Requirements

• Be an Arkansas resident for at least 12 months
• Must be a high school graduate or received high school equivalency
• Student cannot be a current recipient of the Academic Challenge Scholarship
• Be accepted for admission in a program of study at an approved institution of higher education that leads to an associate degree or a certificate program in one of the high-demand fields described.
• Certificate programs refer to programs offered by an approved college, university or vocational-technical school that lead to the attainment of a certification or license (may include non-credit bearing hours).
• View the degree list on the Arkansas Workforce Challenge webpage.

Deadline for Application
Students must apply at least 30 days prior to enrollment in an eligible program.

 Award Amount

Up to $3,000 per program

 Who May Apply:

Every person who has graduated from an Arkansas high school, Arkansas home school or GED program, or anyone who has a high school diploma or GED earned from another state and has lived in Arkansas for the last year. Students must enroll in a high demand area of study in the programs of advanced manufacturing, construction trades, healthcare, information technology, or logistics, distribution, and transportation. A listing of eligible programs is available on the ADHE website: Arkansas Workforce Challenge.

Note: Students are not eligible for both Academic Challenge and Workforce Challenge.

 Detailed Description

General Information

Important Note: The following information is intended as a general overview of the program for those applying, or who are considering applying, for the scholarship and is not intended to be a comprehensive compilation of program requirements. For complete information, please refer to the program’s rules and regulations.

The Workforce Challenge Scholarship was created by Act 613 of the 2017 legislative session and amended by Act 341 of the 2025 legislative session (ACCESS). Funded by lottery revenue, the purpose of the scholarship is for workforce training (credit-bearing or professional skills training) in the designated high-demand areas of advanced manufacturing, construction trades, healthcare, information technology, or logistics, distribution, and transportation.

View the degree list on the Arkansas Workforce Challenge webpage.
You can also visit Explore AR Careers to view eligible programs!

Basic Eligibility Criteria

An applicant must:

• Be an Arkansas resident for at least 12 months
• Be a high school graduate or received high school equivalency
• Not be a current recipient of the Arkansas Academic Challenge Scholarship
• Be accepted for admission in a program of study at an approved institution of higher education that leads to an associate degree or a certificate program in one of the following high-demand fields:
• Advanced Manufacturing
• Construction Trades
• Health Care
• Information Technology
• Logistics, Distribution, and Transportation

Continuing Eligibility Criteria

• This is a non-renewable grant.
• Students who successfully complete their program of study will be allowed to reapply for the award in another eligible program.
• Students who receive funding from Workforce Challenge and do not successfully complete their program will be allowed to reapply one time.

Award Amounts

• Up to $1,500 for eligible professional skills training programs with 80-179 clock hours
• Up to $3,000 for eligible professional skills training programs with 180+ clock hours or credit programs (6 credit hours and above).
• Funding is not to exceed the standard tuition rate and fee structure of the institution of higher education providing the instruction.