United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation invests in education for the geospatial intelligence community through a scholarship program that has awarded more than $2 million since 2004. Its education work supports students pursuing GEOINT and related disciplines, including geospatial science, remote sensing, intelligence studies, and earth science. The foundation opens its scholarship cycle to a broad academic pipeline, from graduating high school seniors through undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students, and ties financial assistance directly to academic advancement in geospatially focused fields.
The organization structures this support through both general scholarships and a portfolio of named awards created with organizational and individual donors. Those awards illustrate the range of audiences and specialties USGIF serves: the Stu Shea Endowed Scholarship provides $15,000 annually for one doctoral student studying geospatial; the Reinventing Geospatial, Inc. Scholarship for Geospatial and Engineering provides $15,000 for one undergraduate student with interests spanning engineering and geospatial disciplines; and the Ken Miller Scholarship for Advanced Remote Sensing Applications provides $10,000 for one master’s student working in or planning to enter the defense or intelligence workforce. Other awards target leadership in GEOINT, innovation, artificial intelligence and machine learning, veterans, and students at St. Louis area colleges and universities.