Bezos Scholars Program

There’s no experience like the Bezos Scholars Program—a transformative, year-long, no-cost leadership development program that amplifies youth voice and action so young people with passion can start making a difference today. Each year, 17 exceptional juniors from the U.S. and Africa, along with educators from each of their schools, are selected as Bezos Scholars.

Since 2011, the Bezos Scholars Program has collaborated with the African Leadership Academy to select five students and one educator tasked as a team with planning the annual South African Ideas Festival.

Student Scholars engage in leadership development skill-building through project-based learning and receive free college advising. At the center of the program are Community Change Projects—fresh and sustainable approaches to meeting community needs, conceived and launched by Scholars with our support

The Bezos Scholarship Program is a program of the Bezos Family Foundation, an independent private foundation that champions the science of learning and its application.

The deadline to apply is 8:00 p.m. (Pacific Standard Time) January 15, 2026.