LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Thirty-four promising students from across Kentucky have been awarded Kentucky Transportation Cabinet college scholarships to help further their pursuit of careers in civil engineering, construction management and engineering technology.

“Each of these scholarships is an investment,” said Gov. Andy Beshear, D-Ky. “The return on these investments for Kentucky taxpayers will be engineering and construction careers dedicated to the building, maintenance and continuous improvement of a modern and efficient transportation system.”

Now in its 75th year, the Transportation Scholarship program includes money for tuition, a paid summer job or co-op and the guarantee of full-time employment with the cabinet upon graduation. The recipients of the scholarships agree to serve a year with the cabinet for every year of scholarship assistance.

If a graduate chooses to go elsewhere before fulfilling the employment obligation, the scholarship must be repaid year for year.

According to KYTC, former scholarship recipients have held top management positions at the Transportation Cabinet, including secretaries and deputy secretaries of the cabinet, chiefs of staff, state highway engineers, chief district engineers and branch managers.

“This scholarship is a proven pipeline to recruiting and retaining top talent in our state,” Transportation Secretary Jim Gray said.

Funding awards are for the 2023-24 school year to students who are attending or planning to attend the University of Kentucky, University of Louisville, Eastern Kentucky University, Morehead State University, Murray State University, Western Kentucky University and Big Sandy Community and Technical College

The scholarships include the Civil Engineering Scholarship for students earning a four-year engineering degree at UK, UofL, WKU or KSU, with 20-30 awards given to new students; the Construction Management Scholarship, offered to graduates of EKU, Morehead State, Murray State, NKU and WKU; and the Civil Engineering Technology Scholarship for up to 12 students attending KCTCS.

The next cycle of applications will begin in Nov. 2023 and the deadline to apply is Feb. 1, 2024. For more information about the scholarship, visit the KYTC website.