UoPeople Awarded $759K Grant to Expand its Innovative Model 

University Receives Support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation 

Pasadena, California – The University of the People (UoPeople) has been awarded a $759,231 grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to investigate the scalability of the university’s tuition-free model with a focus on U.S. learners, while maintaining both cost-efficiency and high quality. 

UoPeople’s goal is to expand its innovative higher education model by increasing access and outcomes for Black, Latino, Indigenous and low-income students in the United States. The foundation’s support will help UoPeople to cover the costs of enhancing the university’s operations including course development, partnership models, governance and organization, workforce planning, internal tech stack, and its virtual campus and workplace.  

“We are deeply grateful to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for their generous support,” said UoPeople President Shai Reshef. “This grant will enable UoPeople to expand our mission of providing tuition-free, accessible education to even more deserving students. The grant will enhance our academic programs and infrastructure, so that the university will be able to continue breaking down barriers and offering life-changing opportunities to those students who need it most. Together, we are shaping a more equitable higher education future for all.” 

About University of the People 

University of the People (UoPeople) is the Education Revolution. It is the first non-profit, tuition-free, American-accredited online university. Currently, there are over 152,000 students from more than 200 countries and territories. Designed to open access to higher education globally, UoPeople helps qualified high school graduates overcome financial, geographic, political, and personal constraints keeping them from collegiate studies. The university offers certificate, associate, and bachelor’s degree programs in business administration, computer science, and health science, as well as MBA, MSIT, and M.Ed. programs. Graduates of UoPeople can be found working at such companies as Deloitte, Amazon, Apple, Pfizer, Google, Microsoft, and IBM. UoPeople collaborates with Harvard Business School Online, NYU Abu Dhabi, McGill University, and the University of Edinburgh and has been supported by foundations such as the Gates Foundation, Ford Foundation, and Hewlett Foundation. UoPeople President Shai Reshef recently received the Yidan Prize for Educational Development, known as the “Nobel Prize” of higher ed. Learn more at www.uopeople.edu.