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Annual Conference Scholarships
For the American Cheese Society Annual Conference, the American Cheese Education Foundation grants multiple general scholarships along with a variety of named scholarships to our community. The scholarships cover a mixture of full scholarships that cover registration, a travel stipend, and hotel costs, and partial scholarships that cover the cost of registration to the ACS conference.
Scholarships are open to cheesemakers, retailers, chefs, students, and any other cheese professionals. ACS & ACEF encourages all members of the community to apply for scholarships! While we prioritize first-time attendees and first-time applicants, we thoroughly review every application that comes in and will award scholarships to as many people as we can.
Only one scholarship will be awarded per company, if multiple employees from a single company apply for a scholarship. Any applicants that do not receive a scholarship will receive a discount code for the lowest cost of an American Cheese Society Conference registration.
A FULL CONFERENCE SCHOLARSHIP INCLUDES:
- a fully comped ACS conference registration
- hotel accommodations at an ACS Conference hotel,
- reimbursement up to $750 for a round-trip flight to attend Conference
- a $200 stipend that can be used to offset any additional expenses including transportation, meals, parking, etc.
- an ACS individual membership for the following year
Note: Depending on the number of submissions, the committee sometimes will offer partial scholarships that cover the cost of registration.
SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATIONS ARE CLOSED FOR THE 2025 ANNUAL CONFERENCE
Recipients will be notified before May 1st.
In an effort to make the scholarship applications as open as possible, below are the questions you are required to answer in the scholarship application:
- Name, title, company, address, email address, and phone number.
- Resumé or a description of your last 3 jobs
- A short essay section. This is your time to show us why a scholarship would be beneficial to you! We recommend 1-3 paragraphs that answer the following questions:
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- How does attending this year’s ACS Conference relate to your position?
- Briefly explain what you are hoping to learn or gain professionally by attending this year’s conference.
- How you feel your need for the scholarship is exemplified.
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- Some of the optional, named scholarships have an extra step and their instructions are included in the application.
Additional Scholarships
For more information on Named Scholarships, please read below.
Certified In Cheese Scholarship
The Certified in Cheese Scholarship was started by the industry to improve access to the ACS certification exams. This fund gives a cheese professional with certification ambition a boost to reach their goals. Crowdfunding for and by cheese professionals across the industry has paved the way for one certification seeker to elevate their career in the world of cheese. The scholarship will cover costs for one person to attend the ACS conference, including conference registration fees, hotel, and travel, as well as the exam fee for either the ACS CCP® exam or T.A.S.T.E. Test®.
Applicants must demonstrate a need for outside support in reaching their certification goals, including, but not limited to financial need, and have been accepted to take one of this year’s exams.
Isigny Sainte Mère Scholarship
The Isigny Sainte Mère Scholarship was created with the hopes of promoting education and opportunities in cheese. It is open to anyone interested in attending the ACS Annual Conference. The scholarship will cover costs for one person to attend the ACS conference, including conference registration fees, hotel, and travel.
The Peterson Company Scholarship for BIPOC Advancement
The American Cheese Education Foundation (ACEF) is continuing The Peterson Company Scholarship for BIPOC Advancement.
The scholarship will cover costs for one person to attend the ACS conference, including conference registration fees, hotel, and travel, an Individual membership with ACS, and the fee to take that year’s Certified Cheese Professional® Exam.
Applicants must identify as a Black, Indigenous, or a Person of Color and have been accepted to take that year’s ACS CCP® exam.
The Forever Cheese Scholarship for Cheesemongers
The scholarship is open to all those employed as a cheesemonger at the time of application and whose employer must not be providing financial support for them to attend the conference.
The Forever Cheese Scholarship for Cheesemongers will cover costs for one person to attend the ACS conference, including registration fees, hotel, and travel. It will also cover the cost of the ACS CCP™ exam or T.A.S.T.E. Test®, if applicable.
To apply, applicants should submit a short letter explaining how they are making an impact in the cheese community in the optional field on the ACS & ACEF Scholarship application.
The Comté Association Conference Fund
The Comté Association Conference Fund is open to all applicants who have been accepted for the current year’s Certified Cheese Professional® (CCP) exam and seek to attend the American Cheese Society’s annual conference. Applicants must demonstrate financial need. The scholarship will cover costs for one person to attend the ACS conference, including conference registration fees, hotel, and travel, an Individual membership with ACS, and the fee to take the Certified Cheese Professional exam.
If you have any questions, please email us at info@cheesesociety.org.
Alison Leber Memorial Scholarship
The Alison Leber Memorial Scholarship is sponsored by Beecher’s Handmade Cheese. Open to employees of food retailers who are interested in attending the ACS Annual Conference, the scholarship covers costs for one person to attend the ACS Annual Conference, including conference registration fees, hotel room, and travel to and from the conference.
Kiri Fisher Memorial Scholarship
Kiri Fisher, owner of the Cheese School of San Francisco and Fisher’s Cheese + Wine, passed away April 26, 2024 from complications from pancreatic cancer. Kiri’s entrepreneurial spirit, grit and keen eye for aesthetics are honored through the Kiri Fisher Memorial Scholarship which will sponsor an individual to attend the ACS annual conference, including conference registration, hotel, and travel.
Cielo Peralta Scholarship
Rob and Nina Kaufelt are pleased to present this new scholarship for 2025 in honor of the great cheesemonger Cielo Peralta. Cielo Peralta, during his many years behind the cheese counter at Murray's Cheese flagship store, on Bleecker Street in New York's Greenwich Village, was perhaps the finest cheesemonger in America. His clients were known to wait for him exclusively to help them select the very best cheeses. Among these clients were Justice Sonya Sotamayor, Whoopi Goldberg, and Martha Stewart. He was a trained cheesemaker, too, and served on the first American team to compete in the World Cheesemonger Contest in Lyon, France. Cielo, a proud American citizen, retired to his country of origin, the Dominican Republic.
Open to any cheesemonger attending the ACS Annual Conference, the scholarship will cover costs for one person to attend the ACS conference, including conference registration fees, hotel, and travel.
California Milk Advisory Board Scholarship for Cheesemongers
New in 2025, there will be 3 recipients for this full conference scholarship: 1 independent cheesemonger, 1 retail cheesemonger, 1 BIPOC or LGBTQIA+ cheesemonger.
The California Milk Advisory Board Scholarship for Cheesemongers is focused on promoting education and providing opportunities for mongers from all walks of life. California is a melting pot of diversity – from its population and landscape, to dairy farming styles and cheesemaker offerings. Regardless of where mongers live today, CMAB is committed to fostering education, promoting artisan cheesemakers, and empowering mongers.
This scholarship covers costs for three people to attend the ACS Annual Conference, including conference registration fees, hotel room, and travel to and from the conference.
Applicants must submit a short letter explaining how they first got into cheese, what they love about it, and how they are making an impact in the cheese community in the optional field on the application.
