The Kansas Promise Scholarship Act provides service scholarships for students to attend an “eligible postsecondary educational institution” in specified programs. 

Please email promise@ksbor.org with any questions. 

Application, Deadlines, Programs

State of Kansas Student Aid Application

Kansas Promise Scholarship Information

Status Verification Form

Kansas Promise Scholarship Act FAQ (updated 5/23/25) 

Student Eligibility

For students to be eligible for a service scholarship, they must:

• Be a United States citizen and Kansas resident; AND

• Have graduated from a secondary school within the preceding 12 months or have attended a secondary school and obtained an equivalent credential within the preceding 12 months; OR

• Be Kansas resident for the preceding three consecutive years; OR

• Be a dependent child of a military servicemember permanently stationed in another state and who, within the preceding 12 months, graduated from any out-of-state secondary school or obtained a high school equivalency; OR

• Was in the custody of the KS Department of Children and Families at any time during grades 9-12.

To be eligible, students must have a family household income of:

• $100,000 or less for a family of two;

• $150,000 or less for a family of three; and

• $150,000 + $4,800 per additional family member beyond three.

Students must:

• Complete the required online scholarship application;

• Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA);

• Sign a Kansas promise scholarship agreement;

• Enroll in at least 6 hours per semester;

• Complete the program within 36 months from first Kansas Promise award.

Award Amounts

This scholarship is a last dollar scholarship, which means that a student may receive a scholarship in the amount of aggregate tuition, required fees, books and materials minus all other financial aid (including grants and scholarships) that does not require repayment.

This scholarship may be used for up to a per student lifetime total of 68 credit hours or $20,000, whichever occurs first, in one or more of these eligible programs. Your educational institution will determine your eligibility for the Kansas Promise Scholarship and the amount of your Promise Scholarship award based on the cost of the program you have chosen, information from the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which you are required to complete upon application for the Kansas Promise Scholarship, and other financial aid that you may be receiving. 

For eligible students attending a four-year eligible postsecondary institution, the scholarship award is limited to the average cost of what is charged by a two-year eligible public institution offering the same field of study. 

Promise Scholarship Eligible Field of Study

Per statutory language (K.S.A. 2022 Supp. 74-32,271(b)(4) and K.S.A. 2022 Supp. 74-32,272(c)(1)(B)), a “promise eligible program” means any two-year associate degree program or career and technical education certificate or stand-alone program offered by an eligible postsecondary educational institution that is:   

• a) approved by the Board of Regents;

• b) high wage, high demand, or critical need; and

• c) identified as a “promise eligible program” by the Board of Regents pursuant to K.S.A. 2022 Supp. 74-32,272, within any of the following fields of study:

  • Information Technology and Security

  • Mental and Physical Healthcare

  • Advanced Manufacturing and Building Trades

  • Early Childhood Education and Development

K.S.A. 2022 Supp. 74-32,272(a) states an eligible postsecondary educational institution may designate an additional field of study to meet local employment needs if the promise eligible programs within this field are two-year associate degree programs or career and technical education certificate and stand-alone programs approved by the Board of Regents that correspond to jobs that are high wage, high demand, or critical need in the community from one of the following fields:

• Agriculture;

• Food and Natural Resources;

• Education and Training;

• Law, Public Safety, Corrections, and Security; or

• Distribution, Logistics, and Transportation

K.S.A. 2022 Supp. 74-32,272(d) states that the Board of Regents may designate an associate degree transfer program as an eligible program only if such program is included in:

• a) An established 2+2 agreement with a Kansas four-year postsecondary education institution; or

• b) An articulation agreement with a Kansas four-year postsecondary educational institution and is part of an established degree pathway that allows a student to transfer at least sixty credit hours from the eligible from the eligible postsecondary educational institution to a four-year postsecondary education institution for the completion of an additional sixty credit hours toward a bachelor’s degree.

 Eligible Institutions

Eligible institutions must have at least one existing eligible program to be considered eligible and include:

• Public community colleges;

• Public technical colleges;

• Washburn Institute of Technology; and

• Private, not-for-profit institutions that offer eligible programs 

Institutions will credit their Promise scholarship funds to the award recipients’ accounts to pay the appropriate amount of tuition, required fees, books and required materials for the field of study in which the student enrolls.

 Service Obligation

To accept the Kansas Promise Act Scholarship, the recipient will sign a legally binding agreement with the state of Kansas.  The recipient agrees to complete their Promise program no more than 36 months from the first disbursement of Promise funding.  Upon graduating, the recipient will reside and work in Kansas for two consecutive years. The Kansas Board of Regents office will send email notices when employment verification is due each year.

If any condition of the agreement is not met and the student is not found to otherwise have satisfied the requirements in accordance with the Kansas Promise Scholarship Act, the student must repay the scholarship plus accrued interest (at the federal PLUS program interest rate) within six months after failure to satisfy the agreement.  

Forms for service obligation

Verification form to show that you are working and living in Kansas:  Promise Status Verification Form

Appeal form to request an extension for more time to complete your program:  Promise Timeframe Extension Appeal Form

Kansas Promise Scholarship Act Information  

Kansas Promise Scholarship FAQs

Please email scholars@ksbor.org with any questions.