Are You a Muslim or Studying Islam?
Finding Scholarship Programs for Islamic Students
There are a number of scholarships available from universities and colleges available to Muslim students, although not every college will offer them. If this is a consideration of your application, then you may want to consider making an appointment with the financial aid advisors prior to enrollment to verify that the school you wish to attend offers these for you.
You can also contact your Muslim Community Leaders and inquire as to the local sponsored scholarships, if any are offered. Some Muslim based business may be offering local scholarships for tuition purposes. Even if they do not have any available for you, they can be instrumental in assisting you in securing scholarship opportunities.
There are very few United State based scholarships, at this time, and this article will detail in brief some of the best offerings. If you wish to pursue Islamic studies as your major, then researching other universities in the U.K., Saudi Arabia and India as well as other countries may be an option for you, as many of the opportunities available are not in the U.S.
Islamic Development Bank (IDB)
This is a scholarship for Muslims in Non-member countries. Awards are based on academic merit and financial need. Covered in the award is full tuition, medical and vision insurance, a monthly allowance, and miscellaneous college expenses, to name a few.
They do try and place recipients in the country of application, however if you enroll outside of the county, the do offer as a bonus air fare home between semesters.
The United States is not a member of the IDB, although they do place students in American Universities from other countries. The website has a listing of member countries.
KFF Scholarship
This is a graduate scholarship available to Muslims studying in science, medicine or engineering. The scholarship can be used at U.S. colleges and the applicant must be a practicing Muslim of high academic merit.
This is a full scholarship award, paying all tuition fees, a monthly allowance, and they will give you a ticket home once during the 2-3 years you are a scholarship recipient.
Muslim Women
There are minority awards in the Muslim community, one of which is the Muslim Women's association of Washington, D.C. Available to any female Muslim full time student, it is awarded based on academic merit and financial need. While any female Muslim is encouraged to apply, they do give priority to D.C. residents.
The Arab Star Scholarships
This is a Dallas based scholarship offered from a Muslim newspaper to students majoring in journalism. Awards are $3000 and include an internship at the Arab Star.
Arab American Heritage Council
This is offered to High School seniors whose parents/guardians are a member of the Arab American Heritage Council (AAHC) for at least one year prior to application.
Go to the Al-Jamiat Financial Aid section for contact information for the three scholarships listed above along with other helpful information for student wanting to study Islam.
