Welcome to the DAR Academic Works Portal
This portal is used to apply for DAR scholarships, grants, and Outstanding Teacher of American History Contest.

Looking for Community Classroom Grants, Historic Preservation Grants, or Outstanding Teacher of American History Contest?

Select Opportunities at the top of this page, then select Grant from the dropdown menu to view available opportunities and begin an application.

Looking for DAR Scholarships?
Scholarship applicants should review the important information and application instructions below before beginning an application.

Looking for other DAR supported external scholarships?
Select Opportunities at the top of this page, then select External to view the opportunities currently available.

DAR Scholarship Applicants

Important Login Information
All new and returning users must establish a Blackbaud ID (BBID) and use Multi-Factor Authentication before accessing DAR Academic Works. This additional login step helps protect applicants’ confidential information.

LOCKED OUT OF YOUR ACCOUNT?
If you are locked out while attempting to log in, do not continue trying to log in. The system will automatically reset and unlock after 30 minutes. Please wait the full 30 minutes before attempting to log in again.

The scholarship application is open each year from November 1 through January 31 at 11:59 p.m. Hawaii Time.

After logging in, you will be presented with the general scholarship application. You may save your work by selecting “Save and Keep Editing” at the bottom of the application. When your application is complete, select “Finish and Continue.”

DAR Scholarship Opportunities
DAR offers scholarships for graduating high school students, undergraduate students, graduate students, and students pursuing a variety of specialized fields.
Each scholarship has its own eligibility requirements and may require additional information or documentation. Carefully review the criteria for each scholarship for which you are applying.

What You Will Need to Apply
Before beginning your application, have the following documents and information ready:

• Personal Statement: A personal statement of 1,000 words or less describing your career objectives.
• Transcripts: A recent high school, college, and/or graduate school transcript, as applicable. Unofficial transcripts may be submitted with your application. Scholarship recipients will be required to provide official transcripts.
• Scholarship-Specific Information: Depending on the scholarship, this may include financial need information, proof of enrollment or acceptance into a particular program, proof of tribal membership, or graduate-level test scores such as the MCAT or LSAT.
• Proof of U.S. Citizenship: A copy of a birth certificate, naturalization papers, or the information page of a U.S. passport. COVER ALL PHOTOGRAPHS AND BLACK OUT SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS, IF SHOWN.
• Activities and Achievements: A one-page document listing extracurricular activities, honors, and scholastic achievements. The document must include your name and should not exceed one side of an 8½" x 11" page.

If you upload a document in error, instructions for removing it are available in the FAQ section located in the upper right corner of your application.

Letters of Recommendation – Please Read Carefully
Applicants must submit at least two, but no more than four, letters of recommendation. Letters may not be provided by relatives.

IMPORTANT: YOU, THE APPLICANT, MUST UPLOAD ALL LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION DIRECTLY INTO YOUR APPLICATION.

The person writing your recommendation cannot submit the letter directly to DAR Academic Works. Letters also cannot be emailed or mailed to DAR on your behalf, including letters sent through a secure or confidential third-party platform.
You should request your recommendation letters early enough to allow the individuals writing them time to return the completed letters to you before the application deadline.
Recommendations may come from teachers, counselors, instructors, professors, coaches, mentors, spiritual leaders, administrators, co-workers, supervisors, or others who can speak to your abilities, work habits, integrity, character, potential, and volunteer activities.
All letters must:

• Have been written within the last year.
• Include the date written.
• Include the reference giver’s name, title, signature, and contact information.
• Be provided to you so you can upload the letter directly into your application.

Important Deadline Information
DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE TO COMPLETE YOUR APPLICATION.
Your complete application and all required materials, including letters of recommendation, must be submitted by January 31 at 11:59 p.m. Hawaii Time. No exceptions can be made.

Below is a list of scholarship opportunities offered by the DAR Scholarship and American Indians Committees. Each scholarship opportunity has its own individual criteria and may require specific documents to be uploaded into your application. The scholarships opportunities range from nursing, medicine, occupational or physical therapy, law, business administration, English, math, chemistry, music (voice or piano only), American history, history, government, American Studies, historic preservation, horticulture, and elementary and secondary education. Two scholarships are specifically for American Indian students (you must provide proof of membership in a federal or state-recognized tribe) and over twenty of the scholarship opportunities are for graduating high school students, college undergraduate students, or graduate students. Two scholarships are specifically for DAR members or DAR-descendants/dependents. (You must be able to provide the DAR member’s national membership number and your relationship to the DAR member).

NSDAR Statement on the Protection of Confidential and/or Personal Information:
All confidential information concerning a person’s educational records, transcripts, or other personal sensitive information that may be collected by NSDAR, state societies or state organizations, and/or chapters, will be maintained in a manner that reasonably protects it from misuse and loss and from unauthorized access, modification, or disclosure. The purpose of collecting certain confidential educational records or other sensitive information is to enable NSDAR, state societies or state organizations, and/or chapters to fulfill their obligations as organizers, sponsors, and supporters of scholarships, contests, or other activities involving an award of funds or prizes.

NSDAR Statement on Plagiarism and Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI):
Essays and written content submitted as part of a DAR scholarship application must be the original work of the applicant. The use of a generated AI tool in composing any part of a DAR scholarship application is prohibited. Submissions may be screened with software designed to detect plagiarism and/or the use of AI. If an application is found to contain plagiarism (whether intentional or inadvertent) or to have been created using AI, or to have been written by another person(s), it may be disqualified and/or will not be eligible to receive a scholarship award.

Once the application window closes on January 31st, please note your application status may change as it goes through our judging/review process. Each eligible scholarship application is reviewed independently by three judges using a standardized rubric unique to each scholarship. Each rubric criterion has a minimum score of “0” and a maximum score of “10”. All scores in DAR Academic Works are converted to a 100-point scale regardless of the number of rubric criterions used. The judges’ scores are then averaged by the system, and the recipient is determined.

In closing, all applicants will receive an email notification generated from DAR Academic Works by the second week of May, whether selected as a scholarship recipient or not. The notification of congratulations or regrets will be emailed to the email address of record that was submitted in your scholarship application profile.

If selected as a recipient of a scholarship awarded by the DAR Scholarship Committee or American Indians Committee:

• You will be asked to provide an official copy of your transcripts to the Office of the Reporter General by a specified date. Official transcripts may be submitted via secure email or by mail. Your official transcripts must be received before your scholarship award can be issued.
• You will receive a scholarship acceptance form sent to your email address of record. You will be asked to complete the form and provide the physical (mailing) address of the academic institution to receive your scholarship award. Scholarship award checks are mailed directly to your academic institution to be placed in your student financial account. Our scholarship awards are restricted and can only be used for expenses such as tuition and fees, room and board, books, and other expenses allowed by your college/university. Award checks are never mailed directly to the scholarship recipient.
• Please note: applicants are eligible to receive only one scholarship from DAR each award cycle.
• Scholarship awards are issued and mailed in August for use for the Fall Semester, no exceptions. We are unable to accommodate special requests from applicants wanting to delay the awarding of scholarships for the Spring Semester or other time-periods. In addition, recipients must be currently enrolled as a student for the scholarship award to be issued. We are also unable to accommodate gap year(s) requests. A gap year is defined as a period of time where individuals take a break from their formal education to take part in personal development activities such as traveling, volunteering, working, or taking non-accredited educational or self-improvement courses.
• Failure to provide your official transcripts and completed scholarship acceptance form by the specified date will result in the scholarship not being awarded.

If you have questions, please contact us at scholarships@nsdar.org OR contact the National Vice Chairman who is responsible for each scholarship. Their contact information can be found at: www.dar.org/national-society/scholarships.