AbbVie Inc (NYSE:ABBV) has announced that it is awarding $15,000 per student in scholarships for higher education. The scholarships are specifically targeted at exceptional students living with certain chronic inflammatory conditions. With 30 students selected for the higher education aid, AbbVie is distributing an aggregate of $450,000.

AbbVie scholarships are awarded under the AbbVie Rheumatology and AbbVie Crohn’s & Colitis scholarship programs. These education-themed financial support programs go to students afflicted by inflammatory bowel disease. As the name suggests, the conditions cover Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis and rheumatoid arthritis, juvenile idiopathic arthritis and psoriatic arthritis.

Competitive selection

AbbVie Rheumatology and AbbVie Crohn’s & Colitis scholarships are awarded on merit. Besides living with the cited conditions, an applicant must demonstrate exceptional academic excellence and also show the ability to be a positive role model in their communities. Applicants are also required to show a level of community involvement.

Impact on education

According to AbbVie officials, students with chronic inflammatory diseases usually face a myriad of challenges as they go about their higher education. For example, they can be forced to miss school days and have trouble when sitting in exams if they happen to be experiencing the symptoms during the exam period.

Because transforming education is part of its self-stated corporate responsibility, AbbVie considered that providing students suffering from chronic inflammatory conditions can advance its goals.

AbbVie’s announcement of the scholarship awards comes at a time when the company also said that it was returning some gains to its shareholders. The company plans to distribute a quarterly dividend of $0.57 a share to its shareholders on August 15. The payout is applicable to shareholders of record as of July 15.