Overview: The Islamic Scholarship Fund (ISF) is offering scholarships and grants to American Muslim students pursuing majors in public policy, public interest, law, media, and film. The fund aims to increase American Muslim representation in government and media to improve public policy and public opinion. The 2026 ISF scholarship application is open until March 21, 2026, and students can apply as many times as they wish. ISF has awarded $3.5 million in scholarships and grants to over 570 students and has over 900 alumni across the four focus areas.
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The Islamic Scholarship Fund (ISF) was founded in 2009, to increase American Muslim representation in government and media to better public policy and opinion, ensuring their voices are heard. ISF achieves that goal by empowering students and professionals with film grants, mentorships, internships, fellowships, and academic scholarships.
The 2026 ISF scholarship application is open until March 21, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. for undergraduate, graduate, and PHD students pursuing majors under the four supported ISF focus areas.
Black Voice News reporter Alyssah Hall spoke with ISF Outreach Coordinator Wajiha Mekki for more background on the scholarship opportunity.
The interview below has been edited for clarity and conciseness.
AH: On the ISF website, it says that the mission is “to increase American Muslim representation in media and government to improve public policy and public opinion.” Can you elaborate on why this representation is important and why the fund was inspired?
WM: ISF believes that American Muslims should be at the table. We have four main areas of focus, public policy, public interest, law, media and film. Specifically as ISF, we advance our mission through a sustained, holistic approach that supports these emerging leaders at different stages in their education or career. So, phase one really is more academic that’s supported by our scholarship, which is currently open. Phase two, which transitions into internships, allows folks to get an intro into their future career.
Then, phase three, which are fellowships, it’s a lot more practical experiences. And then our final phase, phase four, is career placement. These individuals get the chance to work alongside prestigious entities across the US in their representative fields, while also connecting with their peers and pushing forward sustainable change through community movements and community support.
AH: How is the ISF being funded?
WM: We have a variety of donors who support our mission, ranging from families to alumni themselves.We make sure that we are consistently keeping up with folks, and ensuring that we can support the students who apply for our programs.
AH: How can students apply? And what are the requirements?
WM: For our scholarship, students are able to check out Islamicscholarshipfund.org/scholarship for more information, but our general requirements can be found there. However, students should just be enrolled in a 2026 to 2027 academic year degree. They should be pursuing a degree in one of our supportive majors. We also support students who get the chance to share their stories through written essays and different required letters of recommendation, as well as a video and their transcript. So, [there are] lots of different things that we listed out really clearly on the website and on the application itself.
WM: If students have any questions or concerns, they can reach out to “contact” at islamicscholarshipfund.org with any questions, comments, concerns, and we’re more than happy to get those answered.
AH: Is there a limit to how many times they can apply for this scholarship?
WM: Students can apply as many times as they wish. We also encourage students to check out programs that ISF hosts that are in alignment with our mission. For example, we have our common application out, which is a new application process that we’ve launched that gives students a chance to apply for one of our internships or fellowships in any of our verticals. So by that, they’re able to apply for as many scholarship opportunities, as long as they’re still an eligible student, but then also apply for any of our programming through that common application, which is currently open.
AH: What do the webinars on February 4 and March 4 provide for ISF applicants, or those who might want to apply but haven’t yet?
WM: These webinars are really used to help students submit their best applications. Today, we actually just had that webinar, and we’re looking forward to one in early March. We have hosted a bunch of judges from our different verticals who have reviewed applications in the past, and ask them key questions about that review process to make sure students are prepared. They can also have a forum to ask any questions they might have.
AH: ISF just wrapped up their end of the year report. What are ISF’s updated achievements?
WM: We’re so excited to announce that we have increased our impact to $3.5 million in awards, over 570 scholarships and grants, and then our alumni count has reached over 900 students across all four verticals. So, really representing current leaders and potential leaders in the U.S., increasing Muslim representation, in all of these critical fields, which is super exciting.
AH: On an Instagram post, it says that ISF recipients will receive scholarships of up to $10,000 for their academic pursuits. What determines how much money they will be granted?
WM: Our application process is quite robust. Students fill out the application form. It requires a resume, a cover letter, intro videos, letters of recommendation, short letter essays, and all of the above that goes into a standard application. ISF staff do not evaluate applications, but we bring on content expert judges who will review every application and invite finalists for a Zoom interview. It really does depend on the overall scoring of the application, which is going to include the Zoom interview, that determines the amount of the stipend.
AH: What are ISF’s hopes for this 2026-2027 academic year funding and what do they hope to accomplish or continue accomplishing in the future?
WM: We hope, especially with this upcoming scholarship opportunity and with our common application, we are able to support students, as many students as we can across the nation; ensure that these students can unleash their potential; and ensure that they will excel in whatever career they choose. With us having scholarships, internships, fellowships, catering to students who maybe have limited resources on their campuses, making sure they can have access to great resources is something we’re so excited for. As we continue the application cycles for both scholarship and the Common Application for professional opportunities, we are excited to see how students will continue to grow and be future leaders of our nation and in their respective fields.