Engineering Visionary Scholarship Initiative
Scholarships bring amazing engineers to Illinois.
In 2012, in partnership with The Grainger Foundation, we launched an ambitious initiative to raise $100 million in endowment support with a special emphasis on unrestricted scholarships. Our generous community of donors allowed us to reach that goal in 2020.
The Engineering Visionary Scholarship Initiative has paved the way for hundreds of deserving students every year. The Grainger Foundation and our network of donors made EVS students' dreams of becoming scientists and engineers a reality.
The Engineering Visionary Scholarship Initiative attracts the brightest students, ensures a talented class and helps reduce debt. We place a particular focus on highly qualified students from the state of Illinois.
Your gift is the catalyst for access to education, nurturing ambition, and for turning passions into possibilities. Your investment changes lives.
822
total EVS recipients in AY25-26
underrepresented population
34%
female
16%
first generation
Scholarships make a real-world difference
Joey, Electrical Engineering
Joey (’28, B.S., Electrical Engineering) says his chosen field is an outcome of childhood obsession with the Iron Man character. He was attracted to Grainger Engineering because of its excellent reputation and beautiful campus. After graduation, he wants to work in the physical side of robotics.
Joey says the Engineering Visionary Scholarship helps him and his family greatly, because he is responsible for the majority of his schooling. “This scholarship has given me the freedom to, hopefully, work in cancer research at the Cancer Center to help find treatments that are more effective and less harsh on the body than what we currently have,” said Joey. “I hope to one day be in the position to be as generous as you have been to help other students like me pursue degrees from The Grainger College of Engineering as it has been the place where I have met some of my best friends and made amazing memories. Thank you so much for all of the doors you have opened for me.”
Lizet, Civil Engineering
A passion for sustainability and the desire to enter a growing field that has real impact led Lizet (’26, B.S., Civil Engineering) to become a renewable energy engineer. As a first-generation student, Lizet knew attending college depended on significant financial aid. After earning a master’s degree, her dream job is to work as a solar energy engineer within construction management, where she can lead projects that make clean energy more accessible.
“Receiving this scholarship means so much to my family and me. Having the opportunity to study mechanical engineering at The Grainger College of Engineering is one of the most meaningful experiences of my life, and I do not take it for granted," said Lizet “Your generosity eases the financial strain of pursuing a rigorous education and allows me to stay focused on my academic growth and long-term career goals. This support has also given me the freedom to be more involved on campus, including mentoring underclassmen through engineering organizations and helping build the same supportive community that has helped me succeed.”
The Grainger Foundation's Commitment
The Grainger College of Engineering is named in honor of distinguished alumnus William W. Grainger, who founded the Fortune 500 industrial supply company W. W. Grainger in 1927. Our name reflects The Grainger Foundation’s unprecedented and unwavering support of engineering entrepreneurship and innovation at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
This investment in the college’s bold vision creates endless opportunities for our students, faculty and researchers and can be seen across our engineering campus — in the Engineering Visionary Scholarship Initiative, the Electrical and Computer Engineering Building, Everitt Laboratory, the Grainger Library and Information Center, named professorships and chairs, and an endowment in support of engineering research.