Did you Know?
Ruth Swetland Eppig
Fun Facts from the GCA Scholarship Committee
Since 1976, the GCA has given in excess of $6 million in scholarships to students at the undergraduate and graduate level.
In that time, the number of endowed scholarships has grown from 4 or 5 to 28.
Annual Scholarship awards now total in excess of $300,000 and in 2019, $377,500 was awarded to 73 scholars
Since 1928 (over 90 years ago) the GCA and member clubs have contributed to education and research in “all things plants”.
The Rome Prize Fellowship in Landscape Architecture was our first scholarship, established in 1928 in collaboration with The American Academy in Rome.
The GCA/RHS Interchange Fellowship was first conceived in 1949 thanks to the inspiration and support of the Hillsborough Garden Club. Now it is a thriving annual student exchange with the Royal Horticultural Society.
GCA Clubs have given individual scholarships through the years at the club level, especially to nature camps in the early years.
In 1989, Ann Elliman proposed to the Executive Committee that all of the scholarship efforts be brought under one umbrella as a national Scholarship Committee.
GCA scholars have gone on to become leaders in their fields.
3 former Interchange Fellows are on the board of the American Public Gardens Association
6 former scholars now lead American Public Gardens
In our Class of 2019 Scholars – 25 are PhD’s, 13 are Masters Degree candidates, and 37 are undergraduates.