BURGER KING℠ Scholars
.
BURGER KING℠ Scholars
The Burger King Foundation is a U.S. based 501(c)(3) public nonprofit that believes without education you limit your potential to be your own way. Inspired by Burger King Restaurants co-founder, Jim McLamore, The Burger King Foundation believes in empowerment through education and lending a helping hand, when needed, thus allowing you to live life your way. To this end, we supply emergency relief to our employees and provide essential resources to help the students of today and the scholars of tomorrow discover their full potential.
Through the BK℠ Scholars program, we’ve awarded nearly $64 million to over 58,000 deserving students across North America.
Scholarships range from $1,000 to $60,000 and are intended to offset the cost of attending college or post-secondary vocational/technical school. Recipients are selected through an application process that takes into consideration their grade point average (GPA), work experience, extracurricular activities, community service, and financial need. In 2026 alone, the Foundation awarded over $4.8 million in scholarships to over 4,400 students.
The program is administered by Scholarship America®, the nation’s largest designer and manager of scholarships and other education support programs for corporations, foundations, associations, and individuals. Eligibility for individual programs is determined at the sole discretion of the sponsor and eligible applications are reviewed by Scholarship America’s evaluation team.
Eligibility
Applicants must meet the following criteria:
BURGER KING® General Track – Available to all high school seniors or past recipients who meet the criteria below.
Applicant Requirements-
- Be living in the United States, Puerto Rico, Guam or Canada
- Have a cumulative high school grade point average of 2.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale, or the equivalent
- Plan to enroll full-time, without interruption, for the entire 2027-28 academic year at an accredited two- or four-year college, university or vocational-technical school or CEGEP or equivalent in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Guam or Canada
AND - Be first-time applicants who are graduating 2027 high school seniors (U.S., Puerto Rico, and Guam), graduating from grade 12 (Canada) or graduating from homeschool education in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Guam, or Canada
OR - Be a past recipient of the Burger King Scholarship who is a current college undergraduate
BURGER KING® Employee-Based Track
Note: The Employee-Based Track will have two components as follows.
1) Employees, spouses or domestic partners of employees, and dependent children of employees pursuing a traditional postsecondary education
Applicant Requirements-
- Be living in the United States, Puerto Rico, Guam or Canada
- Be an employee* of Burger King Company LLC or a participating BURGER KING® Franchisee
OR - Be a spouse (unless legally separated) or domestic partner** of an employee* of Burger King Company LLC or Franchisees
OR - Be a dependent child*** of an employee* of Burger King Company LLC or Franchisees
AND - Be graduating high school seniors (U.S., Puerto Rico and Guam) or have attained a GED, graduating from grade 12 (Canada), graduating from home school education in the U.S., Puerto Rico or Canada or current college undergraduates or graduate level students in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Guam or Canada
- Have a cumulative grade point average of 2.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale or the equivalent
- Plan to enroll part-time or full-time, without interruption for the 2027-28 academic year at an accredited two or four-year college, university, or vocational-technical school or CEGEP or equivalent in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Guam or Canada
2) Employees and spouses or domestic partners of employees pursuing an enrichment program (Enrichment programs include, but are not limited to, language, computer and accounting courses.)
Applicant Requirements-
- Be living in the United States, Puerto Rico, Guam or Canada
- Be an employee* of Burger King Company LLC or a participating BURGER KING® Franchisee (Franchisees)
OR - Be a spouse (unless legally separated) or domestic partner** of an employee* of Burger King Company LLC or Franchisee (Designated Employer)
AND - Plan to enroll less than part-time or on an intermittent basis in GED, enrichment, certification or other course that enhances learning during the 2027-28 academic year (Note: Program or course must be taken at an accredited institution in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Guam or Canada.)
* Employees must be active on Designated Employer’s payroll for at least 3 months as of the application deadline date and employed at the time awards are verified.
** Domestic partner is defined as (i) Employee’s sole Domestic Partner and intend to remain so indefinitely; (ii) Employee and Domestic Partner reside together in the same principal residence and intend to reside together indefinitely; (iii) Employee and Domestic Partner are both at least eighteen (18) years old and mentally competent to consent to a contract; (iv) Employee and Domestic Partner are not related by blood in a close enough manner that would bar marriage under applicable law in effect where they reside; and (v) Employee and Domestic Partner are not legally married to anyone else and are not involved in any other Domestic Partnership.
*** Dependent children are defined as biological, step- or legally adopted children living in the employee’s household or primarily supported by the employee.
Applicable to all tracks:
Access to the application will remain open until the deadline. However, Scholarship America will only review the first 30,000 community applications received and will review all Employee applicants across all tracks. Any additional applications will not be reviewed or considered, even if submitted by the deadline.
Awards
The authorized distribution for new awards is determined annually based on the amount of funds raised by participating Franchisees.
All payments will be issued in U.S. currency. Payments to recipients will be processed in August and made payable to the school for the student’s account. Payments to recipients enrolled less than part-time or intermittently will be processed as requested by the student based on their enrollment status. . Payments to recipients pursuing an enrichment program will be processed as requested by the student based on their enrollment.
Awards are not renewable and cannot be deferred; however, past recipients may reapply to the program each year they meet eligibility requirements and receive up to a maximum of four awards. All special-named award recipients may reapply and be considered for the general awards.
The Employee-Based Track scholarships are for undergraduate study, graduate study and nontraditional courses at accredited institutions.
The General Track scholarships are for undergraduate study only at accredited institutions.
Applicants will be notified of their status in April 2027. Not all applicants will receive scholarships.
Selection of Recipients
All applicants will be required to complete the application in English, Spanish or French. Incomplete/non-submitted applications will not be processed.
Applicants will be separated into the following pools. Evaluation and selection of recipients for each pool of applicants is provided below.
- BURGER KING® General Track for high school seniors and past recipients: consideration will be given to each applicant’s academic record (33%), participation in school/community activities and work experience (34%) and financial need (33%)
- BURGER KING® Employee-Based Track for children of employees, spouse/domestic partner of employees, and employees pursuing a traditional postsecondary education or enrichment programs: consideration will be given to each applicant’s academic record (33%), participation in school/community activities and work experience (34%) and financial need (33%)
Following the application submission deadline date, Scholarship America will review applications for eligibility. Scholarship America will make the following award selections:
- Up to 3 James W. McLamore WHOPPER® scholarships of $60,000 granted to the most highly qualified students demonstrating leadership, substantial work experience and financial need
- Two (2) Nancy McLamore Scholarship of $20,000 to the most qualified employees
- Up to seven (7) King Awards at $15,000 granted to the most qualified employee in each region (1 award per region)
- Two (2) Hometown Scholarships of $10,000 granted to the most qualified employees in Miami-Dade or Broward County
- Up to fifteen (15) regional awards of $5,000 granted to the most qualified employees in each of the six (6) regions (2 awards per region) in the U.S. and three (3) in Canada.
- There are a number of special-named awards for various Franchisees which are determined annually based on funds raised
- There are several employee-based track awards from various Franchisees which are determined annually based on funds raised.
- There are several general high school senior track awards from various Franchisees which are determined annually based on funds raised.
James W. McLamore WHOPPER® Scholarship
Recipients will be chosen from the BURGER KING® General Track and BURGER KING® Employee-Based Track applicants based upon the following criteria. Recipients must be:
- Citizens of the United States or Canada
- Students who are seniors at a high school or home school in the United States, Puerto Rico, Guam or Canada
- Students who are applying as a full-time freshman to a four-year accredited, college or university that is located in the United States or Canada
- Students who have a cumulative unweighted grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale or the equivalent
- Students who demonstrate an active leadership role in community service, athletics, and/or similar co-curricular activity (such as student government, team sports, fraternal life, etc); and
- Students who demonstrate substantial work experience and financial need
Nancy McLamore Scholarship
Recipients will be chosen from the BURGER KING® Employee-Based Track applicants based upon the following criteria. Applicants must:
- Be a United States Citizen
- Be graduating high school seniors or have attained a GED, graduating from home school education, current college undergraduates, or graduate level students in the U.S., Puerto Rico or Guam
- Be an employee* of Burger King Company LLC or of a participating BURGER KING® Franchisee
* Employees must be active on Designated Employer’s payroll for at least 1 year as of the application deadline date and employed at the time awards are verified. - Plan to be enrolled part-time or full-time for the 2027-2028 academic year at an accredited two- or four- year college, university, vocational-technical or trade school in the U.S., Puerto Rico, or Guam.
- Provide a letter of recommendation from a store manager or Franchisee, when requested at a later date during the selection process timeline.
General Track – Awards of $1,000 or $5,000, as selected by the Franchisee, will be granted. Awards will be designated to students by permanent home address, zip code, county, and/or state (U.S., Puerto Rico, and Guam) or city and/or province (Canada) of participating restaurant locations. Award amounts will be granted based on location and Franchisee award amount designation.
The awards will be granted to students by Scholarship America for each participating Franchisee name. The number of awards available to each Franchisee and Burger King Company LLC will be based on fundraising contributions as of December 31 of the current calendar year.
Employee-Based Track – Awards of $1,000 or $5,000, as selected by the Franchisee, will be granted to employees who have aligned themselves to a participating Franchisee or Burger King Company LLC. To the extent possible, the number of awards granted to each pool of applicants – children of employees, employees, employee’s spouse or domestic partner of the employee pursuing a traditional postsecondary education and employees, employee’s spouse or domestic partner of the employee pursuing an enrichment program – will be in proportion to the number of applicants received from each pool.
The award amount for part-time enrollment or enrichment program employees may not exceed the cost of the educational program. The awards will be granted on behalf of each participating Franchisee name. The number of awards available to each Franchisee and Burger King Company LLC will be based on fundraising contributions as of December 31 of the current calendar year. The maximum percentage of awards that can be granted to the Employee-Based Track within each Franchise group is 75%.
Do I Need To Submit Any Documents?
Yes! A current, complete high school or college transcript of grades must be uploaded with your application. Grade reports are not accepted. Unofficial or online transcripts must display student name, school name, grades and credit hours for each course and term the course was taken.
Additionally, a copy of the first two pages of the most recently filed IRS Form 1040 used for the Financial Information Page (please black out SSN/SIN) must be uploaded with your application.
Your application is not complete unless submitted electronically on or before December 15, 2026.
Applicants are solely responsible for gathering and submitting all information necessary to the application process. Scholarship America will email acknowledgment of receipt of all submitted applications. Applications found to be incomplete as of the application deadline or upon receipt of 30,000 submissions will not be processed. All information submitted is reviewed only by Scholarship America. Limited recipient information will be shared with representatives of Burger King Company LLC and/or BURGER KING® Foundation and respective donors/Franchisees or other designees.
Notification
All applicants will be notified by email in April. If selected as a potential recipient you will be required to submit additional information to Scholarship America. Recipients failing to provide additional information will be ineligible.
Not all applicants to the program will be selected as recipients.
Notifications are sent via email. When setting up your account, avoid using a school or work email. Instead, use an active, personal email address that you will continue to have access to.
Award Payments
- Payment is made in one installment in August
- Payments are made payable to the college for the student
- Scholarship America issues scholarship payments on behalf of BURGER KING® Foundation
Note: James W. McLamore WHOPPER® recipients and employee recipients taking enrichment courses may have different payment schedules.
Recipient Responsibilities
- Recipients must submit a completed Award Agreement to Scholarship America by the indicated deadline
- Recipients must notify their college or university about the award
- Recipients must notify Scholarship America of any changes in address, school enrollment, or other relevant information
- Recipients will be asked to participate in surveys while they receive the awards and for up to two years beyond their enrollment. Recipients have no other obligation to BURGER KING® Foundation
Program Revisions
BURGER KING® Foundation reserves the right to review the conditions and procedures of this scholarship program and to make changes at any time, including termination of the program.
Frequently Asked Questions
All Company and participating Franchise restaurant, corporate and field employees, spouses or domestic partners of employees, and dependent children of employees are eligible. All high school seniors, regardless of whether or not they or their parent/guardian is employed at BURGER KING®, previous recipients of a BURGER KING scholarship are also eligible to apply.
An email acknowledging receipt of the application is sent within 24 hours. The acknowledgment is sent to the email address provided when registering. If an acknowledgment is not received within 24 hours, please contact Scholarship America by email at burgerkingscholars@scholarshipamerica.org or call 507-931-8340.
- BURGER KING℠ Scholars awards are awarded each year.
- The number of awards will be determined by the funds available and the number of applicants.
- Most scholarships are non-renewable awards of $1,000-$5,000. Awards cannot exceed educational costs.
- The scholarships can be applied towards any education-related expenses at accredited, two- or four-year colleges/universities, and vocational-technical schools in the United States, Puerto Rico, Guam or Canada (Note: Employees and employees’ spouses or domestic partners may use awards to take enrichment courses at accredited institutions).
- A student may transfer from one institution to another within their award year and retain the award provided the institution and their enrollment fulfill eligibility criteria.
Past recipients, employees, spouse or domestic partner of employees, and dependent children of employees may reapply to the program each year they meet eligibility requirements and receive up to a maximum of four awards.
Yes, the application period is from October 15, 2026, through December 15, 2026. Access to the application will remain open until the deadline. However, Scholarship America will only review the first 30,000 community applications received and will review all Employee applicants across all tracks. Any additional applications will not be reviewed or considered, even if submitted by the deadline.
Yes, provided the student meets the criteria of the program.
- Academic achievements
- Participation in school and community activities
- Work experience
- Financial information
Generally, the scholarship will not be taxable as long as it is used for qualifying expenses such as tuition, books and fees. However, a recipient should consult his/her tax adviser to determine whether or not it is taxable in his/her circumstances.
- Payments will be sent in August.
- Payments are made payable to the college for the student.
- Employees and spouses/domestic partners of employees of the BURGER KING® system pursuing enrichment programs can request when they would like to receive their award during the upcoming academic year.
- It is the recipient’s responsibility to notify Scholarship America should the check not arrive within 30 days of an issue date.
- All applicants will be notified via email in April 2027. Past experience indicates that emails are sometimes not received or successfully delivered. Be sure to keep your email address current in your student profile. Applicants are encouraged to contact Scholarship America at the phone number or email address below if a notification email is not received by May 2027.
Transcripts must be uploaded with your application.
A current, complete high school or college transcript of grades. Grade reports are not accepted. Unofficial or online transcripts must display student name, school name, grades and credit hours for each course, and term the course was taken.
