Photos: WIT

(Palo Alto, CA) – Wade Institute of Technology (WIT), an experiential Silicon Valley-based college for students of African descent pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, announced that it is accepting applications for the 2025 Wade Scholarship Program (WSP).

To qualify for the scholarship, applicants must be admitted to a master’s degree program ranked within the U.S. News & World Report Top 30 U.S. graduate schools of engineering and/or the graduate engineering program of any of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).

“There has been an alarming drop in the number of Black STEM professionals, who were already woefully underrepresented in these fields,” said WIT Executive Director Booker T. Wade, Jr. “This scholarship helps ease the financial burden that is often a contributing factor to the drop-off of Black students in the educational pipeline. We are committed to the goal of promoting increased diversity, equity, and inclusion in STEM through expanded educational opportunities.”

WSP Scholars receive up to $50,000 toward the cost of tuition, on-campus housing, food, and other expenses or fees. Applicants must have a bachelor’s degree in a STEM discipline from an accredited college or university in the U.S. or the equivalent from an international institution.

Minority Television Project Inc. (MTP), which owns and operates San Francisco Bay Area public television station KMTP-TV 33, provides funding for the scholarship. Through its support of both WIT and WSP, MTP is working to make transformative changes in the technology ecosystem.

There have been 26 WSP Scholars since the program launched in 2021. Applications for the 2025 scholarships are due no later than January 17, 2025. International students may apply but must already have U.S. residential or visa status.

Prospective WSP Scholars will be evaluated on independent thought, purposeful leadership, civic mindset, and undergraduate achievements. Additional information on requirements and a link to the application portal can be found at wadescholarship.org/

About Wade Scholarship Program
The Wade Scholarship Program (WSP) was established to mitigate the underrepresentation of
people of African descent in STEM. WSP provides scholarships to Black scholars who are
admitted to an engineering master’s degree program ranked within the US News & World
Report Top 30 US graduate schools of engineering and HBCUs with graduate engineering
programs.

About Wade Institute of Technology
Founded in 2020, Wade Institute of Technology (WIT) is a private, non-profit 501(c)(3)
educational institution that provides a STEM course of studies for students of African descent.
Through an innovative mix of traditional instruction and experiential learning from top-tier
faculty and institutions, WIT positions its graduates to be visionary leaders in their disciplines at
a global level.

The post Wade Institute Of Technology: $50,000 STEM Master’s Degree Scholarship Program For African American Students Available appeared first on Black Star News.

Rev. Al Sharpton, President and Founder of the National Action Network, was in the courtroom at the Supreme Court during the oral arguments for Fisher v. University of Texas.

With demonstrations all over the country protesting how Blacks are treated on campus, this case has the potential to eliminate Blacks in significant numbers from ever getting on to campus in the first place. We’re at risk of going from how Black students are treated in the classrooms and dorms of American institutions of higher education to not even making it into these hallways at all.

The consequences of a negative ruling in this case would lead to a divided and resegregated America.

The questioning and tone of this hearing was intemperate, insensitive, and at some points hostile. Particularly alarming was Justice Scalia asserting that African American students are better off at “less advanced” or “slower-track” schools. Occasionally the arguments didn’t feel like they were happening at the Supreme Court but rather at a Donald Trump rally, that’s how vitriolic the atmosphere was at certain points.

There is the real danger of a ruling that will in effect say race cannot even be one of many factors considered in admission to American colleges and universities. This is the second time the Supreme Court has heard the Fisher case in three years. Their first ruling said that race could be a factor, just not the determining factor.

Now they are contemplating taking things a step further and declaring that race cannot be a factor in admissions at all. That would run counter to so many other background factors that are still allowed to be considered including the place an applicant lives, their test scores, and extracurricular activities – to exclude race from this equation is absolutely unacceptable.

This decision could be a death knell to affirmative action when we are nowhere near racial diversity in higher education. It would have a ripple effect in other areas of American life like diversity efforts in the private sector with contracts and jobs – and the Supreme Court must not allow that to happen.

Rev. Al Sharpton is President and Founder of the National Action Network

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