Gates Foundation boosts Millennium Scholars

updated 6:27 a.m. ET Aug. 7, 2006

SEATTLE - The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation says it will add $58 million to expand its $1 billion Millennium Scholars program to target low-income and minority students seeking graduate degrees in public health.

It’s the first time the foundation has added money to the scholarship program since it was established in 1999.

The program has already given scholarships to more than 10,000 students for undergraduate education in their choice of major and for graduate work in public health, education, science, math, engineering and library science.

The foundation, which planned an announcement about the program on Monday, says it will help 20,000 students over 20 years.

The United Negro College Fund administers the Gates Millennium Scholars program, which has given money to students in every state and Washington, D.C., and has helped send them to more than 1,300 colleges and universities.

The new scholarship money will be used to increase the number of minorities pursuing graduate degrees in epidemiology, biomedical science, tropical disease, public health practice and nutritional science.

The Gates Foundation spends most of its money on fighting diseases around the world and on public health, so the scholars could potentially end up working for the foundation in its other projects.

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