Beyonce Knowles-Carter brought the world to its knees last year when she dropped her groundbreaking visual album Lemonade, which explores the themes of infidelity and forgiveness while celebrating black womanhood and feminism. Last week, Lemonade even received a prestigious Peabody Award, which honors powerful storytelling. Now, one year after the release of this innovative album, Queen Bey is honoring the anniversary of Lemonade
by announcing the creation of the Formation Scholars.Named after the album’s hit single “Formation,” the scholarship program supports female college students who are majoring in creative disciplines, starting with the 2017-18 academic year. According to Beyonce’s website, Formation Scholars are students who are “unafraid to think outside the box, who are bold, creative, conscious, and confident.
These scholarships will be awarded to four students–one woman from each of the following schools: Howard University, Spelman College, Berklee College of Music, and the Parsons School of Design. Students that are eligible for consideration must be incoming, current, or graduate students majoring in either creative arts, music, literature, or African American studies.
The full statement about the scholarship reads as follows:
“To add to the celebration of the one-year anniversary of Lemonade, Beyonce Knowles-Carter announces the establishment of the Formation Scholars awards for the 2017-2018 academic year, to encourage and support young women who are unafraid to think outside the box and are bold, creative, conscious and confident.
Four scholarships will be awarded, one per college, to female incoming, current or graduating students pursuing studies in creative arts, music, literature, or African American studies. The schools selected for participation are Berklee College of Music, Howard University, Parsons School of Design, and Spelman College. All details and application deadlines are available directly from the colleges.
For more information on Formation Scholars click here.
Selena Hill is the Associate Digital Editor at Black Enterprise and the founder of the award-winning talk show, Let Your Voice Be Heard! Radio. You can hear Hill and her team talk millennial politics and social issues every Sunday at 11 a.m. ET.
Follow her on Instagram and Twitter at @MsSelenaHill.