Ringling College of Art and Design has partnered with St. Petersburg’s Salvador Dalí Museum to award scholarships to high school artists from across the state of Florida. Launched this past January, the Dalí Scholarship is awarded to select finalists from the museum’s three annual student surrealist art competitions. Scholarships are applied toward the recipients’ first year of tuition should they choose to attend Ringling College.
This year, Ringling judges awarded a $10,000 scholarship to a student from the Pinellas County competition, another $10,000 to a student from the statewide competition, and two $5,000 scholarships to students from the Hillsborough County competition.
The Dalí Museum initially judges artwork from the competitions’ entrants and selects finalists, which are then sent to Ringling College’s judges for further evaluation. The artwork spans a wide range of media and styles, including both traditional and digital work, as well as conceptual and representational pieces. The Museum exhibits nearly 500 student works in person and online each year. This year, faculty from the Illustration Department handled the scholarship judging, though the opportunity will be open to more faculty in the future.
“We attend the exhibition openings and award ceremonies for all three competitions,” said Illustration Department Head Christina Hess. “At the conclusion of each ceremony, Ringling College is introduced and presents the scholarships. The students do not know they have received a scholarship until they are announced during the awards ceremony, which makes for a really special moment.”
Dalí Scholarship Award Winners
Spring 2026
