The Wine Industry Scholars Program (WISP) is dedicated to supporting the access, retention, and graduation of students who are children of vineyard and winery workers. WISP offers approximately $150,000 in scholarships annually.
WISP donors include Barbara Talbott and John Riley, Bouchaine Vineyards, BPM, Chris and Kathy Burt, Cooperages 1912, Douglas Thornley and Susan Lundquist, Ernest and Julio R. Gallo Foundations, Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, Gary Farrell Winery, Gould Evans, Johnson Scholarship Foundation, Korbel Champagne Cellars and The Heck Foundation, Mel and Craig McKibben, Ridge Vineyards, Rodney Strong Vineyards, Ron Rubin, Scott Laboratories, The Kalmanovitz Foundation, TIAA-CREF, Vinventions, Viviann and Mark Stapp, Walt and Sylvia Klenz, Wells Fargo, and Wine.com
Candidate Eligibility Requirements:
- Must be classified as a degree-seeking undergraduate student at Sonoma State University.
- Must have a minimum overall 2.5 GPA in his/her/their high school (if a first-time freshman) or college-level coursework (if a current college student). (GPA will be verified through Sonoma State University's Admissions and Records Office.)
- Must come from a family where one or more wage-earning adult(s) are or have been employed in the wine industry, in a wine business, or in a position that is agriculturally-related to the wine industry.
- Must be classified as a first-generation and/or low-income student according to SSU's financial aid system, and must not be a current recipient of a scholarship through the Wine Industry Scholars Program.