Mosaic Scholarship

Purpose and Criteria for Selection:

The Mosaic Scholarship provides financial and mentoring support to students of color pursuing graduate education in archival science, encourages students to pursue a career as an archivist, and promotes the diversification of the American archives profession. The award is given to applicants who demonstrate excellent potential for scholastic and personal achievement and who manifest a commitment both to the archives profession and to advancing diversity concerns within it. Established by the SAA Council in August 2008 to advance SAA's Diversity Strategic Priority.

Eligibility: Please read this section carefully.

The applicant: 

• Must be a citizen or permanent resident of the United States or Canada.
• Must be of American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latinx, Middle Eastern/North African, or Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander descent.
• Must be currently enrolled in a graduate program or a multi-course program in archival administration, or have applied to such a program for the next academic year. (The graduate program must offer at least three courses in archival science or be listed in the current SAA Directory of Archival Education. If the program is not listed in the SAA Directory of Archival Education, the applicant must provide proof of the three-course standard by submitting copies of course descriptions from the institution's current course catalog.)
• Shall have completed no more than half of the credit requirements toward her/his graduate degree at the time of award (i.e., June 1).
• Must be enrolled in a graduate program and begin school no later than September 1 or the fall semester/quarter immediately following the award. Otherwise the award will be rescinded.
• May have full-time or part-time status.
• Must submit a 500-word report to the SAA Council upon completion of the second semester.

In the event that certain conditions arise, the following shall apply: 1) if the award exceeds tuition fees for one semester, the balance may be carried over to the next semester; 2) if the recipient drops out of the archival administration program, all unused fees shall be returned to SAA; and 3) if the recipient’s tuition is paid in full by another scholarship or award, the recipient shall decline the Mosaic Scholarship.

Sponsors and Funding:

The Society of American Archivists and the Society of American Archivists Foundation.

Selection Committee:

The Mosaic Scholarship Subcommittee of the SAA Awards Committee is composed of six members of the Society of American Archivists and one of the co-chairs of the Awards Committee (ex officio).  Two of the six members are appointed each year by the SAA President-elect to serve three-year terms.  One of these appointees shall be a previous Mosaic Scholarship recipient. The chair of the subcommittee is appointed annually by the President-elect from among the third-year members. The President-elect's appointments shall be made in consultation with the chairs of the SAA Diversity Committee, the Archivists and Archives of Color Roundtable, and the Archival Educators Roundtable.

Prize:

As the SAA and SAA Foundation budgets permit, up to two scholarships of $5,000 each.  In addition, each scholarship recipient receives a one-year complimentary membership in the Society of American Archivists and complimentary registration to the Society’s Annual Meeting for the year in which the scholarship is received.

First Awarded:

2009

Application Deadline and Requirements:

Click here to preview the application and/or to apply. All applications must be submitted by February 28 of each year and include the following:

• A cover letter stating interest in the scholarship and how the applicant meets eligibility requirements.
• Official transcripts from the applicant's most recent academic program. NOTE: Allow enough time to get transcripts by application deadline.
• Essay of not more than 500 words outlining the applicant's interest in the archives profession as well as how they would advance diversity concerns within it.
• Two letters of recommendation. NOTE: Please notify your references ahead of time. Your references will need to upload their letters of recommendation to your online form by the application deadline.

Mosaic Scholarship Recipients:

2024:   Sage Innerarity (Simmons University)

2023:   Dharani Persaud (University of British Columbia)

2022:   Sean Payne (Syracuse University)

2021:   Christopher Castro (University of California, Los Angeles)

2020:   Mya Ballin (University of British Columbia)

2019:    Lisle Pino (San Jose State University)

2018:    Alexis Recto (University of California, Los Angeles)

2017:   Jessica Tai AND Sabrina Ponce (University of California, Los Angeles)

2016:   Jimmy Zavala (University of California, Los Angeles)

2015:   Desiree Alaniz (Simmons College)

2014:   Rebecca Nieto (McGill University) AND Maria E. Sanchez-Tucker (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee)

2013:   Barrye Brown (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) AND Rhonda Jones (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)

2012:   Aditi Sharma Worcester (University of Texas at Austin)

2011:   Rose Chou (San Jose State University) AND Helen Kim (University of Texas at Austin)

2010:   LaNesha DeBardelaben (Indiana University-Bloomington) AND Susan Gehr (San Jose State University) 

2009:   Janet Ceja (University of Pittsburgh) AND Harrison Inefuku (University of British Columbia)