While their upper-level educational goals may already be set and well in motion, the ways in which Ph.D. students pay for school often represent a continued exercise in diligence, financial strategy, and hard work. Helping in that effort, there are a number of great scholarship opportunities out there that do help this particular group of students today. The following represent 15 great scholarship opportunities for Ph.D. students of many different studies and backgrounds alike.
Related resource: 15 Most Affordable Doctorate Degrees in Organizational Leadership Online
1. Graduate Cyber Security Scholarship
Eligibility
- Must be pursuing, or plan to pursue, a degree with a focus on cybersecurity or information assurance.
- Must be pursuing a Master’s Degree program or doctoral studies.
- GPA must be at least 3.5 on a 4.0 scale (or an analogous rank based on a comparable scale).
- You may be a citizen of any country.
The Center for Cyber Safety and Education sponsors the annual Graduate Cyber Security Scholarship. This great opportunity entails tuition coverage between $1,000 – $5,000 that’s given out to up to 20 winning applicants every year. Apply by March 2 for your chance to win.
2. Alan Lucas Educational Scholarship
Eligibility
- Must be a full-time student who desires to study lighting education or research as part of their undergraduate, graduate, or doctoral studies.
- Must be a junior, senior, or graduate student in an accredited, four-year college or university located in Northern California (including San Luis Obispo, Fresno, and North).
The San Francisco Section of the Illuminating Engineering Society is all about encouraging growth and interest in the lighting area of structural technology, and in this effort, brings us the Alan Lucas Educational Scholarship. Winners of this great funding opportunity will receive $1,500 or more in educational funding. April 1 is the closing date for application acceptance.
3. Doctoral Degree Scholarship in Cancer Nursing
Eligibility
- Applicant must be pursuing a doctoral study in the field of cancer nursing research and preparing for a career as a nurse scientist.
The Doctoral Degree Scholarship in Cancer Nursing is a very valuable, yearly provision of the American Cancer Society that yields up to four years of paid schooling with an additional cash stipend. Be in pursuit of a doctoral degree in cancer nursing research as well as a subsequent nurse scientist career, and you’ll likely qualify to apply to this excellent award. October 15 marks the annual deadline to apply.
4. UMC General Scholarship
Eligibility
- Hold a minimum 2.5 GPA.
- Hold at least one year of membership with the United Methodist Church.
The General Board of Higher Education and Ministry of the United Methodist Church offers a variety of great scholarship opportunities for Ph.D. students and others alike. The organization’s UMC General Scholarship is just one example. This one offers graduate student recipients up to $2,000 as long as they have a minimum of one year of active membership in the UMC and a minimum 2.5 GPA in their previous schooling efforts.
5. E. Craig Brandenburg Scholarship
Eligibility
- Be over the age of 35 and in pursuit of any degree level and major.
Another great opportunity afforded by the United Methodist Church is its E. Craig Brandenburg Scholarship. This one offers chosen winners $1,000 – $2,000 in tuition coverage. Preference here is given to students intending to change to a second career.
6. UMC Esther Award
Eligibility
- Be a female administrator or faculty member pursuing a Ph.D. in leadership and working for a United Methodist-related institution.
Yet one more excellent scholarship offered by the UMC is the group’s UMC Esther Award. The UMC Esther Award provides winning recipients with a very helpful $5,000 in tuition coverage. As application deadlines and additional details change each year for this and many of the other UMC scholarships, you are recommended to inquire with the organization directly for the most current application specs.
7. WOCN Foundation Scholarship
Eligibility
- See the scholarship website for eligibility requirements, as these change
The Wound, Ostomy, and Continence Nurses Society is the gracious provider of the annual WOCN Foundation Scholarship. Here, winning applicants can look forward to tuition aid in addition to valuable industry contacts and networking opportunities. May 1 and November 1 serve as the spring and fall application deadlines, respectively.
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8. National Health Service Corps Scholarship
Eligibility
- Must be studying to become a primary healthcare professional.
- Must commit to providing primary care health services in Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs) upon graduation.
The National Health Service Corps Scholarship is meant to encourage an increase in student interest in primary healthcare careers. It does so quite effectively by way of an exclusive, all-expenses-paid ride through college. As long as the student agrees to work in an under-served community upon graduation, they’ve got a chance at this valuable offer. A stipend is also included along with the scholarship.
9. The Steinhardt Fellows Program
Eligibility
- Be accepted as a full-time NYU Steinhardt Ph.D. student without an alternate funding source.
The Steinhardt Fellows Program is another, excellent offer for complete tuition forgiveness through the student’s Ph.D. program. In addition to complete tuition coverage, students also receive a regular stipend and student health insurance. This scholarship’s provider, Steinhardt NYU, provides numerous, other funding opportunities as well.
10. Point’s Scholarship
Eligibility
- Demonstrate financial need, community involvement, and a history of advocacy for the LGBTQ community.
- Must be enrolled or intending to enroll at an accredited college or university based in the United States.
- Must be “out” as a person who identifies as a member of the LGBTQ community.
The National LGBTQ Scholarship Fund, also called The Point Foundation, provides an opportunity just for “out” students by way of its Point’s Scholarship. This one offers various tiers of winner tuition coverage based on placement at decision time. November 1 is the application close date to beat.
11. The AIEF Scholarship
Eligibility
- Students must have a GPA of 2.5 or better.
- Must be an American Indian/Alaska Native/Native Hawaiian student pursuing a master’s or doctoral degree.
- Students must be enrolled between 6-18 credit hours.
The American Indian Education Fund helps many, deserving Native American Indian hopefuls to attend college each year. The group’s AIEF Scholarship is one mode of this mission, and it provides up to $2,000 per applicant that meets its qualifying requirements. This funding amount does vary depending on the number of hours the student is enrolled in graduate studies courses.
12. PSGC Graduate Research Fellowship Program
Eligibility
- As of this writing, Penn State is updating the terms of this scholarship. Contact the college directly for more information.
The PSGC Graduate Research Fellowship Program is a valuable offer brought to you by Penn State. With this great opportunity, winning applicants receive $5,000 in educational funding in addition to excellent mentoring education outreach experience. These fellowships occur in two-year terms only.
13. Stars Scholarship
Eligibility
- Be a US citizen or a legal permanent resident with a permanent resident card or passport stamped “I-551”.
- Be a permanent resident (5 or more consecutive years) and have a permanent South or West Texas address in one of our 30 counties.
- Have earned/completed at least 12 undergraduate credit hours at a US-accredited college or university before applying for the scholarship.
- Have a minimum college cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 2.7 on a 4.0 scale.
- Have completed a high school diploma or its equivalent prior to the fall of the new academic year.
- Are enrolled in a US-accredited, two-year community college (enrolled part-time or full-time) in a degree-seeking program or a four-year university undergraduate program (enrolled full-time) seeking a bachelor’s degree, or a university graduate program (enrolled full-time) seeking a master’s, law, or doctorate degree
The Stars Scholarship comes courtesy of the Stars Scholarship Fund, a South-Texas-based charitable group founded in 2002. This great aid comes by way of tuition coverage at a Stars-approved college or university. No limitations are placed on applicants’ status as far as part-time vs. full-time attendance or graduate vs. undergraduate degree.
14. IEEE Life Member History Fellowship
Eligibility
- Be a recent Ph.D. recipient (within the last four years) in one of the following fields of study: engineering, computer sciences and information technology, physical sciences, biological and medical sciences, mathematics, technical communications, education, management, or law and policy.
“IEEE” stands for Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and this organization wants to promote brilliant minds in a number of important fields related to their core representative field. By way of the organization’s IEEE Life Member History Fellowship, winning applicants receive a stipend of $25,000, with a research budget of up to $3,000 for post-graduation research work. If you’ve received your Ph.D. within the last four years, you may apply.
15. Fellowship for Doctoral Students of African Descent
Eligibility
- Applicants must be studying at an accredited academic institution in the US or Canada.
- Applicants must be a U.S. or Canadian citizen or permanent resident.
- Applicants must be of African descent enrolled or admitted full time in a Th.D. or Ph.D. program in religious, theological, or biblical studies.
- Applicants must be finished with coursework by the beginning of the fellowship year.
- Applicants at the dissertation stage must be in a position to write full-time during the fellowship year.
- All pre-dissertation applicants must be past the coursework stage but have not yet reached candidacy [ABD].
If you are of African descent and studying in a Th.D. or Ph.D. program in religious, theological, or biblical studies, the Fellowship for Doctoral Students of African Descent has an offer for you. Chosen applicants to this program receive financial support, educational and career guidance, valuable insider contacts, and more. The Forum for Theological Exploration is the facilitating sponsor for this great opportunity.
See more great scholarships here.
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