9+ Best Scholarships For Graduate Students To Apply For

The expenses for education have increased tremendously, which has resulted in more student loan debt. 

But don’t worry; scholarships have turned out to be the savior for students to pay their educational expenses.

A wide variety of scholarships are available for graduate students, like federal and state scholarships, school-specific scholarships, and scholarships offered by private companies and non-profit organizations.

Here in this article, you will come across a wide range of Scholarships For graduate students that you can check and apply for.

Types of Scholarships

The following are types of scholarships.

1. Academic Scholarships

Academic scholarships or merit scholarships are generally granted to students who have demonstrated exceptional skills in a particular area or have excellent academic performance.

These scholarships can be based on the applicant’s cumulative GPA.

Merit Scholarships are offered by various sources as follows:

• Federal: Academic scholarships can also be provided by nationally recognized organizations based on specific criteria.

• College: Some colleges offer academic scholarships to their top graduating students.

• Local: Students can also look for scholarships that are sponsored by their country, state, city or other local associations.

Following are some of the scholarships that are offered to graduates on the basis of their academic achievements:

1. American Indian Education Fund: The American Indian Education Fund offers scholarships of $1000 to $2000 to eligible American Indian, Alaska Native and Hawaiian native students who are pursuing graduate and doctorate degrees.
2. American Speech-language-Hearing Foundation: The American speech-language-hearing Foundation offers a scholarship of $5,000 for those who have enrolled in disorder graduate and communication science programs.

2. Athletic Scholarships

Athletic scholarships are awarded by colleges and universities to the athlete student who has shown exceptional skills in their sports.

In order to receive an athletic scholarship, you need to maintain satisfactory academic performance. 

Below are some of the athletic scholarships:

1. Brian Pearson Memorial Scholarship: This scholarship is offered to outstanding athletes from Iowa. The degree of participation in Iowan games is taken into consideration, and one $1,000 scholarship is awarded annually to one male and one female Iowan.
2. Alabama Golf Association Women’s scholarship fund: The Alabama golf association women’s scholarship fund offers scholarships to deserving young women from Alabama state who are interested in golf and are pursuing a bachelor’s degree from an accredited university or college.

3. Extracurricular Scholarships

The scholarships for extracurriculars are offered to those students who participate in extracurricular activities like drama clubs, science clubs, computer clubs, art clubs, boy scouts etc.

Example of extracurricular scholarship:

1. Alys Robinson Stephens performing art scholarship:

The eligibility to apply for this scholarship is that the applicant must be a high school senior/graduate and accepted to UAB.

There is no application for this scholarship; through audition and testing, the student must prove their talent and showcase their excellence in music.

4. Student-Specific Scholarships 

Student-specific scholarships are mainly offered on the basis of the student’s personal situation and affiliation. Some of them are as follows.

• Religious scholarships: These are generally offered to students who are involved in faith-based communities or those who are pursuing religion-based college courses.

• Legacy Scholarships: Legacy scholarships are offered to those students whose parents or family members are alumni of the same institution. 

• Scholarships for women: There are various scholarships designed for women

• Learning disabilities: Some scholarships are made available to select students diagnosed with learning disabilities.

1. Wells Fargo scholarship program for people with disabilities: This scholarship is designed for people with disabilities to help them in their education or provide the training necessary for their careers. To be eligible for this scholarship, the student must be a high school senior or a graduate planning to enroll or who is already enrolled in full or half-time undergraduate study.

5. Employer Scholarships

Employer scholarships are offered by the companies to their employees or to the children of the employees

These scholarships are offered to students whose parents are public servants, firefighters, police officers or federal employees, airline employees etc.

1. ABA Member scholarships: These scholarships are awarded by the American bus association to the employees. The eligibility criteria are the employee should be employed by the ABA member company for at least one year, and the applicant must be a freshman, sophomore or graduate student. The applicant must have a major or course of study related to transportation, travel and tourism with a minimum GPA of 3.0.
2. Airline Pilots Association Scholarship: Airline Pilots Association scholarship provides scholarships to the children of medically retarded or long-term deceased or disabled members of the airline pilot association. A monetary value of $12,000 is disbursed over four consecutive years to the recipient.

The eligibility criteria are that the student must be enrolled in the program of studies. Specially creditable towards a bachelor’s degree and should maintain a 3.0 GPA.

6. Need-Based Scholarships

Need-based scholarships provide funds to students depending on the level of their financial needs to help students pay for costs associated with attending college.

You can look for need-based scholarships from national organizations or your state or local community.

Scholarship awarded on financial needs requires proof of filing FAFSA (free application for federal student aid).

1. Charleston Family Trust Scholarship:

The eligibility criteria for the Charleston family trust scholarship are the student must be an African American and a legal resident of the United States.

Students must be enrolled full-time at an accredited four-year college or University and must have a minimum cumulative grade point at an average of 2.5.

Students must have filed for FAFSA and should have demonstrated unmet financial need that is verified by their college or university.

7. Military Scholarships

A variety of scholarships are available to the spouses and children of the reserve, active duty, national guard and retired members of the U.S. military.

The ROTC offers a variety of scholarships based on the merit of the students that cover the tuition fees and other college expenses.

Every year Army ROTC offers a scholarship to more than 13,000 students. The Army and Navy both have ROTC programs that collaborate with many colleges across the country.

1. Army ROTC Scholarship:

The eligibility criteria you need to meet before applying for ROTC are that you should be a college student, a high school student going to apply for college or an active soldier.

You can receive approximately $250 million in scholarships that the army awards each year. You can also receive an additional bonus of $3,000 if you study a particular language in the college that matches the army’s important language needs.

8. STEM Scholarships

If you are pursuing a degree in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), then there are many scholarships available for you. 

STEM scholarships are offered to students who are pursuing a qualifying degree.

1. $2,000 Fluid Power scholarship: These scholarships are offered to students who are pursuing an associate or an undergraduate degree and are enrolled in an accredited college or university. The students must provide proof of enrollment in an accredited tech school, college, or university engineering program and must show proof of enrollment or completion of any one fluid power course. Another eligibility criterion is that students should maintain a 3.0 cumulative GPA on a 4.0 scale at an accredited tech school, college or university.
2. $1,000 Science/Agriculture Scholarship: This scholarship was announced in honour of Gallatin conservation district board member and rancher John Venhuizen by Gallatin conservation district. The eligibility criteria is that the student must plan to pursue a degree relevant to conservation, agriculture, natural resources or a STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and maths).

9. Scholarships Based On Major

A number of states, and federal grant, and loan forgiveness programs are offering scholarships based on specific college majors.

National organizations also offer scholarships based on major.

High-need areas like nursing and education have a variety of scholarship opportunities available. 

Nursing Scholarship

Let’s explore a simple example of a nursing scholarship.

1. A.B.Noel endowed scholarship:

The eligibility criteria to apply for this scholarship is that you must be a current graduating senior or a former graduate of Wood River Rural High School in Wood River, Nebraska.

The student who is enrolled in the nursing program at central community college at Grand Island or Concordia University in Seward is also eligible.

Another eligibility criterion is that students must have a high school GPA of 3.0 or greater and maintain a college GPA of 2.8 or greater for each semester.

Preference is generally given to applicants who are majoring in nursing, dental hygiene, and electrical technology and have shown involvement in high school, college, and community activities.

Business Scholarships 

Let’s have a look at an example of Business scholarships.

1. Asparagus Club scholarship:

A maximum of 10 scholarships are offered by the Asparagus Club per year and each scholarship is $2000, per semester.

The eligibility criteria to apply for this scholarship is that the applicants must rise juniors, seniors or graduate students who are pursuing degrees in business, food management or other relevant courses leading to careers in the independent retail grocery industry.

The students must maintain a 2.5 GPA per semester and retain full-time student status to earn the scholarship.

Resources To Find Grad School Scholarships

Scholarships are mainly provided by schools and universities but there are additional resources where you can find many potential scholarships.

Following are some of the resources that may help you to find scholarships.

1. Fastweb

Fastweb is an extensive scholarship search platform that you can use to find many potential scholarships and also connect students to financial aid tools.

More than 1.5 million scholarships of total worth more than $3.4 billion are being offered by Fastweb.

2. SallieMae 

SallieMae is the student loan company that helps you to find scholarships and grants and whose database features more than 950,000 scholarships of worth more than $1 billion.

You can search for different scholarships based on the area of your study, your interest, and your skills.

3. Scholarships.com

Scholarships.com maintains the largest scholarship database that provides opportunities to search for a wide range of scholarships.

4. Niche 

Niche is one of the fantastic resources that will help you to find an extensive range of scholarships and colleges as well. You can apply for different scholarships as per your career, interest, and Major.

How To Apply For Scholarships?

Below are some of the steps you need to follow in order to apply for scholarships.

1. Fill out the application for FAFSA:

The most crucial step for applying for a scholarship is to complete the FAFSA (free application for federal student aid).

Many schools, colleges, and government use FAFSA to determine your eligibility for different scholarships.

2. Review your application requirements properly:

It is very necessary to review all the application requirements before submitting the application form.

If you submit the documentation without following the criteria or guidelines then you may not be eligible to apply for the scholarship.

3. Pay Attention To The Deadline

Deadlines are set by organizations and universities and may vary by issuing organizations.

Make sure you pay attention to the deadlines and research the available opportunities and apply for them within time.

Related Read:

• How To Get Into UCLA? 5 Effective Tips To Implement
• How To Get An MBA For Free From Top Colleges?
• How to Create an Infographic in Powerpoint
• How To Apply For Colleges
• How To Find A Scholarship & Apply For It?

Conclusion: Best Scholarships For Graduate Students

A diverse range of scholarships and grants are available for graduate students you just have to conduct proper research and apply for the potential ones that you are eligible for.

Before applying for scholarships, make sure you go through all the eligibility requirements and apply before the deadline.

I hope you find this article informative and helpful. Do let us know your thoughts in our comments section.

FAQs