Burger King Scholars Program
Scholarship Sponsored by Burger King McLamore Foundation
Overview
The BK Scholars program awards scholarships to students across North America to support college and post-secondary vocational education. The program has provided substantial funding to tens of thousands of recipients and aims to expand its reach by granting one scholarship for every Burger King restaurant. It is the Foundation’s flagship initiative and reflects a long-term commitment to education and community investment. The program prioritizes measurable impact and broad access for eligible applicants.
Description: The BK Scholars Program awards scholarships to deserving high school seniors and Burger King® employees and their families to help advance their post-secondary education.
- Flagship scholarship program focused on North American students
- Aims to increase access to post-secondary education
- Targets both students and Burger King® employees and families
Eligibility & Selection
Eligibility covers high school seniors as well as Burger King® employees and their families, with recipients selected through a competitive application process. Selection criteria include academic performance, work experience, extracurricular involvement, demonstrated financial need, and community service. The application is reviewed holistically to identify candidates who will benefit most from scholarship support. Award decisions are made annually following the application cycle and review process.
Eligibility: Applicants must be high school seniors or Burger King® employees/their family members and meet program-specific application requirements; selection considers GPA, work experience, extracurricular activities, financial need, and community service.
- Multiple eligibility pathways: students and employee families
- Holistic review process with academic and non-academic criteria
- Financial need is a considered factor in award decisions
Award Details
Scholarship awards range from $1,000 to $60,000 and are intended to offset the cost of attending college or post-secondary vocational/technical programs. Funding is issued to recipients’ schools as scholarship checks payable directly to the institutions. Recent award distributions include multi-million-dollar disbursements to thousands of students in single program years. Award amounts and recipient counts vary by cycle based on available funding and the volume of qualified applicants.
Award Value: Scholarships range from $1,000 up to $60,000, and payments are made to the recipient’s school to cover education-related expenses.
- Award range: $1,000–$60,000 per recipient
- Checks are payable directly to the recipient’s educational institution
- Annual totals and award counts depend on funding and application volume
Application Timeline
The program operates on an annual cycle with defined application windows and distribution schedules for awarded funds. For the 2027–2028 cycle, the application period opens on October 15, 2026 and remains open until the program receives 30,000 applications or until a mid-December deadline. All 2026 scholarship recipients were scheduled to receive their scholarship checks by the last week of August 2026. Applicants should monitor the Foundation’s announcements for exact deadlines and submission requirements each cycle.
Application Timeline: The 2027–2028 application window opens October 15, 2026 and remains open until 30,000 applications are received or until the mid-December deadline; awarded funds are disbursed according to the program schedule.
- 2027–2028 cycle opens October 15, 2026
- Application window closes when 30,000 applications are received or by mid-December
- Award disbursements occur on the program’s published schedule
History of the Award
The BK Scholars Program was established to honor James W. McLamore, co‑founder of the Burger King brand, and his lifelong commitment to philanthropy and education. Since its inception in 2000, the program has awarded a substantial number of scholarships and reached important funding milestones. Program totals have grown over time, with multi-year distributions contributing millions of dollars in support to students across North America. The initiative is supported by the Foundation and franchisee contributions to sustain and expand scholarship opportunities.
History of the Award: Established to honor James W. McLamore’s legacy, the program has awarded scholarships since 2000 and has reached multi-million-dollar milestones in cumulative funding and recipient counts.
- Founded to honor James W. McLamore’s commitment to education
- Ongoing growth in funding and number of recipients since 2000
- Supported by the Foundation and franchisee contributions