By Ciara Donley-Burnham

UNT tech comm majors have a new scholarship opportunity available to them from Big Design, a UX-focused nonprofit organization based in Dallas. Led by Sabre Corporation's director of design strategy Brian Sullivan, the organizers of Big Design have pooled their resources to fund a new annual scholarship for two well-deserving UNT students: one tech comm major and one student from the College of Visual Arts and Design. The yearly scholarship will grant $1,000 towards each student's tuition. To qualify, students are expected to hold a GPA of no less than 3.0 in their major and must be enrolled in one of the following programs:

• the master of arts (MA) in professional and technical communication
• the master of arts (MA) in interaction design
• the bachelor of arts or science (BA or BS) in professional and technical communication
• the bachelor of fine arts (BFA) in communication design with a concentration in user experience design

The new scholarship is not limited to funds for tuition, however. Both recipients will also be awarded a free ticket to Big Design's conference (TBA 2021) with VIP access to its events and mixers.

"The vision is to introduce these students to our design and research leaders, which will hopefully lead to a summer internship," Brian Sullivan explained. "What's beautiful," he said, "is putting a name and a face to the program. I believe that design leaders should build future design leaders. That's what this is about."

Sullivan hopes that this scholarship is the start of a new chapter of Big Design's traditions to lift up new voices into the spotlight: to learn, to share, and to grow.

The deadline to apply for the Big Design scholarship is Monday, March 1, 2021, at 4:59 PM CST.

Big Design's mission statement, "Learn. Share. Grow.", embodies its commitment to education, professional development, and service to the design community. Their yearly conference, held in September, hosts a diverse roster of some of the most brilliant minds in design thinking and aims to shine a spotlight on emerging talent in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

For more details and specifications about the Big Design scholarship, including instructions on how to apply, click here. If you would like to learn more about Big Design's mission and conference, visit their website or follow them on Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter.