ITA scholars, like all students at UFM, are expected to be top performers academically.

In Spanish, the acronym ITA stands for
“promoting academic talent.”

For Guatemala’s poor, especially those in remote areas, just the chance to attend school is a hard-won opportunity. More often than not, high school takes a backseat to the pressing need to contribute to the family income. And for even the most talented students who do graduate high school, a university education usually remains out of reach.

ITA was designed with these students in mind.

Since 1996 the ITA scholarship program at Universidad Francisco Marroquín has identified some of the poorest, most highly qualified, and most motivated students in the country and made it possible for them to earn undergraduate degrees in economics, political science, and law. All of the funding for the program comes from private donations.

The scholarship covers full tuition and fees, room and board, medical insurance, and a stipend for public transportation, books, and basic personal expenses.

Demand for the scholarship is high. This year sixty applicants qualified for admission to the ITA program, but because of funding restrictions, only sixteen were awarded scholarships.