Established in 1997 by Yoko Ono, this scholarship program honors the memory of one of the preeminent songwriters of the 20th century, John Lennon.  Lennon’s enormous creative legacy includes such songs such as I Want To Hold Your Hand, Strawberry Fields, Imagine, I Am the Walrus, All You Need Is Love, and Come Together and continues to inspire and uplift new generations of music lovers around the world.  The program recognizes young songwriters, ages 15 through 24, working in any genre.  Over $220,000 in scholarships have been awarded over the past eleven years. Entries are solicited from a select group of schools and from the National Association for Music Education/MENC.

The 2009 John Lennon Scholarship competition is open only to college students between the ages of 15 and 24.  Students at a select group of schools (listed below) are eligible to apply directly to the BMI Foundation.  College students at schools not on the select list for 2009 may be able to enter the competition by contacting the National Association for Music Education (MENC) Chapter Advisor in the Music Department of their college or university.

Select Schools for 2009:

University of Alabama
Appalachian State University
Bard College
Belmont University
Berklee College of Music
Birmingham-Southern College
Brown University
Univ. of California Los Angeles
California State U. Northridge
Carnegie Mellon University
Catawba College
University of Cincinnati
City College of New York
Clark Atlanta University
Colorado State University
University of Colorado Boulder
Columbia College (Chicago)
DePaul University
Drexel University
Elmhurst College
Emory University
University of Florida
Florida State University
Full Sail
Georgia State University
Harvard University
University of Houston
Hunter College
University of Idaho
Indiana University
Ithaca College
Lehigh University
Loyola University (New Orleans)
University of Memphis
University of Miami
University of Michigan
Michigan State University
Middle Tennessee S. Univ.
Millikin University
New England Conservatory
New York University
University of North Alabama
Univ. of N. Carolina Chapel Hill
University of North Texas
Northwestern University
Oberlin College
Purchase College (SUNY)
University of Southern California
University of Texas at Austin
University of Utah
Vanderbilt University
Wilkes Community College
Yale University