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Now that we’ve given you all the lists you need to identify which graduate programs to apply to, depending on your desired degree (PsyD or MBA? MD or JD?) and location (California or New York? Online, perhaps?), it’s time to help you figure out how to pay for the cost. According to a 2024 report from the , the average graduate degree holder owes up to $102,790 in cumulative federal student loan debt. This exorbitant amount of debt matches the high cost of graduate school tuition, with private universities like the University of Chicago charging $92,000. The great thing about scholarships for graduate students is that, unlike loans, they don’t have to be paid back. While loans may be inevitable, the more scholarships you win, the fewer loans you need to take out.

Also, since there is neither a limit to the number of graduate school scholarships a student can receive, nor to the number of graduate school scholarships you can apply for, we recommend applying to as many as possible. 

Where can I find graduate school scholarships?

Since it might be overwhelming to look at hundreds of search results, this blog post organizes 50 scholarships by type: graduate school scholarships for minority students, for female-identifying students, for students in specific fields, and no-essay scholarships. We’ve defined “Best” by the minimum dollar amount offered by the scholarship. All of the scholarships on our list offer an award of at least $2,000– a number that is substantial, especially when considering that the average tuition fee per semester is around $5,000.

Treat this list as a primer in the innumerable scholarships that are out there, and to help you brainstorm additional key terms for your search!

But first, let’s establish the basics of graduate school scholarships. 

Graduate Scholarships vs. Grants vs. Fellowships

Scholarships, grants, and fellowships all serve the same function: to cover the cost of your continuing education. The distinction between them at the graduate level is that they cover different parts of your graduate degree. 

While scholarships tend to be merit-based, grants are often need-based. For example, the provides up to $8,000 per year to students pursuing a master’s degree in teaching and planning to become teachers in a high-need field or in a low-income school. 

However, there are also grants that are available to graduate students in specific tracks. , for example, are grants sponsored by the Department of State to support students pursuing international studies or studies overseas.

While scholarships tend to cover tuition, fellowships usually cover the cost of short-term opportunities such as research, teaching, an internship or some other service.

Types of Scholarships

• National scholarships are open to students from across the country. Although they are the primary focus of our below list, you can find more of them by filling out FAFSA, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, an online form provided by the Department of Education. 
• Institutional scholarships are offered by the institution you are hoping to attend, or in some cases, have graduated from. For example, Northeastern University offers the , which gives Northeastern alumni a 25% discount on tuition for over 120 eligible graduate programs. 
• Local scholarships tend to be restricted to students living in or enrolled in universities in a certain region. They tend to have much more specific requirements than national scholarships, but competition for them will be lower. For example, offers scholarships for minority students to pursue graduate degrees in education “at a participating university in Florida.”

While the above three types are determined by the source of funding, it’s important to note that there are other ways to categorize scholarship types, such as merit-based scholarships (awarded based on academic achievements such as test scores), need-based scholarships (awarded to students from low-income backgrounds), field-specific scholarships (award to students in specific disciplines or career tracks), and more. As you’ll see from our list below, many of these categories overlap: a scholarship can be merit-based and field-specific at the same time. 

Graduate School Scholarships for Minority Students

• Award: $10,000
• Student Profile: Racial and ethnic minority students completing their dissertation in anthropology

• Award: $15,000 
• Student Profile: Incoming racial and ethnic minority law students 

• Award: $10,000 
• Student Profile: First, second, and third-year law students in various partner universities who identify as LGBTQIA+ and have demonstrated financial need

• Award: $2,000-$5,000 
• Student Profile: Hispanic or Latino MBAs and students of other business-oriented majors

• Award: $10,000-$15,000
• Student Profile: Master’s and doctoral minority students studying to become mental health counselors

• Award: Between $500 to $5,000 
• Student Profile: Graduate students of any major who identify as Korean-American or are descendants of Korean War veterans

• Award: Various
• Student Profile: Minority students in either law school or graduate school for library sciences

• Award:  $24,000 per year 
• Student Profile: Students pursuing either PhDs or Doctors of Science; minorities receive preference 

• Award: Various 
• Student Profile: American Indian and Alaska Native U.S. citizens or Canadians seeking graduate degrees at any accredited university

 

• Award: At least $20,000 
• Student Profile: LGBTQ+ MBA students

• Award: Up to $17,000 
• Student Profile: African American and Hispanic PhD students pursuing doctoral degrees in the State of Florida in the fields of Agriculture, Biology, Chemistry, Business Administration, Computer Science, Engineering, Marine Biology, Mathematics, Physics, or Psychology

• Award: Up to $17,000 
• Student Profile: Black graduate students majoring in journalism or communication-related fields with a record of community service 

• Award: Various 
• Student Profile: Graduate Native American students who are citizens/ members of their Tribal Nation, whether or not their Nation is recognized by the federal government

• Award: Various 
• Student Profile: African American students pursuing graduate degrees

• Award: Various
• Student Profile: Graduate students in an accredited healthcare program with demonstrated financial need, leadership, and commitment to medically underserved communities; minority students preferred

Graduate School Scholarships for Female-Identifying Students

• Award: $8,000 to $50,000
• Student Profile: Female-identifying students pursuing PhDs

• Award: $10,000 
• Student Profile: Women pursuing doctoral degrees in either aerospace engineering or space sciences

• Award: $5,000 
• Student Profile: Graduate women who are pursuing a media-related degree

• Award: $5,000 
• Student Profile: Women pursuing a master’s degree in accounting

• Award: $5,000 
• Student Profile: Women in medical school with a strong GPA

• Award: Various
• Student Profile: Female master’s students entering the fields of cybersecurity and information security

• Award: Up to $25,000
• Student Profile: Women in graduate school who are either already members of P.E.O. or who get recommended by their local P.E.O. chapter.

• Award: Various
• Student Profile: LGBTQIA+ students seeking a graduate degree with demonstrated financial need

• Award: $1,000 
• Student Profile: Women pursuing a master’s or PhD in journalism, creative writing, or literature at a recognized post-secondary institution

• Award: $20,000 
• Student Profile: Female master’s or PhD student in Finance 

• Award: $20,000 for a master’s or professional degree and $25,000 for an academic doctorate degree
• Student Profile: Female international graduate students who are not U.S. citizens or are permanent residents

• Award: Grand Prize: $5,000; First Runner-Up: $2,000; Second Runner-Up: $1,000
• Student Profile: Female international/DACA students in a STEM degree program in US or Canada

• Award: $5,000
• Student Profile: Female graduate students majoring or concentrating in real estate or related real estate fields.

• Award: $5,000
• Student Profile: Woman of color law student who has finished first year of law school

• Award: $5,000
• Student Profile: Female student currently enrolled in medical school

Graduate Scholarships for Students in Specific Fields

• Award: Up to $30,000
• Student Profile: Graduate students who plan to pursue careers in education, advocacy, nonprofit leadership, or public service

• Award: Up to $7,500
• Student Profile: Nominated graduate student in a master’s program in public administration, public and international affairs, public policy, and/or political science at a university in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area, the Maxwell School at Syracuse University, Brandeis University, the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton, John Jay College at CUNY, SUNY – Albany, Binghamton, Brockport or from New York University

• Award: Entire cost of tuition
• Student Profile: Graduate students in STEM

• Award: $15,000 
• Student Profile: Graduate students in STEM

• Award: $20,000 
• Student Profile: STEM students with a flair for public speaking

• Award: $24,000
• Student Profile: Graduate student in electrical engineering

• Award: $38,000
• Student Profile: Graduate students in engineering, math, or applied biological and physical sciences who are attending a Hertz Foundation-approved school. Applicants must also make a “moral commitment” to lend their skills to the United States in times of national emergency.

• Award: $7,500
• Student Profile: Female graduate student in STEM

• Award: Up to $14,000
• Student Profile: Students in their first or second year of DPT (physical therapy) school

• Award: $2,500 
• Student Profile: Graduate students intending to pursue a career in any aspect of game development including but not limited to: art, animation, programming, engineering, game direction, game design, sound design, law, marketing, and business administration

• Award: $2,500 
• Student Profile: Registered nurses in a Masters or Doctoral nursing program with an emphasis on administration or management for the upcoming school year

• Award: $2,000 
• Student Profile: Graduate students enrolled in a dental hygiene or related graduate program

No Essay Graduate Scholarships

Award: $25,000

Final Thoughts

While at first, the sheer number of scholarships out there may be overwhelming, don’t let that stop you from applying. And for other ways to fund your graduate degree, check out , which provides a comprehensive overview of strategies aside from scholarships, including teaching assistantships, online degrees, and even studying abroad to save money as a graduate student. Perhaps even more so than college, graduate school is when you need to focus– so it will be well worth it to reduce the burden of worrying about funding.