Search for College Grants by Degree Level
Financial Needs Change with Educational and Career Goals
Students at various stages in their college careers mature as far as their educational and career goals are concerned. As your goals change, so do your financial needs and challenges. For this reason grants ought to be considered based on your financial needs at particular junctures in your college career: undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degree levels.
Undergraduate Student Grants: Mother Lode of Funds Lie with State and Federal Sources
High school and undergraduate students have access to rich veins of grant funds from a wide assortment of sources, including:
- Federal government
- State government
- Colleges and universities
- Business and industry
- Professional organizations
If you are an Undergrad then you are likely still unsure of your ultimate career track, and you may have little idea of your intended major. General undergraduate grants are your best option if you are a high school student looking for free money or still in your early college years. Criteria typically include a combination of financial need and academic motivation and/or talent.
Federal and State Funded Grants
Federal and state governments are well endowed with grant funds and may well hold the most opportunity for the biggest population of undergrads. The Pell Grant is one of the most familiar and widely disbursed federally funded need-based programs. The Pell has made it possible for thousands of financially disadvantaged undergraduate students to attend college. But other equally vital grants include the Academic Competitiveness Grant and the National SMART Grant, both free money programs that cover undergraduate students from their freshman through senior years.
State lottery games have thankfully lined the coffers of many state educational budgets from which thousands, maybe millions of American undergraduate students win precious need-based state tuition aid. Especially wealthy are the government-funded minority student grant programs, especially those that target students pursuing programs of study in science, math, engineering, or technology (SMET) fields.
Popular Undergraduate Minority Grants
American students lag behind their European peers in science, math, engineering, and technology (SMET subjects), but for all the sophistication of the contemporary globalized workplace, ethnic minorities and women remain alarmingly underrepresented. The good news is that grant money for women and minorities remains plentiful. Look in our list of science and technology grants for the right program to fit your college goals.
Graduate Grants: Plentiful Funds Come from Universities
Graduate students generally pursue advanced education in order to dig deeper into a particular field of expertise. If this describes you, then take control of your graduate school grant search. Mine specific funds using our list of subject-specific grants.
Popular Grad Grants Plentiful for Research and High-Need Fields
Some of the leading sources for graduate grants come from:
- University graduate schools court talented and financially needy grad students as a means to diversify academic departments, fuel research projects, and populate programs with the best mix of grad students possible.
- Federally funded grant sources for high-need fields. Grants for graduate nursing and medical study indicate severe shortages within these fields.
Where can women and minorities find graduate scholarships?
Again, university departments have vested interests in diversity and plenty offer grants or fellowships for students in need. Follow subject-specific grants links to find the college and university grant programs most well suited to your needs.
Private Corporations Woo Talented Grads
Private corporations, such as tech and pharmaceutical companies, need to build their workforces on new academic talent. Graduate grants provide lucrative funding, but may bundle in agreements for future internships and require recipients sign on for careers with them following graduation. Grad students, grit your teeth—you must tenaciously compete for these professional awards.
Professional Associations Support Grad Student Members
Professional organizations are one more very popular grant resource for graduate and post-grad student members. Business, Law, and SMET grants are all commonly sponsored through professional business associations, such as the Society of Automobile Engineers and the American Business Women’s Association. These sponsors have vested interests in supporting new talent.
Doctoral Grants: University Fellowships are Common
PhD student grants are often packaged as paid fellowship and assistantship positions through university academic departments. Students at this level of education have very specific goals and financial needs. Most are deeply committed to their education and may shop carefully for specific universities, and even faculty members with whom to pursue study. PhD graduates typically go to work in academia or in research fields. Universities have vested interests in nurturing top talent and keeping it close to campus.
Research-Based Corporate Sponsors Offer Competitive Grants
Professional associations, particularly those with ties to research projects in the sciences and technology, may have aid programs in place for student members. Study abroad subsidies not only include aid for overseas study, but also stipends for annual conferences and educational meetings, often sponsored by professional organizations. Large research-based business and industry may strike lucrative deals with outstanding doctoral students. Grants may help make students financially comfortable through their final years of school in anticipation that this pool of fresh talent will come to work for them.
