materials
- One personal statement, submitted in PDF format, not to exceed 500 words in English that tell the judges:
- Who you are as an artist
- What your career goal is
- Why you are applying for this scholarship and how you will plan to use the grant
- Samples of work:
- (Required) 6-10 examples of your fine art illustration, life drawing, photography, sculpture, character design, storyboards, etc.
- (Recommended) A working portfolio website with required passwords
- (If applicable) A reel or an animated film (less than 3 minutes) of your creation that showcases your skills
- NOTE: All reels/films should explicitly include what part you had in the creation process, listed with the timestamp. Please credit the artists who have collaborated on any projects submitted. Reels without proper documentation or credits will not be considered.
- Accepted File formats: pdf, jpg, jpeg, png, gif, mov, mp4; file size: limit to 10 Mb
- One letter of recommendation, submitted in PDF format not to exceed 500 words, written in English:
- Written by faculty in your school or an industry professional with whom you have previously worked
- You are welcome to submit a second letter of recommendation (recommended but not required)
- One of the following documents to show proof of enrollment as a current full-time student, submitted in PDF format, such as:
- A copy of your current semester’s class schedule
- Enrollment verification letter issued by your school
- A school picture ID that shows you are enrolled in the 2022-2023 academic year
- A transcript that shows the cumulative GPA, submitted in PDF format
- (Recommended) LinkedIn profile
Frequently Asked Questions
Browse our WIA Scholarship program FAQs page and find the answers to all your questions prior to submitting your application.
Other Resources
In addition to the WIA Scholarship Program, please check out a growing list of scholarship opportunities offered by many other domestic and international organizations. If you have any scholarship opportunities that you would like to share with the WIA student members, please contact us directly at [email protected].
2023-2024 WIA Scholarship Sponsors
Displayed In Alphabetical Order
Animation Focus provides online animation tutoring on a 1 to 1 basis with a professional feature film character animator – 1 hour per week for 4 weeks. One WIA scholarship recipient will receive a place in one 2024 Animation Focus class.
Animation Mentor will offer one scholarship winner one 6-week Animation Mentor workshop (a $699-$899 USD value). With 10 different classes to choose from (Maya Workshop: Animation Basics, Cartoony Animation for 3D Animators, 2D Animation for beginners, 2D Animation: Walk Cycles & Character Movement, Pre-Visualization basics for animators, Storyboarding Fundamentals, Intermediate Storyboarding, Visual Development: Principles of Design, Game Animation Fundamentals, and Digital Painting) the student winner will have many options to personalize this educational opportunity.
ArtStation is proud to support the WIA Scholarship Program and offers recipients one-year ArtStation Pro upgrades. ArtStation Pro comes with a custom website builder, blog page, 4K uploads and video clips, and much more!
Foundry will offer one WIA Animation winner $2,500 USD in scholarship funds and an annual Production Collective subscription to its suite of products, including Nuke Studio, Katana, Mari, and Modo. Additionally, an honorable mention will receive an annual Production Collective subscription. These licenses will allow the winners access to Foundry’s industry-leading compositing, editorial, review, modeling, 3D painting, look development, and lighting software.
LAIKA is excited to participate in the WIA Scholarship Program again this year. They will give out two cash awards of $2,000 USD each to two deserving students specializing in stop motion. LAIKA hopes to take this opportunity to foster future talent that shares the same passion for stop-motion filmmaking.
Toon Boom, pushing the limits of creativity for 30 years, supports the WIA scholarship program for the fourth year in a row, helping to build a more diverse animation industry and providing support to new talent entering the market. The prizes include 20 licenses of Storyboard Pro, 20 licenses of Harmony Premium, and 10 Harmony Fundamentals Online Courses. The best way to prepare for a future in animation is to set a solid foundation with leading technology that will be used throughout a professional career.
Wacom’s vision is to bring people and technology closer together through natural interface technologies. The advanced technology of Wacom’s intuitive input devices has been used to create some of the most exciting digital art, films, special effects, fashion, and designs around the world and provides business and home users with their leading interface technology to express their creativity.
Wacom is excited to be a part of Women In Animation’s mission. We believe everyone is creative and want to continue providing access, support, and awareness to those bringing a new voice to the industry. Wacom is donating Cintiq 16’s to ten WIA scholarship winners. We understand the importance of having professional-level technology to set the talent apart for both freelancing work and their creative portfolios making them more hire-able in the Animation industry.
WIA Bay Area Collective is offering a $1,500 USD scholarship to one scholarship recipient who is living and studying in the San Francisco or San Jose Bay Area. This opportunity is also open to students who are currently living in the Bay Area but are attending schools elsewhere remotely this year.
The WIA Montreal Chapter is offering a $1,000 CAD scholarship to a student who is currently living and studying in the province of Quebec. This opportunity is open to full-time or part-time students currently enrolled in CEGEP or University or will be starting CEGEP or University classes in Fall 2023.
Yellowbrick Learning, Animation Mentor’s parent company, is proud to announce that they are offering three awardees their choice of one Yellowbrick online course for each winner. (a $1,000 per class value, totaling $3000 USD) With 23 different classes to choose from, such as Fashion, Music, Film & Entertainment, Beauty, Design, E-commerce, Hospitality, New Media, and E-Sports & Gaming.
In addition, Yellowbrick is also awarding an additional three winners a space in the all-new Business of Entertainment course through NYU-Tisch. USD
Past Winners & Runners-Up
To view an archive of past winners and runner-ups of the WIA Scholarship Program click on a link below:
* WIA recognizes gender is non-binary and intersects with every other aspect of identity. As an organization that advocates for gender justice, we identify people of underrepresented gender identities as women, including transgender women who are people who identify as women despite their gender assigned at birth, non-binary people, those who do not identify as exclusively male or female but may identify as both, neither, or some combination of the two, and those who are otherwise marginalized because of their gender identity.