General Garden Scholar Award Information
Awardees will receive one complimentary event registration and a $750 stipend to assist with travel, accommodations and related costs to attend American Public Garden Association's 2024 in-person professional development symposia.
Applicants can apply to attend one of the following events this year. Three awards are available for each symposium.
Education Symposium: August 19-21, Salt Lake City, UT
Finance & Operations: September 10-11, Pittsburgh, PA
Plant Collections: October 8-9, Chicago, IL
We encourage you to register for the Symposium in advance, and we will refund your registration fee if selected for an Award.
Applications are due by 11:59pm ET on July 1, 2024.
Please contact scholarships@publicgardens.org with any questions.
Applications are evaluated based on:
- Strength of personal narrative
- Strength of support letter for scholarship applicant
- Degree of individual and/or institutional financial need
- Issues of inclusion/diversity/equity/accessiblity
Application Criteria and Considerations:
1. All applicants must be employed by, or serve in an intern capacity with, a member garden in good standing with the Association or hold an individual membership with the Association. Please be sure to review all criteria and instructions before applying for any scholarship to ensure eligibility.
2. Sponsored Garden Scholar Awards have specific additional criteria and/or considerations. Please review these before applying.
3. Applications must be accompanied by all of the following:
• A current resume or CV
• A 300-word narrative from the applicant stating rationale for seeking a Garden Scholar Award, demonstrating the applicant's interest in furthering his or her professional skills through attendance at our Horticulture, Greenhouse, and Facilities Symposium. Please adhere to the word count and include any additional narrative instructions included with a named scholarship as indicated.
• A letter of support signed by an individual "champion" who is familiar with the field of public horticulture, indicating support for the applicant's leadership, scholarship need, and potential success in the field of public garden management.
• A signed Letter of Affirmation Form by the applicant's terminal supervisor or CEO approving and supporting the application (can be found here). The CEO may also provide the Letter of Support outlined above.
• A headshot to be used in publication if you are awarded a scholarship. They will not be seen by the Garden Scholar Awards Committee in deliberations.
4. Applicants having been awarded a past full Garden Scholar Award (general or named) must wait 12 months from the time of their last application to be eligible to re-apply (e.g., spring cycle to spring cycle).
5. Disbursement of awards among the available professional development opportunities in any given cycle is at the discretion of the Garden Scholars Award Committee, with input from named scholarship donors, and based on funds available through contributions to the Garden Scholars Fund.