NRF Founders Engineering Scholarship 2027 in USA

NRF Founders Engineering Scholarship is a tuition scholarship for undergraduate engineering students entering their junior or senior year who show academic achievement, leadership, professional potential and interest in natural refrigeration. Junior-year recipients receive $4,000, and senior-year recipients can receive up to $9,000 if they attended the IIAR Annual Natural Refrigeration Conference & Expo during their junior year and continue meeting eligibility requirements.

To be eligible for the NRF Founders Engineering Scholarship, applicants must be enrolled as undergraduate students entering their junior or senior year during the 2027–2028 academic year, attend an accredited four-year college or university, be pursuing a degree in engineering, and demonstrate interest in natural refrigeration, commercial refrigeration, industrial refrigeration or related cooling and heat-pump industries. They must also meet credit-hour and GPA requirements.

Applications for the 2027–2028 academic year open on August 3, 2026. The application deadline is January 31, 2027. All required materials, including transcripts and letters of recommendation, must be submitted by that date. Incomplete applications or materials received after the deadline may not be considered. Scholarship recipients are expected to be announced in June 2027.

Junior-year recipients receive $4,000, paid in two equal installments of $2,000. Senior-year recipients who attended the IIAR Annual Natural Refrigeration Conference & Expo during the spring of their junior year and continue to meet eligibility requirements are eligible to receive $9,000, paid in two equal installments of $4,500. Senior-year recipients who did not attend the conference receive $4,000.

Recipients are invited to attend the IIAR Annual Natural Refrigeration Conference & Expo during the spring of their junior year. The scholarship provides additional support for eligible registration, travel, lodging and meal expenses associated with attending the conference. Recipients must attend the conference and continue to meet eligibility requirements to qualify for the increased senior-year award.

Applicants must submit through the online application a completed NRF Scholarship application, academic and contact information, information about academic achievements, work experience, leadership and extracurricular activities, responses to the required personal essay questions, a current college or university transcript, and two letters of recommendation submitted through the online recommendation process.

Two letters of recommendation must be submitted through the online recommendation process. Applicants should allow sufficient time for their recommenders to complete and submit their recommendations before the application deadline. The online portal provides the recommendation submission workflow. Incomplete applications or materials received after the deadline may not be considered.

Applicants must have completed at least 45 semester credit hours, 90 quarter credit hours or the equivalent at the time of application. They must also hold a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale or 3.75 on a 5.0 scale. These requirements ensure students have sufficient academic preparation.

The NRF Scholarship Review Committee evaluates eligible applications based on academic achievement and engagement, quality and strength of letters of recommendation, personal essays and written communication, work, research, volunteer and leadership experience, demonstrated interest in refrigeration, and professional potential. All decisions are made at the discretion of the Natural Refrigeration Foundation.

Scholarship recipients are expected to be announced in June 2027. Applicants who submit a complete application and all required materials by the January 31, 2027 deadline will be considered. Official announcements will be made by the Natural Refrigeration Foundation through its application portal and communications. Applicants should monitor the official IIAR website for updates.