2026 Diversity by Design Scholarship Award
Offered by IIDA Foundation and Diversity by Design Fund
About this scholarship
The 2026 Diversity by Design Scholarship Award provides $1,000 each to as many as two emerging interior-design or architecture students. It is reserved for alumni of IIDA’s two-week Design Your World program in Chicago, Dallas, Miami, or St. Louis who are now enrolled in a postsecondary interior-design or architecture program. IIDA membership is not required and there is no application fee. The central submission is a two- to three-minute video explaining how design has affected the applicant’s life, the motivation for entering interior design or architecture, and how the applicant intends to use a design career to benefit future clients and the community. Original drawings, sketches, and project work are welcome but optional. Required supporting materials are one recommendation letter of no more than one page from a program chair, dean, instructor, or mentor, plus a current student ID in JPEG or PDF format. The IIDA Foundation Board of Trustees reviews complete submissions; files missing required documentation are not considered. Applications opened August 11 and close September 25, 2026 through IIDA’s direct secure submission platform.
Eligibility
- Have completed IIDA’s two-week Design Your World program in Chicago, Dallas, Miami, or St. Louis
- Be currently enrolled at a postsecondary institution
- Study interior design or architecture; IIDA membership is not required
- Submit a 2–3 minute video addressing the published design, career, and community-impact prompts
- Include one recommendation letter of no more than one page from an eligible academic or mentor
- Upload a current student ID in JPEG or PDF format
- Submit the complete free application by September 25, 2026