MLK Scholarship Program Overview

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., an African-American clergyman and civil rights leader, was born in 1928 in Atlanta, Georgia. He was an active Baptist minister and a moving orator, who gained national prominence by advocating passive resistance to segregation and leading a year-long boycott (1955-56) against the segregated bus lines in Montgomery, Alabama.

He subsequently set up the Southern Christian Leadership Conference as a base for nonviolent marches, protests, and demonstrations for black rights, such as the 1963 March on Washington D.C. and the 1965 voter registration drive in Selma, Alabama. King was awarded the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize. In the late 1960s, he intensified his opposition to the war in Vietnam and to economic discrimination. In 1968, while planning a multiracial Poor People’s March for antipoverty legislation, he was shot and killed in Memphis, Tennessee.

For more about the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. visit the King Center.

Scholarship

The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Scholarship for Community Service recognizes an outstanding student at UT Southwestern who exemplifies the spirit of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s efforts to achieve social and political justice through community service. A substantial scholarship will be awarded to a student who has demonstrated their efforts to keep Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dream alive.  Selection will be made based upon the applicant’s personal statement, recommendations, and demonstrated commitment to community/campus service.

Eligibility

The Martin Luther King, Jr., Scholarship for Community Service is open to all students currently attending UT Southwestern Medical School, UT Southwestern Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, or UT Southwestern School of Health Professions.

Questions

Questions regarding the application process may be directed by phone to 214-648-4343 or by email to rosie.canales@utsouthwestern.edu.