Parents Program Scholarships

Scholarships

To support outstanding performance and continued intellectual growth, the Parents Program offers two scholarships, both awarded each spring to rising third-year students for a portion of their third- and fourth-year tuition and fees. Recipients are chosen based on demonstrated academic achievement, leadership, citizenship, and financial need.

The Gilbert J. Sullivan Endowed Scholarship honors the co-founder of the UVA Parents Program Committee, Gilbert Sullivan, who served as director of the UVA Alumni Association for 35 years. The Gordon C. Burris Endowed Scholarship was created in 2014 and recognizes longtime administrator and student mentor Gordon Burris, who co-founded the UVA Parents Program Committee along with Mr. Sullivan.

Application Process

The Gilbert J. Sullivan Scholarship and the Gordon C. Burris Scholarship are awarded to rising third-year students who have a demonstrated record of citizenship, leadership, academic achievement, and financial need. Each $15,000 scholarship covers a portion of tuition and fees for recipients’ third and fourth years: $7,500 per year ($3,750 per semester).

Financial need is assessed by Student Financial Services (SFS) via the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)—all applicants MUST complete a FAFSA prior to MARCH 1, 2025, in order to be considered for a Parents Fund scholarship.

The FAFSA is available at: https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/fafsa

Rising third-year students who wish to apply may do so beginning on JANUARY 27, 2025. In addition to the FAFSA, there are three requirements, all of which are accessed by visiting the AcademicWorks website at:

https://virginia.academicworks.com/opportunities/19482/applications/new

In addition to a current FAFSA, the three application requirements are:

An application
An updated resume
A letter of recommendation: you will be prompted to enter the name and contact information for your recommender; AcademicWorks will then email that person a link where he/she can submit the recommendation letter.

[NOTE: Recommendation letters may come from anyone, but we recommend asking a UVA professor or dean who can speak to your citizenship, leadership, and academic achievement. Please make sure to contact your recommender ahead of time before submitting their name and contact information to AcademicWorks.]

Students who receive need-based financial aid may see adjustments to their existing financial aid based on new financial resources, such as scholarships. Please write to SFS at sfs@virginia.edu if you have questions or visit their website at https://sfs.virginia.edu/financial-aid-current-students/current-undergraduate-students/financial-aid-basics/types-aid/scholarships-grants.

The deadline to submit an application for a UVA Parents Program Scholarship is midnight on APRIL 4, 2025. Scholarship recipients and all applicants will be contacted by 5:00pm on Wednesday, May 23rd, 2025.

Email Marcy Sheldon-Kuenze, at the UVA Parents Program, with any questions.