About the MSSF

The MENA Scholarship Support Fund (MSSF) assists highly qualified students from underserved populations in the Middle East and North Africa who seek to pursue their undergraduate studies in the United States but lack the financial means to do so.
Graduating student holds up a scarf with the Lebanese flag on it at her ceremony

The MSSF makes it possible for Amideast to identify and help students of exceptional accomplishment and promise through the complicated process of applying for the scholarships they need to complete their undergraduate studies at an institution of higher learning in the United States.

To date, the MSSF has matched nearly 240 deserving young men and women from Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Syria, Tunisia, and Yemen with scholarships at colleges and universities across the United States.

MSSF scholars bring their experiences and insights to their college communities, contributing to and enhancing the intellectual dialogue at host institutions. In the process they are furthering Amideast’s mission of strengthening mutual understanding and cooperation between Americans and the peoples of the MENA region.

HOW IT WORKS

The resources in this special fund enable Amideast to provide the services that assist several candidates each year to apply and qualify for four-year scholarships to select U.S. institutions of higher learning. To accomplish this, we do the following:

  • Amideast administers an extensive region-wide search through our country offices, EducationUSA centers, and other networks to identify applicants of exceptional accomplishment and promise
  • Amideast staff provide a full range of services, including academic advising English-language enrichment, testing services, and travel expenses, for up to two years to assist scholars through the lengthy, and often complicated, testing and application process
  • Working directly with U.S. institutions of higher education, students, and families, we match scholars to select American colleges or universities willing to provide scholarship resources to fund candidates’ completion of four-year undergraduate degree programs in the United States

The MSSF, in addition, helps students and their families close the financial gap by covering associated costs beyond and above what their universities and families are able to commit, including insurance, health, books, tuition, transportation, and enrichment activities.

For more information on the MSSF and to learn how to apply, please contact the Amideast office in your country, or email mssf-team@amideast.org . Palestinian students from the West Bank and Gaza should apply to the Hope Fund, a similar Amideast scholarship program for Palestinians.

HISTORY

The MSSF was established in 2006 as the Diana Kamal Scholarship Search Fund (DKSSF), in memory of Amideast Senior Vice President Diana Kamal, a recognized leader in the field of international educational exchange and an individual with a lifelong commitment to improving understanding between Americans and the peoples of the Middle East and North Africa. It honored her memory by identifying talented young students and matching them with scholarship opportunities at U.S. colleges and universities.

In 2022, the name of the program was changed to MENA Scholarship Support Fund in recognition of its growth and expanded mission beyond opening the doors to higher education for deserving youth from the region through scholarship matches to include the provision of support that enables scholarship awardees to cover incidental expenses associated with their studies, including insurance, health, books, tuition, transportation, and enrichment activities.

PARTICIPATING COLLEGES

More than 70 U.S. colleges and universities have generously supported the MSSF and its mission of expanding educational opportunity for bright, underserved youth from the MENA region:

  • American University
  • Augustana College
  • Babson College
  • Bard College
  • Barnard College
  • Bates College
  • Berea College
  • Boston University
  • Bowdoin College
  • Brigham Young University
  • Bryn Mawr college
  • Bucknell University
  • California State, Chico
  • Carleton College
  • Carnegie Mellon Qatar
  • Central Washington University
  • Colby College
  • Colgate University
  • Columbia University
  • Connecticut College
  • Dartmouth University
  • Davidson College
  • Drexel University
  • Duke University
  • Earlham College
  • Franklin & Marshall College
  • Georgetown University
  • Grinnell College
  • Hamilton College
  • Harvard University
  • Haverford College
  • Johns Hopkins University
  • Kenyon College
  • Lafayette College
  • Lake Forest College
  • Lehigh University
  • Lycoming College
  • Minerva University
  • MIT
  • Monmouth College
  • Mount Holyoke College
  • New College of Florida
  • New York University - Shanghai
  • Northwestern University
  • NYU Abu Dhabi
  • Parsons School of Design
  • Princeton University
  • Purdue University
  • Rhodes College
  • Rice University
  • Robert Morris University
  • Sewanee: University of The South
  • Smith College
  • St. Olaf College
  • Stanford University
  • Stetson University
  • Swarthmore College
  • Troy University
  • Tufts University
  • Union University
  • University of Chicago
  • University of Cincinnati
  • University of Denver
  • University of Miami
  • University of Michigan
  • University of Minnesota
  • University of Notre Dame
  • University of Pennsylvania
  • University of Rochester
  • University of Toledo
  • Vanderbilt University
  • Vassar College
  • Villanova University
  • Wagner College
  • Washington and Lee university
  • Wellesley College
  • Wesleyan University
  • Whitman College
  • Williams College
  • Yale University