Detroit Promise is a last-dollar scholarship guaranteeing Detroit residents a tuition-free path to a technical certificate or associate degree, and -- through the Detroit Promise Path -- a bachelor's degree, at 32 participating Michigan colleges. Any Detroit high school with a Detroit address (DPSCD, self-governing, charter, private, alternative, home, or parochial) counts, and the community-college track has no GPA or test-score requirement; most Detroit Promise Path university partners look for roughly a 3.0 GPA, with a few accepting lower. Students must file the FAFSA and complete verification each year. Applications for the class of 2026 closed July 1, 2026, and the next cycle reopens in November 2026.
Eligibility
DemographicsMust have lived in the City of Detroit through junior and senior year of high school (community-college track) or all four years (university/Detroit Promise Path), and have attended a Detroit-address high school -- DPSCD, self-governing, charter, private, alternative, home, or parochial (GED programs are not listed as a qualifying school type).
Applying
Covers remaining tuition and mandatory fees, after other aid, for a technical certificate or associate degree at any of 32 partner Michigan colleges; the Detroit Promise Path extends the same last-dollar coverage to a bachelor's degree.