Phillips Scholarships

Donor Site

Years supporting the Fund: 45

The Phillips Scholars Program supports potential leaders with outstanding academic credentials who intend to dedicate a portion of their lives to community service. Six competitively selected Phillips Scholars are eligible to receive a junior-year scholarship, a $4,000 summer award to support the development and implementation of a self-designed service project to address unmet needs in Minnesota communities, $500 from the project resource funding and a senior-year scholarship contingent on the successful completion of the summer project.

The total award varies by cohort as shown below:

 2012-2014 Scholars2011-2013 Scholars2010-2012 Scholars
Junior Year Scholarship$6,000$6,000$5,750
Senior Year Scholarship$6,000$6,000$6,050
Summer Stipend$4,000$4,000$4,000
Project Resource Funding$500$400$400
Total Award$16,500$16,400$16,150

Students from the following 16 eligible private colleges and universities are invited to apply:

  • Augsburg College
  • Bethany Lutheran College
  • Carleton College
  • College of Saint Benedict
  • The College of St. Scholastica
  • Concordia College (Moorhead)
  • Concordia University (St. Paul)
  • Gustavus Adolphus College
  • Hamline University
  • Macalester College
  • Minneapolis College of Art and Design
  • Saint John's University
  • Saint Mary's University of Minnesota
  • St. Catherine University
  • St. Olaf College
  • University of St. Thomas

Application information

Advice from a past Phillips Scholar

Current Phillips Scholars

Former Phillips Scholars


The Jay and Rose Phillips Family Foundation supports programs that provide solutions in the areas of self-sufficiency, family strengthening, health care, education, independent living for people with disabilities and the elderly, good relations among people of all races and religions, and art as a vehicle to address social issues. The Phillips Scholars Program perpetuates the legacy of service to others reflected in the lives of Jay and Rose Phillips. Fifty-nine Phillips Scholars have been selected since the program began.

Jay Phillips was a peddler's son who came to the United States when he was 2½ years old. As a child he made 50 cents to one dollar a day selling 1¢ papers. He would use part of his earnings to buy bread for the poor he saw on the streets. Jay Phillips went on to become a prominent Minnesota businessman and community leader. Jay and his wife Rose began a tradition of philanthropy that his family and The Jay and Rose Phillips Family Foundation continue.