Beyonce announced a scholarship program Tuesday named after a hit song from her acclaimed album "Lemonade," geared toward women pursuing bachelor's and graduate degrees.
The Formation Scholars was announced to celebrate the one-year anniversary of "Lemonade," which won a Peabody Award last week.
A message on the singer's website stated the awards for the 2017-18 academic year were created "to encourage and support young women who are unafraid to think outside the box and are bold, creative, conscious, and confident."
One scholarship will be given out to a woman at each of four colleges – the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Howard University in Washington, D.C., Parsons School of Design in New York City, and Spelman College in Atlanta.
According to Spelman, its Formation scholarship is a one-time $25,000 award for a student with a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher who is majoring in creative arts, music, literature, African-American studies, or women's studies. Among other requirements, scholarship candidates must submit a 300-word essay on the topic, "How has the album 'Lemonade' inspired your educational goals?"
"Beyonce Knowles-Carter’s generosity could not have come at a better time," Mary Schmidt Campbell, president of Spelman, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "Spelman is brimming with talented admitted students who have distinguished themselves as leaders, high academic performers and change agents.
"Nonetheless, they face very real financial barriers to attendance. Her gift opens a door to a transformative Spelman experience for at least one of them. We are so grateful to this visionary artist for helping us build a future for our young people," Schmidt continued.
Berklee President Roger Brown said in a statement that the singer has been an "inspiring role model" for their students.
"Her original all-female band included a current professor and two Berklee alumnae," Brown said in the statement. "Beyonce's support for a female student studying at the Boston or Valencia campus will have an impact on the global music industry, and further Beyonce's own mission of artistic excellence and innovative business practices that have made her the most compelling artist of the 21st century."
The "Lemonade" album was the source of some controversy when it was first released. Some complained the images in the video "Formation" were anti-police, and police unions in Miami, Tampa, Nashville, and Raleigh, North Carolina, threatened to boycott.
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