Some students choose to pursue school beyond their undergraduate degrees because their particular area of interest requires advanced degrees and some simply because they love learning. Whatever the reason, one thing remains the same– graduate school can be quite expensive without a little financial support. While many students will get support from the schools they choose to attend many other will need additional scholarships and financing to cover their expenses.

Most graduate school scholarships are based around a certain field of study and some fields simply have more scholarships available than others. Students who are applying for financial awards for graduate school will likely need to provide the scholarship committee with their undergraduate transcripts, letters of recommendation and a FAFSA form which can indicate if they are in need of financial support.

Students should know in advance that scholarships for graduate schools are much fewer in number than those for undergraduate degrees. Many scholarships will be offered directly through the school the student chooses to attend and students should check with their department to see what aid is available. As with undergraduate scholarships, there are often more opportunities for students pursuing certain majors and for those of minority groups. This doesn’t mean that there isn’t anything out there for other students, but opportunities may be more limited.

In an attempt to draw more women and minorities into fields traditionally dominated by white males, many scholarship programs give money to these students who want to pursue careers in science, math engineering related majors. Perhaps the greatest majority of scholarships available to graduate students, however, is to students who are pursuing programs of study in in-demand fields like nursing and teaching.

Graduate School Scholarships

• ISC Security Scholarship: $12,500 to eight graduate students pursuing a degree in information security.
• Jack Kent Cook Foundation Graduate Scholarships: Up to $50,000 to 40 college seniors and graduate students.
• The NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship: $7,500 to 174 graduate students who also participate in a college sport.
• Graduate Student Scholar Award: $1,000 goes to senior undergraduate or graduate students with an education major.
• Graduate Study in Cancer Research or Nurse Practitioner: $3,000 awarded each year to graduate or postgraduate students in nursing who are Massachusetts residents.