If you’d made the decision to go back to school to change or advance in your career you may be worried about how you’ll pay for the additional years of schooling. Students working towards their Master’s degrees have a wide variety of general and specialty grant programs available to them through both public and private sources, which can help cover some if not all of their educational expenses.

Grants for Master’s students can be awarded for a variety of reasons. Some students will demonstrate great financial need and will be given funding to help support their continued education. Other awards are doled out to students who stand out among their peers through their academic achievements. Students can also receive grants and fellowships for any research they do while getting their degrees, especially if the results could have an impact on the field or on society as a whole.

A large source of grants for Master’s students are private organizations. Many offer grant programs that fund student’s education as well as research relevant to the field. These grant programs can be extremely beneficial to students as they can also be the source of future internships, networking opportunities and career advancement. Students will find these kinds of awards offered through specialty associations in their fields or through groups dedicated to helping minority groups advance.

Students can also look to federal and state programs for funding as well as to the school they are attending. All three should have some sort of grant program in place, but may that are offered might have specific requirements. Sometimes students will be required to exchange teaching, work or research time post graduation for funding.

Grants for Master’s Degree Students

• NDSEG Graduate Fellowship: Varied amounts are awarded to students in the science and engineering fields.
• US Dept of State Critical Languages Awards: Varied funding for undergraduate students in business, engineering, science, the social sciences and humanities who are willing to learn languages like Hindi, Chinese, Korean and more.