Brigham Young Granddaughters Association Scholarship Program
Brigham Young and his family were steadfast advocates for female education. In this spirit, the Brigham Young Granddaughters Association (BYGA) awards at least one $1,000 scholarship annually to support the educational pursuits of our members. These scholarships are funded through member dues and generous donations. Please consider contributing to this meaningful cause via the donation button on our website.
Click here to donate to the BYGA scholarship!2026 SCHOLARSHIP NOW OPEN
2026 BYGA Scholarship Application
Brigham Young’s remarkable achievements in shaping The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the state of Utah, and the nation were bolstered by the strength and inspiration of his wives and daughters. Their lives and legacies continue to inspire generations of women, including their daughters and granddaughters. How has one of these extraordinary women inspired you?
Scholarship Prompt: Choose any direct female descendant of Brigham Young in your ancestral line—such as one of his wives, daughters, granddaughters, or other women down the generations—and share how her life and legacy inspires you. Provide details about her life and explain why she resonates with you personally.
Explore this question by researching the life of your ancestor. Your submission should reflect deep engagement with her story and demonstrate how this scholarship will support your educational journey.
Submission Deadline: April 30, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. PT.
Submission Requirements
All materials must be submitted via the digital application portal on the BYGA website. The document must be formatted in Times New Roman, 12pt font, and adhere to APA style guidelines. Submissions must include:
Title Page: Include a creative title that reflects your project along with the applicant’s name, address, email, phone number, and the name of your future institution*
Creative Project: A project in the form of an essay, musical composition, artwork, video, service project, or equivalent creative work (reflecting a minimum of 5 hours of effort). The project must include the applicant’s name and clearly address the prompt. Project length limits apply for fairness:*
Essays: Maximum 1,500 words.
Videos: Maximum 5 minutes.
Musical compositions: Maximum 4 minutes.
Artwork (e.g., paintings, drawings, digital art): Maximum one piece or a series of three smaller pieces.
Service projects: Documented effort equivalent to 5–10 hours.
Project Description: A 300–500-word written description explaining the creative project and how it answers the prompt, demonstrating research and connection to the ancestor’s life. *
Scholarship Impact Statement: A 100–300-word description of how the scholarship will benefit your education and support your goals.*
Letter of Recommendation: A letter from a leader or mentor attesting to the applicant’s character and qualifications.
Include at least three credible sources (e.g., journals, family records, historical documents) listed as references.**
Proof of Enrollment: Documentation of acceptance to a college, university, or technical college for Fall 2026, including the institution’s address for depositing funds.
Family Tree: A genealogical chart showing the applicant’s connection to Brigham Young.
Proof of Dues: A receipt confirming payment of 2026 BYGA membership dues.
Service Commitment: A signed agreement to serve on the BYGA board for one year following the award.
*Title page and written portions of the creative project such as the Project Description, Scholarship Impact Statement, Letter of Recommendation, and references should be submitted together in one document.
**Please note that the BYGA website is not a primary source and therefore cannot be included in your sources for the project.
You can find an example of what your submission should look like HERE.
Awards
Up to two winners will be announced on June 7, 2026, at the BYGA Annual Luncheon and on the BYGA website. Each winner will receive a $1,000 scholarship, disbursed to the tuition office of their chosen institution within three months of the contest’s close. BYGA will make commercially reasonable efforts to ensure accurate delivery but is not responsible for incorrect addresses provided by winners. Recipients are responsible for complying with all applicable federal, state, and local tax laws and regulations related to the scholarship award.
Eligibility
The scholarship is open to dues-paying BYGA members who are high school seniors or current college students attending or planning to attend a college, university, or technical college to pursue a degree or certificate. Each eligible member has the opportunity to be the recipient of one scholarship within her lifetime.
Judging
Submissions will be evaluated by a panel of judges based on the following rubric (out of 50 points):
Application Format (5 points): The written components submission is formatted in Times New Roman, 12pt font, and APA style, with a complete title page including the specified title, name, address, email, and phone number.
Completeness of Submission (10 points): All required components are included: title page, project description (300–500 words), scholarship impact statement (100–300 words), letter of recommendation, References, creative project, proof of enrollment(including the institution’s address for depositing funds), family tree, proof of dues, and signed service commitment.
Creative Project and Descriptions (30 points):
The creative project (essay, music, artwork, video, service project, or equivalent) reflects a minimum of 5 hours of effort, adheres to length limits, and includes the applicant’s name.
The project and its 300–500-word description demonstrate thorough research (including at least three credible sources in APA format) and clearly address the prompt, showing how the applicant’s ancestor inspires them.
The 100–300-word scholarship impact statement articulates the educational and personal benefits of the award.
Service Commitment (5 points): The applicant provides a signed agreement to serve on the BYGA board for one year.
Judges will assess entries for adherence to guidelines, originality, organization, depth of research, and alignment with the prompt. The selection of the judges is within the sole discretion of the BYGA. Entries found to involve tampering, violation of rules, or plagiarism will be disqualified.
Winners will be notified prior to the June 7, 2026, luncheon. Stay connected with BYGA on social media for updates and announcements!
Judge’s Rubric
Availability Disclaimer
The administration of the contest, including, without limitation; determining the eligibility of a student or entry, selecting a judge, evaluating any submitted entry, and awarding of the prizes, is within the sole discretion of the BYGA. No student or teacher, person or organization related to, has a right to appeal, contest, dispute, or challenge any aspect of the administration of the Contest, and any decision of the BYGA is final in all respects. No responsibility is assumed for incorrect or inaccurate entry information whether caused by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized by this contest or by any human error which may occur in the processing of entries into this Contest. The BYGA is not responsible for lost, late, misdirected, or delayed entries or any problems or technical malfunctions of any telephone network or lines, computer online systems, servers or providers, computer equipment, software, failure of players on account of technical problems, or traffic congestion on the Internet or at any website or combination thereof. If, for any reason, the contest is not capable of running as planned, including infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes beyond the control of the BYGA, which corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity or proper conduct of this contest or for any reason the BYGA deems it necessary, the BYGA reserves the right to cancel, modify, or delay the Contest.
Nondiscrimination Policy
In administering the Contest, the Brigham Young Granddaughters Association will not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national, or ethnic origin.