Thank you for your interest in the United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation (USGIF) and its programs!
USGIF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational foundation dedicated to promoting the geospatial intelligence tradecraft and developing a stronger GEOINT Community with government, industry, academia, professional organizations, and individuals who develop and apply geospatial intelligence to address national security challenges. USGIF achieves its mission through various programs and events by building the community, advancing the tradecraft, and accelerating innovation.
Browse our opportunities below. To submit an application, you'll need to create a Submittable account.
USGIF will also host two virtual information sessions for interested scholarship applicants during the 2026 open application timeframe. Scholarship applications will open January 18, 2026 and close April 5, 2026.
The information sessions are optional and intended to provide applicants with direct insights from USGIF’s education staff regarding things like application requirements, award eligibility, and best practices, and feature open Q+A with the team. These sessions are not recorded.
The first session will be held on Wednesday, February 11, 2026, at 12 p.m. ET.
The second session will be held on Monday, March 16, 2026, at 12 p.m. ET.
Please use an email address you check to sign up - this is how the meeting link will be shared.
Additional information about USGIF scholarships can be found here.
Click here to learn more about USGIF's 2025 scholarship cohort.
USGIF's 2026 Scholarships
As you complete the application, please ensure that you carefully read each section's requirements and complete/upload the requested information.
Incomplete applications will be automatically rejected without review.
Application deadline is April 5, 2026*
*Edits to applications and answers to emails will not be available after 3 p.m. ET on April 3, 2025.
Application Requirements Overview
To complete an application, you will be required to:
- Provide full contact information and some demographic information
- Compose detailed responses to short-answer questions
- (OPTIONAL) Craft responses to sponsored scholarship questions
- Secure recommenders and have them supply letters of recommendation
- Submit school transcripts and/or a current resume/CV
- Compose and submit a short essay (undergraduate - Ph.D. candidates only)
All applicants must complete a general application to be considered for any of USGIF's named scholarship awards. Awards are not combinable, meaning, awardees will only receive one award each. By completing the general application, applicants are automatically considered for USGIF's general awards ($1,000 - $3,000). Named awards ($5,000 - $15,000) are optional. To be considered for them, complete the extra portion of the application for named awards.
Application Timeline
January 9, 2026 : Applications open
April 5, 2026: Applications close
April 13, 2026 : Scholarship review begins
May 17, 2026 : Scholarship review closes
Late June 2026 : All applicants are notified of their award status
USGIF's statement on the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)
The use of AI is at the applicant’s discretion. USGIF supports the use of AI only as an aid for improving thoughts and ideas, not a shortcut to securing an award. USGIF reserves the right to disqualify applicants or dock points for answers or essays that are clearly AI generated and do not embody the applicant’s perspective, voice, or original ideas.