Larry B. Sawyer Student Scholarship

The Scholarship

The Larry B. Sawyer Student Scholarship (formerly the Esther R. Sawyer Award) was established in 2000 by the Internal Audit Foundation Board of Trustees and funded through a generous contribution to the Foundation by the Sawyer family. Larry B. Sawyer, CIA, CPA (1911–2002), known as “the father of modern internal auditing,” was an attorney, author, and ardent advocate for the internal audit profession and original author of  Sawyer’s Internal Auditing, now in its seventh edition.

The scholarship is granted to individuals who are currently enrolled in, or have recently completed, undergraduate- or graduate-level internal audit courses.

2025 scholarship applications are open from October 31, 2024 - april 15, 2025.

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Application Process & Criteria

Application: Individuals will complete the online application and attach a 3 - 5 minute video submission answering the following questions:

Why are you interested in a career in Internal Audit?
Are you planning to pursue your CIA and how will it benefit you in your career?
What would receiving this scholarship mean to you?

Creativity is encouraged. Applications are accepted annually by April 15. Scholarship recipients will be selected by the Internal Audit Foundation's Committee of Research Education Advisors (CREA) and approved by the Board of Trustees. Winners will be announced in August each year. Prior award recipients are not eligible.

Eligibility: The award will be granted to an individual who meets the following criteria:

Currently enrolled in or has recently completed internal audit coursework at the undergraduate or graduate level.
Recorded and submitted an original video answering the required questions listed above.
Minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA or equivalent
Currently sitting for, or planning to take the CIA exam
Current IIA student member in North America or participating affiliate country. Non-participating countries are exempt from this criteria.

Awards include:

First place – US $5,000 to the recipient.
- US $2,000 to the IIA-IAEP endorsed school with which the student is affiliated.
Second place – US $2,000 to the recipient.
- US $500 to the IIA-IAEP endorsed school with which the student is affiliated.
Third place – US $500 to the recipient.
- US $500 to the IIA-IAEP endorsed school with which the student is affiliated.