USDA Reinstates Scholarship Program for HBCU Students

Inside Higher Ed

Sara Weissman

February 26, 2025

On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reopened applications to the 1890 Scholars Program, which provides federal scholarships to agriculture students at historically Black land-grant institutions.

The program was previously “suspended pending further review,” according to the department’s website last week.

News of the program’s suspension prompted significant backlash.

U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff of Georgia described the 1890 Scholars Program as a “lifeline” for HBCU students in the state and called on the Trump administration to restore its funding.

“I urge the Trump administration to immediately reinstate this funding to ensure that Georgia HBCU students receive the support Congress directed to them,” Ossoff said Monday.

U.S. Representative Alma S. Adams, who earlier called the suspension “targeted and mean-spirited,” wrote in a statement that she was pleased to see it lifted and she hopes to “work together to address the real challenges and real opportunities” for land-grant HBCUs.

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