Scholarship and Financial Aid Resources for Social Work Students
There are many online scholarship and financial aid resources available to help social work students fund their education. Here we have compiled the most valuable resources available today.
- Bureau of Health Professionals details that through a federal grant many universities have obtained funds for scholarships for disadvantaged graduate students. These scholarships are awarded as grants that do not have to be repaid by the financial aid office on campus. The average grant has been about $6,000. The range is $300 - $15,000.
- College Scholarships.org allows users to browse information on scholarships by subject, which includes social work. There is information on social work scholarship offerings from specific colleges, as well as from social work associations.
- The Council on Social Work Education offers the Carl A. Scott Book Scholarships which helps African Americans, Asian Americans and other ethnic groups achieve academic success. The scholarships are for $500.
- FAFSA is short for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. This document that helps the government determine your level of financial need. Last year, the federal government awarded more than $125 billion in financial aid. If you want a share of these funds it is important to understand the FAFSA process.
- Fastweb contains a personalized scholarship search engine. By allowing users to complete a profile, the search engine then matches awards based on the information provided by the individual.
- Federal Loan Forgiveness Program is legislation from the U.S. Department of Education that will allow some social work students who have received Federal Perkins Loans to have their loan obligations reduced or canceled. The cancellation provision was developed by the National Association of Social Workers as part of a larger strategy to facilitate recruitment of social work students into areas of practice where they are particularly needed.
- Federal Student Aid, part of the U.S. Department of Education's website, provides information on federal student aid programs, including grants, campus-based aid, and loans for graduate and professional degree programs. This site also includes other tools and resources, such as information on applying to college and repaying loans.
- The Ford Foundation International Fellowships Program is a unique effort to identify emerging leaders from marginalized communities outside the United States. IFP fellows represent historically disadvantaged groups, including racial, ethnic and religious minorities and people living with disabilities. IFP is financed by the largest single grant in the history of the Ford Foundation: $280 million.
- International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW) has a special section on their site called The “Project Funding,” which contains information on the IASSW grants for projects in social work. Grants are offered for up to $4,000.
- The MacNair Scholarship seeks assist eligible sophomores, juniors, and seniors in college. Students must be involved in scholarly research and must also be interested in becoming a faculty member in a college or university. More specific details may be found on the program's website.
- National Association of Social Workers (NASW) accepts applications for a variety of fellowships, scholarships, and research awards every year. The Verne LaMarr Lyons Scholarship is awarded to a student in a master's degree program who is committed to working with the African American community. The Consuelo W. Gosnell Memorial Scholarship is for social work students in master's degree programs who have committed to working with the Hispanic and American Indian populations or public and nonprofit sectors.
- New York University's Shirley M. Ehrenranz School of Social Work offers tuition scholarships to first and second year students based on financial need as well as academic achievement. They also offer several other scholarships based on a variety of issues.
- Next Student contains a scholarship search engine. Users first complete a personal and academic profile, which then allows the search engine to produce scholarships that match each individual. This site also includes information on private and federal student loans.
- Scholarships.com is a scholarship search and financial aid resource. It also provides information on current contests and sweepstakes.
- Scholarships and Grants contains information on different foundations, programs, associations of scholars, and awards in the field of social work. Some of the awards are quite specialized, such as those designed for students who are American Indian or for faculty scholars of geriatric social work.
- School Scholarships allows users to search for scholarships by subject, one of which is social work.
- StudentScholarshipSearch.com includes a scholarship search engine, a section on “featured” scholarships, a list of scholarships by region, and information on student loans.
- Witte Scholarship is available through San Diego State University. The Witte scholarship, named after the founding dean of the School of Social Work, Ernst Witte. This fund provides one $500 annual scholarship. Criteria include student activities in community organizing and community development as well as academic achievement. Application is made through the School of Social Work Consensus Organizing Center in the spring semester.
- Youngstown State University's School of Social Work in Ohio has several undergraduate scholarships for social work students. These scholarships are limited to those students who achieve at least a 3.0 GPA, but otherwise, they are largely general in their requirements.