William (Bill) Ezzell Scholarship
Honoring William F. Ezzell, Jr.

Bill believed that the best way to encourage the next generation of CPAs was to put educators in the classroom with relevant and recent real-world experience. The AICPA Foundation created the William (Bill) Ezzell Scholarship to honor his passion and continue his legacy by providing financial assistance to CPAs pursuing their Ph.D.
The scholarship provides a one-time annual award of $10,000 to five outstanding accounting Ph.D. candidates who demonstrate significant potential to become mentors for the next generation of CPAs.
Program Eligibility Requirements
Eligible applicants must meet the following criteria:
- CPA required
- Have minimum three years of professional accounting experience, with a portion of that experience being within the last three years at the time of enrollment
- U.S. citizen or permanent resident (green card holder)
- Earned an undergraduate or a master's degree in accounting
- Either:
- Have a GMAT score of 650 or higher or an equivalent GRE score (must be less than 5 years old)
- Be in the second year of and in good standing within current Ph.D. program
- Intend to teach and research at a U.S. AACSB accredited university upon graduation
- Have either:
- Applied to a full-time accounting Ph.D. program and awaiting word on acceptance
- Received acceptance into a full-time accounting Ph.D. program
- Matriculated in a full-time accounting doctoral program and pursuing appropriate coursework
NOTE: Association, AICPA and CIMA staff and their family members are not eligible to receive this scholarship.
Application Process
Please visit ThisWaytoCPA.com to view the online application and a full list of application materials and requirements.
Applications will be accepted from December 1 through March 1. Applicants will be notified of acceptance by June.
To Make a Contribution
If you would like to make a donation to support this scholarship, please send a check* to:
AICPA Foundation
220 Leigh Farm Road
Durham, NC 27717
*Please make your check payable to the AICPA Foundation and note in the memo line or an attached letter that the donation is for the William (Bill) Ezzell Scholarship Fund. At this time we are unable to accept designated gifts online or over the phone.