Facebook has announced a new scholarship, the Facebook Grace Hopper Scholarship, which it will award to 5 women university students excelling in Computer Science, to attend the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing conference. The conference takes place in Atlanta from September 28tht to October 2nd.

"Last year I had the opportunity to participate on the 2009 Grace Hopper Technical Executive Forum in a discussion around the challenges organizations face with the recruitment, retention, and advancement of technical women and the solutions to these challenges," says Facebook’s Mike Schroepfer. "It was an educational and motivational experience, and I’ve subsequently met many people who were hugely impacted by attending a Grace Hopper conference."

Applications for the scholarship must be submitted in full by Saturday July 31st. Award recipients will be notified by email of their acceptance on Tuesday August 31st.

To be eligible, women must be enrolled full-time at a university, pursuing a Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or related technical major, and a U.S. resident.

Women who wish to apply for the scholarship can do so here.