MISA Scholarship

The MISA Foundation Scholarship Fund was formed in March of 1989 by the Meat Industry Suppliers Alliance (MISA). This is to encourage and support those interested in pursuing careers within the meat industry or engineering field. Scholarship recipients will be selected based on the following criteria: academic performance, commitment to a career in the meat industry or engineering field as well as potential for success.

To be eligible for this award, you must:

• be a junior or senior college undergraduate or a Masters or Ph.D. candidate in engineering or meat sciences.
• be attending a North American university.

*United States or Canadian citizenship is NOT a requirement for eligibility.

This award may be used at an accredited educational institution. Check your school's accreditation status here.

May 15, 2026 at 11:59 PM Pacific Time Zone

• Applications Open: March 2, 2026 
• Application Deadline: May 15, 2026
• Notifications Sent: July 2026
• Funds Disbursed: August 2026

This award is not renewable, but you can apply the following year if you remain eligible.

To ensure complete impartiality in the selection of recipients and to maintain a high level of professionalism and security, the program is administered by International Scholarship and Tuition Services, Inc. (ISTS), an independent company that specializes in managing sponsored educational assistance programs.

An independent selection committee will evaluate the Complete applications and select recipients considering:

• Academic achievements and records
• Community involvement
• Volunteerism
• Essay content

Decisions of the selection committee are final and are not subject to appeal. No application feedback will be given.

• Several $10,000 will be awarded annually and are not renewable.
• Students may reapply each year as long as they continue to meet the eligibility criteria.
• Scholarships will be applied to tuition, fees, books, and supplies required for course work at accredited institutions in the United States. These institutions include four-year colleges and graduate schools. Students may transfer from one institution to another and retain the award.
• Scholarships may not be applied to room and board and cannot be used to purchase a laptop if not required for all students attending the institution or course.

You must enroll as a full-time undergraduate or graduate student in the fall of the year in which the scholarships are awarded. You must continue the entire academic year without interruption unless approved by the scholarship sponsor. You are responsible for delivering your scholarship check(s) to the proper office at your institution with its attached instructions. You should notify ISTS should your check not arrive within 30 days of the issue date. You will receive an email notification when your funds are issued.

 Your funds will be issued via check in early August. Your check will be made payable to your institution listed on your My Profile page only. Your scholarship check cannot be made payable to you, the applicant. The check will be mailed to your home address so that you may deliver it to the correct office at your institution. You will receive an email notification once your funds have been issued. 

Make sure your Profile page indicates your final college choice. It is your responsibility to make sure your Profile page is correct at least 30 days prior to the check issue date listed above. If your scholarship check needs to be reissued for any reason, a reissue fee may apply.

You should list your first-choice school on the application. You can change your college choice any time prior to the application deadline. If selected as a recipient, you will be asked to confirm your final school choice. If your school changes after the acceptance deadline, you will be able to update this information on your Profile page.

Official transcripts must be obtained through your high school administration office, or your college registrar's office. Transcripts are normally printed on official letterhead and/or state that they are official. Transcripts may contain or require a signature.

Note: Your official transcript may come to you in a sealed envelope, stating it will become unofficial if opened. When scanning or copying your official transcripts, a watermark may appear noting that they are now unofficial. Despite any watermarks or sealed envelopes, you may open the envelope if needed to upload the document. These documents will be considered official for our purposes. Acceptable file types are .pdf, .tif, .png, .jpeg, .jpg, .bmp and .xps. When scanning or copying, you do not need to include a copy of th

Unofficial transcripts may be accessed through your school’s online student portal. These pages must still be converted to one of the acceptable file formats. Unofficial transcripts must contain your name.

• Undergraduate College/University Transcript: All applicants
• Graduate College/University Transcript: Masters and Ph.D. applicants

All required supporting documents must be uploaded to your online application by the application deadline. If you do not follow the upload instructions exactly, your application may remain incomplete. Documents that meet the criteria required for this application that are uploaded by the deadline will be processed and considered on time.

Notifications are sent primarily via email to the email you used to create your account. Some programs offer text and voice notifications. Ultimately, it is your responsibility as the applicant to verify your application status on your Home page is Completed.

• Deadline Reminders: Deadline reminder emails typically begin 30-45 days prior to the application deadline.
• Selection Results: Selection results notifications are sent to all Complete
• Funds Disbursed: Once your funds have been issued, you will be notified.
• Other Scholarships: Occasionally, if you meet the requirements for another scholarship administered by ISTS, you will be notified. These notifications are not guaranteed.

Your information is never sold to any third party for marketing purposes.

You will receive notifications from two possible ISTS email addresses: donotreply@applyISTS.com and ContactUs@applyISTS.com. You should add both of these email addresses to your “safe senders list” to ensure important emails are not sent to your spam or junk folder.

Notifications vary by program based on the Program timeline. Refer to the Program timeline listed above for more specific information. Deadline reminder emails typically begin 30-45 days prior to the application deadline.

While you can opt out of notifications, this is not advised. It is your responsibility as the applicant to ensure your application is Complete. If you opt out of notifications, you will not receive deadline reminders and selection results. Your information is never sold to any third party. The only emails you will receive from ISTS are directly related to your application and, possibly, other scholarship opportunities.