ELIGIBILITY
The LCU Fund does not award grants directly to individuals; rather, funds are provided to partner schools, which then select and support eligible scholars in accordance with the LCU Fund’s criteria.
Baseline Scholar Eligibility Criteria
To be considered for an LCU housing award, students must meet the following minimum criteria at the time of application:
Be enrolled in a junior- or senior-level undergraduate program, or in an approved graduate or professional program, at a current LCU partner institution
Be pursuing a degree in Education, Health Services, Public Administration, Social Work, or the Visual and Performing Arts
Have an annual income of less than $50,000, with limited or no financial assistance from family or outside sources
Demonstrate strong academic or artistic performance, evidenced by a minimum GPA of 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) or a documented record of programmatic or portfolio-based success
Partner schools may apply additional selection criteria based on their institutional policies and student populations.
Eligible students interested in housing support should contact their school for application details.
SCHOLAR PROFILES
An LCU Scholar is a woman in her final years of an undergraduate or graduate program who is preparing for a career in education, health services, public administration, social work, or the visual and performing arts. Often, she is the first in her family to navigate higher education. She carries a deep sense of purpose—driven to pursue careers that uplift individuals and strengthen communities.
She is high-achieving and resilient. She continues her studies while working, raising children, or caring for family members. She pushes forward despite financial barriers and limited access to support systems, determined to complete her degree and step into a role that improves the lives of others.
The LCU Fund helps remove one of the most daunting obstacles she faces—housing insecurity. By providing housing support, we ensure that her talent, drive, and aspirations can flourish. With a secure place to live, she can stay in school, focus on her education, and graduate prepared to serve in fields essential to the health, vitality, and cultural fabric of our communities.
Each year, approximately 160 women receive vital housing support through the LCU Fund for Women’s Education, distributed by our network of grant-making partner institutions. Scholars selected for funding reflect the rich diversity of New York City—not only in their chosen fields of study, but also in their age, cultural background, race, ethnicity, religion, national origin, language, sexual identity, and physical ability.
Since 2000, nearly 4,000 scholars have received critical housing support through the LCU Fund—support that allows them to stay in school, graduate, and move into essential careers that strengthen communities. Meet some of them here.
Maham, Former LCU Scholar at City College
“This scholarship will not only be helpful to me financially, but it will be a reminder of my commitment to the underprivileged. It will help me recall the good in the world, and the good I hope to fight for. I will pay my debt forward and help others the way that those before me have helped me. I thank you.”
Shemeka, Former LCU Scholar at Lehman College