Six scholarships are awarded annually through the ACES Education Fund.
One is the Bill Walsh scholarship, in honor of the late editor, author, and ACES guiding spirit. The winner — a student who demonstrates excellence in the editing of news — receives $3,500 plus financial aid to attend the ACES national conference.
The other five ACES scholarships are awarded to students who excel in critical thinking about written materials in any field and aspire to a career involving editing. Four of these winners each receive $1,500, and $2,500 will go to the student chosen as the Aubespin scholar. All five winners also are eligible for aid to attend the ACES conference. The generosity of donors enables all of these awards. Application materials for each year's scholarships open in late summer.
Applicants for all ACES scholarships must be seeking degrees as enrolled college/university juniors, seniors, or graduate students at the time of the deadline (Nov. 15) They must also demonstrate an interest in editing as a career. Scholarships are awarded without regard to the student’s nationality, residence or field of academic concentration. Previous scholarship winners are not eligible.
The Walsh scholarship will go to an applicant who aspires to edit news and who demonstrates the talent and passion for language that Bill Walsh devoted his career to. Applicants for the other five scholarships should have a commitment to the editing of written materials and demonstrate effectiveness in doing so. We’re looking for critical thinkers who have a passion for words and enjoy making writing clear, accurate and engaging. A student may simultaneously seek both the Walsh award and one of the other five scholarships, but may win only one.
The deadline for ACES scholarship applications each year is Nov. 15. Applications open in late summer.
See the list of all of the ACES scholarship winners since 1999.
Since 1999, the ACES Education Fund, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, and its predecessor have awarded more than 100 scholarships to deserving students who have a passion for editing.
The Walsh scholarship honors Bill Walsh, author, blogger, and longtime copy editor at the Washington Post. Walsh, who died in early 2017, was an active and creative member of the ACES Education Fund board.
The Aubespin scholarship honors Merv Aubespin, a former president of the National Association of Black Journalists who, as the chairman of the Human Resources Committee of the American Society of News Editors in the mid-1990s, greatly helped inspire the creation of ACES.
The scholarship program is administered (but not judged) by members of the ACES Education Fund Board. Judging of the applications is done by two separate panels of five people each. The selection of winners is a two-step process. In December, the judges choose the finalists, who then take a timed editing test in early January. Test results are then added to the applicants’ portfolios, and a second round of judging decides the winners.
Apply to the Bill Walsh Scholarship