Award winners will receive:

• up to $5,000, spread out over a maximum of eight semesters, or $1,250 per year, paid by semester directly to the school

Applicants must be undergraduate students currently enrolled in OR high school seniors who have been accepted to an undergraduate college, university, or community college design or certificate program.

Applicants must be involved in study—or if a senior in high school, must have accepted admission to—an appropriate area of study related to design, technology, or other production program in entertainment technology and performing arts, including theatre, concerts, or entertainment venues.

Applicants must be interested in further study in lighting, video/projection, or sound disciplines, including design and programming.

Applicants must meets the diversity criteria as described: “… to encourage the involvement in the profession of a variety of people in terms of race, ethnic background, religion, age, sexual orientation or gender identity, and those differently abled, as well as the diversity of geography, employer groups, philosophies, and career choices within the broad field of entertainment design.”

LDI and Live Design do not discriminate  on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, sex, age, marital status, national origin, mental or physical disability, political belief or affiliation, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, genetic information, and any other class of individuals protected from discrimination under state or federal law.

Nominations Open: April 18, 2025

Nominations Close: June 12, 2025 (11:59 PM EDT)

Review Period: June 2025

Award Notifications: July 2025

There is no entry fee for this award

Read all guidelines carefully before submitting your application.

All applications must be submitted via the USITT Awards Portal to be considered.

Required information:

• Applicant Contact Information: Name, email address, mailing address
• Nominee’s current or future educational institution, including contact information for the school
• Nominee's field of study/interest

Submission Materials:

• Resume (PDF Format) AND/OR link to professional website
• Short answers to the following questions:
  • What are your educational goals?
  • If you were to be mentored by someone in your chosen field, who would that be? (A dream mentor)
  • What 3 questions would you ask that mentor that you think would benefit you?
  • What under-represented population(s) do you identify with?
  • One letter of recommendation
  • The faculty member could include an instructor or supervisor, faculty member, production team member, or others in the entertainment industry.
  • Nominee will provide recommender’s name and email address. The recommender will receive instructions via email to upload their letter directly into the submission portal. Nominee will not be able to upload or view the letter.
   

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All USITT award nominees are required to submit a Professional Conduct Disclosure Form. This form will not be visible to the award jury and will only be reviewed by the USITT Ethics Officer.

This form is part of the submission and your submission will not be considered complete if it has not been submitted.

For more information, please review the USITT Honors and Awards Policy.

All applications for the Diversity in Design Scholarship will be reviewed by a panel of industry professionals selected by LDI/Live Design

No current USITT staff member may serve as a juror. Any reviewer with a conflict of interest is required to recuse themselves.

Applicants will be notified in July 2025 of the outcome of their applications via email.

Award winners will be required to submit additional information via the submissions portal, including a W9 form and scholarship distribution form to any Conference events. Failure to submit this information promptly may delay award processing.

USITT will publicize award winners utilizing official channels including (but not limited to): website, social media, weekly newsletter, Technically Speaking podcast. Winners may be contacted for additional information for publicity .