Kenan Excellence Scholarship

The Kenan Excellence Scholarship program was established at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) in 2005 by the William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust, and later endowed by the Trust in 2011 with a $6 million grant, the largest one-time private gift in the school’s history, with an additional $5 million gift provided in 2019 to expand support. The most prestigious scholarship program at UNCSA, the Kenan Excellence Scholarship provides full tuition, required fees, and room and board for up to five incoming students each year and is renewable for all four years of undergraduate education. 

Program Criteria

There is no application process for this merit-based award, instead, the deans of each of UNCSA’s five arts schools nominate up to three excellent candidates for the Kenan Excellence Scholarship each Spring term from among their best new admittees to the university. The Kenan Excellence Scholars Selection Committee reviews each nomination, considering criteria that include each student’s ability in the given arts discipline, capacity to lead and motivate, extracurricular achievement, grade point average, and standardized test scores, among others. The committee then interviews the nominees for selection. Awards are given to finalists judged to have the best potential as artist-scholars, regardless of the program in which they enroll or their area of residence.