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Graduate Scholarship Search

Look for scholarships with Graduate School Scholarship Search

You don’t have to pay to find scholarships for graduate school. Register for our Graduate School Scholarship Search and get free access to 850,000 graduate scholarships, worth up to $1 billion.

  • Create a profile based on your field of study, skills, and interests.
  • Set up alerts to notify you when new graduate scholarships matching your profile become available.
  • Enter for a chance to win $1,000 in our monthly sweepstakes.

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Free money for your graduate degree

The first step of the 1-2-3 approach to paying for graduate school is to look for—and use—free money that you don’t have to pay back. Free money can be that missing piece of the puzzle to help you pay—every little bit can help. The most likely sources will be from graduate scholarships, grants, and fellowships for graduate students.

The difference among scholarships, grants, and fellowships for graduate students

Graduate school scholarships are available through organizations, companies, states, and more. They can be need-based or merit-based, but you have to apply for them.

Grants for graduate school are like scholarships in that you don’t have to pay them back. If you withdraw from school, you may have to refund part or all of the grant, so know the individual grant’s rules. While scholarships are often merit-based, grants are need-based and can relate to your prospective field.

Fellowships for graduate students generally relate to a short-term opportunity to study or conduct research in a specific field. Awarded for academic excellence, they can include an internship or other service commitment and can pay for living expenses, or offer a stipend. Fellowship opportunities can be found in most graduate fields.

of grad students take advantage of “free money.”

Source: How America Pays for Graduate School, from Sallie Mae and Ipsos.

More ways to find graduate school scholarships

Scholarships are available through organizations, companies, states, and more. They can be need-based or merit-based, but you have to apply for them.

Scholarship award amounts for graduate students tend to be more modest than for undergrads, but they can add up. An extra $1,000 – $2,000 can help reduce your living expenses for a month. Here are some different ways to customize your search for graduate scholarships:

  • By school: Many universities offer scholarships to graduate students from their own funds to attract students with the strongest academic performance. Your school or program is a great source to learn about these opportunities.
  • By field: If you’re entering a program where your expertise is in short supply—especially in the STEM areas—focus on graduate scholarships from corporations, professional organizations, and foundations.
  • By demographic: Graduate scholarships are available for specific populations, such as women and minorities, including African Americans, Asians, Hispanics, and Native Americans. They’re also available for students, foster children, first-generation college students, and non-traditional students who are cognitively and physically disabled.
  • By region: There’s often more attention paid to national scholarships. But don’t forget to search for scholarship opportunities for graduate students from your home state or region—a smaller candidate pool can increase your chances. Call your state’s Department of Education for information.

Tips for applying for graduate scholarships

  1. Be methodical. Keep track of the essay questions you’ve already answered—you can use them in additional applications.
  2. Don’t box yourself in. Along with field-specific scholarships, consider the criteria that you used as an undergrad. Broaden your search and look for scholarships based on your region, ethnicity, interest, religious affiliation, or hobbies.
  3. Make a scholarship budget. Searching for graduate scholarships may be free, but some documents that you need for your application may come at a cost, like transcripts. Some graduate school scholarships request the College Board’s CSS/Financial Aid Profile, which costs $25 for the first application and $16 for each additional request. You may want to focus on the most lucrative (or most winnable) scholarships and pass on the less favorable ones.

Meet the grad students who won our Bridging the Dream Scholarship

Four students shared their inspiring journeys to grad school with us and earned a $20,000 scholarship for their graduate or professional education.

Read the winners’ stories

No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited. Odds of winning depend on number of entries received. See official rules at SallieMae.com/SweepstakesRules.