Higher education isn’t cheap. Thankfully, there are plenty of STEM (science, technology, engineering & math) scholarships that will help foot the bill. Whether you’re already enrolled in a college or university, an incoming freshman, or moving onto post-graduate studies, you’ll be able to find opportunities unlike any other.
Science Ambassador Scholarship
Who knew that playing Cards Against Humanity could support such a good cause? The minds behind the raunchy card game released a charity expansion deck in April 2015 called "The Science Pack." That expansion was so popular that it garnered nearly $2 million in profits, all of which went to a great cause: funding a scholarship for women in STEM. The Cards Against Humanity Science Ambassador Scholarship will provide a young woman with a full-ride scholarship for up to four years.
In order to qualify for this scholarship, applicants must be a female-identifying U.S. resident in high school or college. This new scholarship will start taking applications Fall 2015, and applications will be reviewed by a board of professional women in STEM careers at prestigious organizations like NASA, Harvard Medical School, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, to name a few.
NASA Office of Education Scholarship
Who wouldn’t want to work for NASA? There’s no better way to prepare yourself than to apply for one of NASA’s scholarships or research opportunities. There are opportunities for students at any place in their educational career, whether they’re an incoming high school freshman or pursuing their doctorate. NASA offers plenty of scholarships and internships located across the country.
NASA’s noteworthy Office of Education Scholarship provides up to $9,000 in tuition coverage (or up to 75% of tuition costs) in addition to $6,000 for a participating in a summer internship at one of NASA’s institutes. In order to be considered for any of NASA’s scholarships, students must be U.S. citizens or nationals, meet the 3.0 GPA minimum requirements, and major in a STEM field of study. The full list of specified majors is on their website.
Great Minds in STEM HENAAC Scholars Program
Many scholarship opportunities are limited to U.S. citizens or permanent residents, often preventing DREAMer children (undocumented children and teens living in the U.S., named for the DREAM Act) from gaining financial assistance. Since 2000, the HENAAC Scholars Program has awarded over $2.3 million in grants to nearly 1000 recipients. Interested applicants must be Latino or be highly involved in the Latino community, have at least a 3.0 GPA, and must be pursuing a STEM education at a two-year or four-year college in U.S. Undocumented students are more than welcome to apply. The HENAAC Scholars Program awards anywhere from $500 to $10,000 to recipients.
American Medical Association’s Minority Scholars Award
Only 9% of all physicians in the United States belong to underrepresented minority groups within the medical field. To help promote diversity, the American Medical Association is helping students from these backgrounds fulfill their dreams of becoming physicians. Since 2012, the Minority Scholars Award has presented several future doctors with $10,000 to use towards medical school costs.
Nominees must be a permanent resident or American citizen in their first or second year of medical school, in addition to belonging to a minority group traditionally underrepresented in the medical field. Eligible minority groups include African Americans, Latinos, Native Hawaiians, Alaska Natives, and Native Americans.
Working at Microsoft would be a dream job for any tech student. If you have a passion for computer science, you can’t beat this scholarship: along with the scholarship application, students are invited to apply for a summer internship at the official Microsoft campus in Redmond, Washington! Recipients can receive a full or partial scholarship to cover costs of tuition.
Although this scholarship isn’t exclusive to minority applicants, Microsoft awards a large amount of scholarships to minorities in the field of computer science: women, students with disabilities, and underrepresented racial minorities. In order to be considered for this scholarship, applicants must be full-time students enrolled in a four-year undergraduate program located in Canada, the United States, or Mexico—citizenship status is not a barrier. They need to have at least a 3.0 GPA (on a 4.0 scale) or 4.0 GPA (on a 5.0 scale), and major in computer science, computer engineering, electrical engineering, math, or physics.
