Diversity in Structural Engineering Scholarships

The Structural Engineers Association of Northern California (SEAONC) established a permanent endowed scholarship to financially support a student from a historically underrepresented minority in structural engineering, preferably with a desire to practice in northern California. The permanent endowed scholarship provides a recipient $3,000 toward their education to assist with tuition, fees, and other mandatory education costs.

SEAONC was founded in 1930 with the intent of improving the interchange of technical information and business practices. With 39 charter members, SEAONC now has over 1,000 members focused on structural engineering practice in northern California, a traditional wellspring of earthquake engineering knowledge and skill.

The Structural Engineers Association of New York (SEAoNY) established a permanent endowed scholarship to financially support a historically underrepresented student base in structural engineering, preferably attending school in New York. The permanent endowed scholarship provides a recipient $3,000 toward their education to assist with tuition, fees, and other mandatory education costs.

SEAoNY was founded in 1996 to advance the art of structural engineering in New York by improving the flow of ideas and building a community of colleagues. With over 500 members from major structural engineering design firms as well as many small practices, the association sponsors educational events and is the voice of the New York structural engineering profession.

The Applied Technology Council (ATC) Endowment Fund established this scholarship offering the recipient $3,000 towards their education.

ATC is a non-profit structural engineering organization established in 1973 through the efforts of the Structural Engineers Association of California. In the past 50 years, ATC has published several hundred publications that have helped shape the structural engineering profession. At ATC, we believe that intentionally designing rich, diverse, and vibrant professional environments is central to fulfilling our mission to imagine, develop, and promote the advancement of technologies to enhance societal resistance to natural and other hazards.

Degenkolb Engineers established this scholarship, offering the recipient $5,000 towards their education ($2,500 for each of the next two semesters) as well as an opportunity for a paid internship during the summer of the award in one of their offices on the west coast of the United States.

Founded in 1940, Degenkolb Engineers has more than eight decades of commitment to innovation, client service, and life-long learning. They deliver customized structural solutions in a variety of practice areas: healthcare, education, science and technology, forensics, construction engineering and federal buildings.

Forell Elsesser Engineers established this scholarship offering the recipient $3,000 towards their education.

San Francisco-based Forell Elsesser Structural Engineers, founded by Nicholas Forell and Eric Elsesser in 1960, is one of the most active structural and earthquake engineering firms in the Western U.S., known for providing innovative, customized solutions across all product types. F|E was a pioneer in seismic base isolation systems now common today, and is a leader implementing new strategies such as buckling restrained-braced frames, passive damped systems, and mass timber as a structural and aesthetic design solutions. F|E focuses on sustainable design strategies of clients’ Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) goals including reducing embodied carbon, improving building efficiency and attaining certifications where desired such as CALGreen, Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED), WELL Building and Living Building Challenge, among others.

Holmes US established this scholarship offering two recipients $5,000 each towards their education.

Holmes US is an interdisciplinary engineering firm with offices in Boulder, Los Angeles, Portland, San Francisco and Seattle, and is part of the international Holmes Group. Working across Australia, New Zealand, the United States, and the Netherlands, Holmes combines international best practices with local knowledge earned on thousands of challenging projects in our own backyards. Born in New Zealand over 65 years ago, Holmes is a distinctively international business. With more than 500 people worldwide, Holmes delivers a powerful combination of innovation, technical excellence, and good old-fashioned pragmatism.

Mackenzie established this scholarship offering the recipient $3,250 towards their education.

Mackenzie is a design firm that specializes in architecture, interiors, engineering, and planning. Locations in Portland, OR, Seattle and Vancouver, WA.

Martin/Martin Consulting Engineers established the Skyrise scholarship offering the recipient $5,000 towards their education ($2,500 for each of the next two semesters) to assist with offsetting tuition, fees, and other mandatory education related costs. This scholarship also includes the possible opportunity to participate as an intern during the summer the award is given in one of Martin/Martin’s offices.

With nine growing offices across the United States, Martin/Martin, Inc is a full-service civil and structural consulting firm built on experience and industry leadership cultivated since the 1940s. Our engineered solutions are developed through a culture of integrity, service, creativity, and quality for the benefit of our clients and the community. In 2020, Martin/Martin, Inc. founded the Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) Committee to foster an inclusive culture that celebrates uniqueness, bolsters a sense of belonging, and promotes equitable opportunity for all in the engineering community. This scholarship is part of our company’s commitment to rise above for Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion within our organization and the industry.

This memorial scholarship was established by the Tipping family, and offers the recipient a $3,500 scholarship towards their education with an opportunity to participate in an externship program at Tipping, Berkeley California. Emphasis will be placed on those candidates demonstrating financial need and promise as future leaders.

Candidates must be a current student in a California-based junior college, university or college, with a focused career interest in structural engineering. Candidates need to be registered in the fall term of the year of the award (Fall 2024).

For more than 35 years, Steve Tipping advanced the science and art of structural engineering, pioneering creative yet pragmatic design solutions for a broad range of projects. His inventions and accomplishments in seismic retrofit design have been especially crucial to the earthquake-prone Bay Area, while his emphasis on constructability culminated in an unparalleled expertise in cost- and resource-efficient solutions.

To read more about Steve’s legacy, please visit the Hensolt SEAONC Legacy Project Page

Newly established in 2024 by Think Wood, the Wood Solutions Scholarship offers $5,000 to four qualified recipients each in the program year. Scholarship candidates should have graduated (or will graduate) from an accredited engineering school in the application year and should be employed (or seeking employment) as a structural engineer in the U.S. Candidates will be judged based on a stated commitment to enhancing their knowledge of sustainably sourced U.S. wood products and to applying this knowledge professionally in the service of creating safe, affordable, and lower-carbon structures. 

Think Wood is a communications campaign that provides commercial, multifamily, and single-family residential design and build resources to architects, developers, and contractors. Think Wood’s funder is the Softwood Lumber Board (SLB). The SLB is an industry-funded check-off program established to promote the benefits and uses of softwood lumber products in outdoor, residential, and non-residential construction. Programs and initiatives supported by the SLB focus on increasing the demand for softwood lumber products in the United States.

The SEA-Metropolitan Washington (SEA-MW) established a named scholarship offering the recipient $3,000 towards their education.

The NCSEA Diversity in Structural Engineering Scholarship was established by the NCSEA Foundation in 2021 to award funding to students who have been traditionally underrepresented in structural engineering (including but not limited to Black/African Americans, Native/Indigenous Americans, Hispanics/Latinos, and other people of color, those with disabilities and LGBTQIA+). Multiple scholarships are presented annually to junior college students, undergraduate students, and/or graduate students pursuing degrees in structural engineering.