Dr. Bart Kamen Memorial FIRST Scholarship Fund

Scholarship Sponsored by FIRST

Here’s a clearer, teacher-friendly version you can use to explain the scholarship to students.

Overview
- The Dr. Bart Kamen Memorial FIRST Scholarship Fund awards undergraduate students who are preparing for biomedical engineering or medical careers. It honors Dr. Kamen’s legacy by supporting students who showed leadership, curiosity, and a commitment to improving patient care through their participation in FIRST programs.
- The Fund will make up to four initial grants of $10,000 each. Each grant is renewable for up to three additional years (for a possible total of four years) as long as the student continues to meet eligibility requirements.

What the committee considers
- Academic performance and character
- Demonstrated passion for biomedical engineering and/or medicine
- Participation and contribution in FIRST programs
- Financial need may be considered, but it is not required

Who is eligible for an initial $10,000 grant
To be considered, an applicant must:
- Be a secondary school senior or a high-school graduate who has not yet started full-time undergraduate studies.
- Have applied to or been accepted to an Eligible Undergraduate Program. That means:
- A full-time program in Biomedical Engineering or Premedical Studies; OR
- A program that allows you to complete a chosen major while taking the core medical-school prerequisite courses (biology, physics, chemistry, organic chemistry) so you would be qualified to apply to medical school after graduation.
- The college or university must be accredited: in the U.S., eligible to participate in federal Title IV student aid programs; outside the U.S., similarly accredited.
- Have participated as a team member for at least one year on a FIRST LEGO League, FIRST Tech Challenge, or FIRST Robotics Competition team.
- Complete the online application and submit all requested documents by the published deadline at: https://bartkamenmemorialfirstscholarship.submittable.com/submit
- If asked, take part in a telephone, in-person, or online interview with the Grant Selection Committee.
- If selected, provide a completed IRS Form W-9 to FIRST.

Application, selection, and award logistics
- Applicants will be notified of awards by April 1 each year; recipients will be publicly announced in April.
- Payment of the grant is contingent on admission to—and enrollment in—an Eligible Undergraduate Program by May 1.
- The Grant Selection Committee may award up to four initial grants of $10,000 each and will determine renewals each year based on continued eligibility.

Important restrictions and legal note
- FIRST employees and officers; members of the FIRST Board of Directors; members of the Grant Selection Committee; and their spouses, parents, children, grandchildren, siblings and the spouses of those relatives are not eligible.
- By applying, you acknowledge that the Grant Selection Committee’s decisions are final and not subject to judicial or other review.

If you want, I can help you: review your application answers, suggest how to describe your FIRST experience, or make sure your course plan meets the “Eligible Undergraduate Program” requirements.