Established in 1965, this scholarship fund honors the work of Dr. Joseph Christopherson and his wife Evelyn, who in their own ways served the medical needs of Mason City for more than three and a half decades. Family, friends and associates initially endowed the Dr. J.E. Christopherson Memorial Scholarship to encourage talented students from north Iowa to attend North Iowa Area Community College (NIACC) to study pre-medicine. In the late 1970s, the Cerro Gordo County Medical Society added additional funds to expand assistance to students enrolled in four-year undergraduate programs or medical school. After the death of Evelyn Christopherson in 1997, additional memorials were added and the scholarship was renamed to honor both husband and wife.

The Christopherson Medical Scholarship assists medical or pre-med students at any accredited public or private postsecondary educational institution (of pre-med applicants, preference is given to NIACC students).

The NIACC Foundation manages the scholarship fund and application process. For more information, contact the NIACC Foundation at 1-888-GO NIACC, ext. 4386 or (641) 422-4386.

Application Opens each year on October 1st with a deadline of April 1st.

Apply Here

Mason City Junior College alum, entrepreneur and philanthropist, John Pappajohn ‘48 and his wife Mary, gave $250,000 to reward students who demonstrate persistence, with an entrepreneurial and growth mindset. The scholarship will potentially assist students enrolled in NIACC’s Strategies for Success who have good attendance and have completed class work which includes an essay, (their final project.)

Students are eligible to apply upon recommendation of their Strategies for Success instructor. Instructors will provide the scholarship application link to eligible students. Scholarships range from $1,000 to $2,000 and may be paid for a total of three semesters, if student continues to qualify.

The President’s scholarship is an automatic scholarship awarded to high school seniors with an ACT score of 23 or higher. Students with comparable SAT scores may also qualify for this scholarship. Submit your ACT/SAT scores to the NIACC Admissions Office.

High School seniors that are first or second in their graduating class are awarded a full-time Trustees’ scholarship. Submit an official final high school transcript which indicates your class rank to the NIACC Admissions Office. If you high school does not participate in a class ranking system, the following formula will be utilized to determine eligibility for the NIACC Trustees’ scholarship. Your final high school cumulative grade point average must be 3.8 or higher and your composite ACT score must be 25 or higher (1200 SAT composite.)

Both the Trustee’s and President’s scholarships may be renewed is the student maintains both full-time enrollment (completes 24 hours) and earns a cumulative GPA of 3.25 or higher. In order to be eligible for the Trustees’ and President’s scholarship, a student must attend NIACC during the fall semester of their freshman year once they have graduated from an accredited high school.

NIACC offers many different special talent scholarships in the following areas: Art, Vocal / Instrumental Music, and Athletics. The NIACC Foundation Scholarship Application is used to apply for these types of awards.