The Cleveland Section of APA Ohio, a Chapter of the American Planning Association, established the Planning Scholarship Program in 1994. The purpose of the scholarship program is to recognize up to two outstanding students from Northeast Ohio who are enrolled in approved Ohio college or university planning programs, who demonstrate academic achievement and commitment to the planning profession, and who intend to pursue a career as practicing planners.
Up to two students will be selected as the recipients of the scholarships. Each student must be either an undergraduate or graduate student enrolled in an Ohio planning degree program. Each scholarship is paid directly to the student to help offset expenses that are not usually covered by traditional scholarships.
A $2,000 scholarship will be awarded to a full-time student.*
A $750 scholarship will be awarded to either a full-time or part-time student.*
*APA Cleveland may, at its sole discretion, award a lesser amount or award only scholarship should the application cycle generate few qualified applicants.
To be eligible for the $2,000 scholarship, a student:
To be eligible for the $750 scholarship, a student:
Preference will be given to an applicant who:
The APA Cleveland Planning Scholarship application package shall consist of the following documents.
Please note that the application form and personal statement are both due by 4:00 p.m. on March 20, 2015, while letters of recommendation and official transcripts or letter of acceptance may follow separately up to one week later, or by 4:00 p.m. on March 27, 2015.
The members of the APA Cleveland Student Relations and Scholarship Committee will review the applications. After careful review and consensus, up to two winners will be chosen. Applications will be judged using the following criteria, listed in order of importance:
The scholarship committee will meet in April after a review of all applications.
The recipient of the $2,000 award is chosen from the applications submitted by full-time students. After the recipient of the $2,000 award is selected, the remaining applications submitted by full-time students and all applications submitted by part-time students are reviewed, and the recipient of the $750 award is chosen.
Final decisions are made at the discretion of the scholarship committee, and the selected students are notified in writing by the scholarship committee chairperson by May 1, 2015.
The award recipients are required to write letters of acceptance to the scholarship committee chairperson by June 30, 2015. When a recipient is notified of his/her award, specific information to ensure proper payment to the student is requested and requires prompt attention.
An alternate to each award may be chosen in the event the student selected for a scholarship is unable to return to school, or the student does not send a letter of acceptance to the scholarship committee chairperson by June 30 after being notified of his/her selection.
The recipient of the $2,000 award is expected to continue to participate as a full-time student in the planning degree program. Upon completion of the award requirements, the first one-half of the award will be paid to the student in September. The second half will be paid in January, contingent on a written report from the school stating that the student is still enrolled full-time in the planning degree program and maintaining a satisfactory level of work.
The recipient of the $750 award is expected to continue to participate as a student in the planning degree program. Upon completion of the award requirements, the first one-half of the award will be paid to the student in September. The second half will be paid in January, contingent on a written report from the school stating that the student is still enrolled in the planning degree program and maintaining a satisfactory level of work.
It is the responsibility of each recipient to notify the scholarship committee chairperson of any change in address.
The application form and personal statement must be submitted online by March 20 at 4:00 p.m. Mailed letters of recommendation and official transcripts may follow up to one week later, or by 4:00 p.m. on March 27, 2015. Faxed documents will not be accepted.
Mail letters of recommendation and official transcripts to:
Sara Byrnes Maier, ChairAPA Cleveland Student Outreach & Scholarship Committeec/o Cleveland Metroparks4101 Fulton ParkwayCleveland, OH 44144 Questions may be addressed to Sara Byrnes Maier, Student Outreach & Scholarship Committee Chair, at sbm@clevelandmetroparks.com or (216) 635-3289.