Deadline March 14, 2026

The Powder Coating Institute (PCI) hereby solicits applications for the 2026 PCI Scholarship Program. To qualify the candidate must be a full-time undergraduate or graduate student, enrolled in a fall 2026 program and meet the criteria listed below.

All applications must come through the PCI website no later than March 14, 2026. The applications will be compiled by PCI staff and sent to the corporate donor member companies for review and selection of each corporate scholarship and the PCI scholarships. A representative from each corporate donor company serves on the scholarship subcommittee to select their applicant.

PCI’s Scholarship program has awarded over $250,000 to eligible students over the past ten years. Nearly all award winners have had coursework or relative work experience directly related to the powder coating or finishing field. Although alternative academic pursuits are welcome to apply, only relative fields (sales & marketing, chemistry, polymer science, chemical, mechanical, or electrical engineering, corrosion engineering, manufacturing technology, or other like programs) will be seriously considered.

CRITERIA AND APPLICANT SCORING

CRITERIA

To apply for the PCI general and corporate donor scholarships, the applicant must meet the following criteria:

• Must be enrolled or scheduled to enroll in the upcoming academic calendar year in a two or four-year technical school, four-year university, or graduate program
• Must be a citizen or permanent resident of the United States, Canada or Mexico – application must be submitted in English
• Must maintain a grade point average of 2.5 or above
• Must complete a PCI Scholarship application and attach all of the following required documents with the application by the deadline
  • Completed application
  • Transcript
  • Letter of recommendation from a faculty member
    

APPLICATION

Should include:

• Academic Status (school enrolled, area(s) of study, degree sought; total credit hours completed; overall GPA
• Distinctions, honors, other scholarships
• Work experience related to this scholarship if applicable
• Short & long term career objectives
• Applicants may only receive scholarship monies a maximum of two times

SCORING

Will be based on the following:

• Specific studies, relative work experience and projects related to powder coatings or other applicable work
• Future goals & career objectives
• Unique qualifications/goals/aspirations
• Letter of recommendation
• Grade Point Average

AWARD SELECTION & PRESENTATION

Award recipients will be selected on an annual basis. Children of PCI member companies are welcome to apply. If an applicant being considered is related to a PCI board member or a member of the Subcommittee, that member will recuse themselves from the vote.

Scholarship recipients will be notified by a letter/via email from PCI’s executive director and notifications will also be sent to non-recipients thanking them for their application. Winners will be asked to submit hi-res photo for recognition purposes.

PAYMENT OF SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS

PCI General Scholarships will be awarded per the scholarship amount approved by the PCI Board of Directors for the calendar year. Award checks will be sent to the student’s account at the school. Scholarship dollars awarded are to be used solely for tuition.

Applicants may only receive scholarship monies a maximum of two times.

For more information, contact: Deputy Executive Director Ali Bullis. ded@powdercoating.org