Scottish Rite-supported Local Scholarships
A number of Scottish Rite Valleys (Chapters) and Orients (States) provide financial support for scholarships at the local-level. Please check with your local Scottish Rite to see what opportunities might be available.
Endowed Scottish Rite Scholarships at Specific Colleges & Universities
Scottish Rite Endowment at The George Washington University (Washington, DC)
In 1927, the Supreme Council gave $1 million to The George Washington University (GWU) in Washington, DC to establish a School of Government to help meet the financial needs of students by offering academic scholarship programs.
One reason for the gift was that GWU had one of the oldest Departments of Comparative Jurisprudence and Diplomacy in the United States, and the program was highly regarded by the State Department. Further, the university’s location in our nation’s capital made it an excellent place to study and observe first-hand the science of government. The university’s name itself was appropriate, since first US President and Bro. George Washington had been an active Freemason, who served as Worshipful Master of his lodge.
In 1956, the Scottish Rite developed its Fellowship Program, proposed by Dr. Cloyd Marvin, 33°, then President of GWU. The Supreme Council enthusiastically received and unanimously approved the idea. This program, as with the undergraduate scholarships, requires each qualified student to provide record of a relative who is a Scottish Rite Mason.
For more information about the GWU undergraduate and graduate endowed scholarships, including application requirements and restrictions, please visit the Office of Undergraduate Admissions or Office of Graduate Student Assistantships and Fellowships at
https://www.gwu.edu/ .
Judge Luther A. Smith Scottish Rite Scholarship at Vanderbilt University Law School (Nashville, TN)
Established in 1965 from a trust agreement between the
Scottish Rite Foundation, Southern Jurisdiction, USA, Inc., and Vanderbilt University Law School in Nashville, Tennessee, this scholarship is a tribute to Ill. Luther A. Smith, 33°, who served as Sovereign Grand Commander of the Scottish Rite from 1955–1969 and earned his law degree from Vanderbilt University in 1909.
The scholarship is awarded based on the interest earned each year from the trust, and the corpus is never touched. This interest continues to be deposited into the income account, thus allowing more funds to be awarded. The first scholarship was awarded in 1990.
For more information about this scholarship, including application requirements and restrictions, please refer to the Financial Aid section in Vanderbilt University’s Law School Catalog, available at
https://law.vanderbilt.edu/ .