Massachusetts AFL-CIO Scholarship Awards Program

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FOR SENIORS

The Annual AFL-CIO Scholarship and Labor Education Program is in its 64th year. Through the program, the Massachusetts AFL-CIO and affiliated unions are proud to award financial resources to high school students pursuing trade union programs or college/university study. ­The Massachusetts AFL-CIO administers half a million dollars of scholarship awards on behalf of unions and labor councils throughout the state. Individual awards range from $500 to $16,000.

Exam registration for 2021 is open. The deadline to register is December 18, 2020. 

Students can register here.

Click below to download the MA AFL-CIO Scholarship Exam study guide. *Additional content will be added in December. Please check back for updates.

PDF icon Mass AFL-CIO Scholarship Exam Study Guide 2019-2020

interactive exam website studying tool click here. 

Key Dates for 2020-2021 Program

  • October 2020: Online registration opened. Once a student registers they must inform their high school guidance office that they intend to take the exam.
  • December 2020: Scholarship study guide and interactive website will have additional content. Students can continue using the current guide and website.
  • December 18, 2020: Last day to register. All applications must be received by 5pm to be eligible to take the scholarship exam.
  • January 25, 2021-February 5, 2021: Scholarship exam is administered at high schools across Massachusetts. Schools will be assigned a timeframe to administer the exam. Students must check with their exam proctor for testing time and location.

In order to be eligible for a scholarship, students must take the Labor History Exam. The Massachusetts AFL-CIO publishes a Labor History Study Guide, which covers a broad range of the history of working people organizing for justice in the United States.

The Labor History Exam is administered once per year, and awardees are determined by the Scholarship Committee of the MA AFL-CIO. The Scholarship Committee consists of current and retired union members.

All Massachusetts high school seniors are eligible to compete for certain awards. Additionally, students with a family or personal union affiliation are eligible for awards given by their family’s specific local union or central labor council. About 2,000 students take the exam annually to compete for a scholarship.

Read more about application and eligibility on our FAQ page linked below. If you have additional questions, contact Scholarship Coordinator Carla Connolly at cconnolly@massaflcio.org.