ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) – The University of South Florida- St. Petersburg Campus has partnered with Yuengling to offer diversity in brewing scholarship.

Applications are currently open for the $5,000 Diversity in Brewing scholarship, which will be awarded to a minority and cover the full cost of tuition to USF’s St. Pete Brewing Arts Certificate program for the upcoming spring semester.

It’s a 23 week online program that students will participate in, and afterwards they get hands on training experience at the brewery of his or her choice.

The goal of the scholarship is to increase the number of people of color and women in the industry.

According to a 2019 survey completed by the Brewers Association; the industry is largely composed of white men. The survey showed brewery employees are disproportionately white in relation to the general U.S. population and where breweries are located.

“We just want to make sure there are no barriers there for those people that if they are a minority and they do want to open a brewery that they have the opportunity that’s needed for them to do so,” said Jennifer Sedillo, program director of the Brewing Arts program.

Sedillo said breweries are often built in communities filled with minorities. She hopes the staffing in breweries will one day reflect those communities as well.

Students interested can apply starting on Nov. 22, 2021 through Jan. 9, 2022. The spring semester cohort will begin on Feb. 7, 2022. For more information, contact Jennifer Sedillo at jsedillo@usf.edu, or visit stpetersburg.usf.edu/brew.