A deadline is approaching rapidly for women and minorities—who are underrepresented in the Venture Capital industry—to apply for scholarships that will allow them to attend this fall’s VC University LIVE. The program, which is a crash course on how venture capital works, will be offered in a virtual format in conjunction with Southern Methodist University.

Admission to the three-day event costs $1,200, but will be awarded to successful scholarship applicants. The deadline for scholarship applications, which may be submitted here, is 11:59 p.m., Pacific time, August 28.

VC University LIVE was launched in 2019 by National Venture Capital Association (NVCA), Venture Forward, and Startup@BerkeleyLaw, from the UC Berkeley School of Law.

“This event will convene local industry leaders and VC leaders from the coasts; offer foundational instruction to VC newcomers; and address cutting-edge industry issues, including how to improve capital and talent flows between local ecosystems and Silicon Valley,” says the application scholarship form. “While some programming will be focused on the venture ecosystem of the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area, the event will be held in a virtual format, and anyone interested in learning about venture capital is welcome to attend.”

SMU will host the VC University LIVE event from November 12 to 14 in partnership with the Robert B. Rowling Center for Business Law & Leadership at SMU Dedman School of Law and the Caruth Institute for Entrepreneurship at the SMU Cox School of Business.

Local organizers said they’re looking forward to the event.

“SMU is excited to build on its long-standing relationship with NVCA in providing outstanding venture finance education to the DFW community by offering VC University LIVE with NVCA and UC Berkeley Law,” said Simon Mak, PhD, Executive Director of the Caruth Institute for Entrepreneurship.

“We welcome VC University LIVE to SMU and Dallas,” said Eric F. Hinton, Director of the SMU Robert B. Rowling Center for Business Law & Leadership. “The Dallas region is one of the most dynamic business environments in the United States and SMU is central to that growth.”

In 2019, the inaugural VC program served more than 120 entrepreneurs, angel investors, VCs, fund managers, attorneys, and others seeking to unlock their venture finance skills and build their networks, locally and within Silicon Valley.  The first two programs were held at the University of Michigan and Tulane University that year.