AICPA offers $1M in scholarships for 2023

Scholarships offered by the American Institute of CPAs are now available, with the application period running from Dec. 1 through March 15, 2023.

With the goal to grow and diversify the accounting pipeline, the AICPA scholarships will offer funding for graduate and undergraduate students, as well as those aiming to educate the next generation of accountants. 

"The AICPA is committed to fostering and developing a diverse and inclusive pipeline of students studying accounting and pursuing CPA licensing," said Jan Taylor, AICPA academic-in-residence and senior director of academic and student engagement, in a statement. "Our goal is to fully support and encourage the next generation of licensed and credentialed accountants by offering financial assistance to undergraduate and graduate students and to qualified CPA exam candidates."

Legacy scholarships

With nearly $1 million in total scholarships available for the next academic year, the AICPA Legacy Scholarships offer recipients $3,000 to $10,000 per person. Funded by the AICPA and its foundation, the scholarship awards support students from a variety of backgrounds:

• American Woman's Society of CPAs (AWSCPA) Scholarship Award, which recognizes up to eight outstanding women pursuing a degree in accounting with a $5,000 reward;
• AICPA John L. Carey Scholarship Award, which supports up to eight non-accounting or business degree holders pursuing a graduate degree in accounting with a $5,000 reward;
• AICPA Scholarship Award for Minority Accounting Students, which supports the education needs of around 100 outstanding minority students, with rewards ranging from $3,000 to $10,000;
• AICPA Foundation Two-year Transfer Scholarship Award, which will award $3,000 to $5,000 to up to 50 students transferring from a two-year school to a four-year program to complete their accounting degree; and
• AICPA Foundation Scholarship for Future CPAs, which will award $5,000 to $10,000 to up to 40 students wishing to take the CPA exam after graduation.

Doctoral scholarships

Newly accepted PhD candidates have access to the Accounting Doctoral Scholars Program, with up to a $20,000 reward throughout their studies. The AICPA's 2019 Trends in the Supply of Accounting Graduates and the Demand for Public Accounting Recruits study found that the number of PhD students in accounting had decreased around 40% over the last 10 years. This program seeks to correct this dynamic and encourage more students to pursue academia, especially those with recent public accounting experience. 

Renewable for up to four years, the Minority Doctoral Fellowship program offers $12,000 to 25 minority students meeting the eligibility requirements, with the goal of diversifying accounting faculties at colleges and universities. 

Every year, the William (Bill) Ezzell Scholarship Program offers an award of $10,000 to five accounting PhD candidates who demonstrate high potential to become accounting educators. The scholarship is named after the late William Ezzell, who served as a chairman of the AICPA and strove to improve the profession's image by promoting values of integrity, independence and professionalism. He was also remembered as a long-time advocate for accounting students, especially those preparing for their CPA licensure.