Scholarships for Students Getting a Doctorate or Ph.D.

Getting a doctoral education is exceptionally challenging. It takes years of study, consistently producing vital scholarly research, and eventually writing and defending an original thesis or dissertation. Despite all that hard work, one of the hardest obstacles in completing a terminal degree is money. While many doctoral programs give candidates funding to work and teach while they complete their degree, it’s rarely enough to live on.

Fortunately, there are many alternative roads one can take to fund a doctoral degree. Depending on your finances, you could qualify for financial aid. Another great option is a scholarship. By applying to scholarships in your area of study, or that were created to help people with specific backgrounds or identities, you can at least partially fund your doctoral education. Earning your Ph.D. gets a lot easier when you know you have the money to pay for it.

On this list, we’ve compiled 55 scholarships that can be used by doctoral students. Many are intended for people living in individual states, are from specific backgrounds, or are pursuing particular degrees. Here at DegreeQuery, we’ll be posting more resources that compile scholarship opportunities, so keep your eyes peeled. Without further ado, here are 55 Scholarships for Students Getting a Ph.D.:

ACLS Fellowship

• $65000
• For those with a Ph.D. for two years who haven’t had supported research leave for at least three years. For professionals doing post-doctoral study in humanities and humanities-related social sciences.

Fannie and John Hertz Foundation Fellowship

• $40000
• Must be studying applied physical sciences, engineering, or mathematics. Need a minimum of an A- average during the last two years of undergraduate work. Can be renewed for up to 5 years.

J. Clawson Mills Fellowship

• $20000
• This scholarship is aimed at students doing research or study at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Requires a short application, and mature scholars with demonstrated ability are preferred.

Henry Luce Foundation/ACLS Dissertation Fellowship in American Art History

• $20000
• Need to be a U.S. citizen, Ph.D. candidate that’s completed all requirements except the dissertation, and have a dissertation topic looking at the history of visual arts in the U.S. Submit your application through the American Council of Learned Societies (ALCS) website).

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Fellowship in Electrical History

• $17000
• This scholarship is intended for students with an undergraduate degree in engineering, the sciences, or the humanities. They must be in a full-time graduate program or doing post-doctoral research in electrical history.

Harry S. Truman Scholarship

• $13500
• For U.S. citizens or nationals studying government or public service. A total of $30,000 can be awarded over years. Students must be within the top quarter of their class and maintain a B average to reapply for more funding through this scholarship.

Huntington Fellowships

• $12500
• Intended for those holding a Ph.D. or pursuing one at the dissertation state. Must be working in American history, American literature, art history, British history, British literature, or the history of science. Must demonstrate strength of project, ability, and how the Huntington Library would be utilized.

The National Federation of the Blind Scholarship

• $12000
• This scholarship is for people who are legally blind in both eyes who are studying full-time in an accredited degree program in America or Puerto Rico. A part-time student may be considered. Scholarships are awarded based on personal essay, proof of blindness, letters of recommendation, transcripts, and an interview. Financial need is not a requirement for this scholarship.

Joseph Collins Foundation Scholarship

• $10000
• This is for medical students studying in general practice, neurology, or psychiatry. Chosen based on financial need, interests outside of medicine, strong character, and attendance at a school east or contiguous to the Mississippi River.

Regents Health Care Scholarship for Medicine and Dentistry

• $10000
• For US citizens and NY residents (with some applicable refugees). Must be enrolled in an approved NY medical or dental school. Priority given to economically disadvantaged minorities, or students in state-sponsored programs like Educational Opportunity Program (EOP), Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP), Search for Education, Elevation and Knowledge (SEEK), or College Discovery. 100 scholarships are distributed, 80 in medicine and 20 in dentistry, with varying amounts awarded.

M. Elizabeth Carnegie Scholarship

• $10000
• Must be a U.S. citizen and black registered nurse and member of a nursing organization who’s enrolled in a doctoral program in nursing or related field. Selection based on academic record and evidence of service.

O.H. Ammann Research Fellowship in Structural Engineering

• $10000
• Must be a National American Society of Civil Engineers member in good standing. Student must be studying structural engineering.

Community Action Grant

• $10000
• Must be a woman and U.S. citizen or permanent resident. Intended for a student who has a proposed activity or project that will have a direct impact on communities and relates to education of women and girls.

Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture Doctoral Scholarship

• $$5,000-10,000
• Need to be a doctoral student specializing in Jewish studies, with priority given to students with approved dissertation topics. Need to reapply to maintain the scholarship.

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Fellowship

• $8000
• Need to be a U.S. citizen or permanent U.S. resident living in Virginia for at least one year before the deadline. Applicants must be enrolled full time at an accredited arts university studying crafts, drawing, film, mixed media, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, video, graduate art history, and submit 10 slides of artwork for art, three films for film/video, or three research papers for art history.

AGC Education and Research Foundation Graduate Award

• $7500
• This scholarship is for students in civil and construction engineering. Must be enrolled or have graduated from an ABET or ACCE-accredited construction or civil engineering program. Must be enrolled or planning to enroll in a full-time construction graduate/doctoral degree.

Trent R. Dames & William W. Moore Fellowship

• $6000
• Given for a research project on new applications in geotechnical engineering or earth sciences that apply to political, environmental, social, and economic issues.

Bound-to-Stay-Bound Scholarship

• $6000
• For U.S. or Canadian citizens that have been accepted but not yet begun a degree program in library science. They must work in children’s services for a year after graduating. Leadership qualities, academic record, and desire to work with children are all considered.

Frederic G. Melcher Scholarship

• $6000
• Similar to the scholarship above. Must work in children’s services for a year after graduating a library science degree.

SR Education Group Graduate School Scholarship

• $5000
• Any student who has graduated from a graduate program in the past 5 years is eligbile for this award. Students will rate and review their program, and only four students will be chosen.

Suburban Hospital Casey Scholarships

• $5000
• For nursing or allied health professionals or students getting a BSN or higher. Minimum 2.5 GPA required, and there’s a work requirement at Suburban Hospital in Bethesda, MD after graduating.

Albert W. Dent Scholarship

• $5000
• Full-time minority students entering the fall term of their final year of class for a graduate or doctoral degree in healthcare management can qualify. Need to demonstrate financial aid and be a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives

General Mills Inc. James Ford Bell Graduate Scholarship

• $5000
• Students studying food science or food technology can qualify for this scholarship. They must have a minimum of a 3.0 GPA

Institute of Food Technologists Graduate Scholarship

• $5000
• Students who have a demonstrated interest in research, a 3.0 GPA, and are researching food science or food technology can qualify for this scholarship.

CTA Scholarship for Dependent Children

• $5000
• For a student who is claimed as a depenedent on the taxes of an active or retired California Teachers Association member. Recipient can reapply.

Freeman Fellowship

• $5000
• Also must be an American Society of Civil Engineers member in good standing. For students pursuing hydraulic construction.

Foundation Scholarship Program

• $5000
• For a Latino student studying math, engineering, or science. Reapplication required to renew the scholarship.

L. Gordon Bittle Memorial Scholarship

• $5000
• For an active member of the California Teachers Association pursuing a career in public education. Can reapply for continued support.

Graduate Student Scholarship

• $4000
• Must be a full-time graduate or doctoral student in communication disorders and/or sciences. Students are selected based on achievement and potential. Need to be in a program accredited by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Council on Academic Accreditation. One scholarship is awarded for a minority student, one for a foreign minority student, and one for a disabled student.

Graduate Student Scholarship for a Minority Student

• $4000
• Similar to the grant above, but only for a student who is a U.S. citizen, a minority, and in full-time study at a graduate or doctoral program on speech-language pathology and audiology.

John and Muriel Landis Scholarship

• $4000
• Intended for a U.S. citizen or permanent resident with financial need studying nuclear engineering and nuclear science. Minorities and women are encouraged to apply.

George A. Strait Minority Stipend

• $3500
• Aimed at students who are minorities with law library experience. Must be studying at an accredited library or law school.

Alan F. Henry/Paul A. Greebler Scholarship

• $3500
• For U.S. Citizens or permanent residents studying nuclear engineering, nuclear science, or reactor physics. Also must be sponsored by an ANS entity.

Robert A. Dannels Memorial Scholarship

• $3500
• Handicapped students are encouraged to apply to this scholarship, intended for students studying nuclear science and technology. Must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident sponsored by part of the ANS organization or a member in it.

Verne R. Dapp Memorial Scholarship

• $3000
• Applicants need to be U.S. citizens or permanent residents that are studying a degree related to nuclear science. Students must be sponsored by local section, division, student branch, committee member or organization member of the American Nuclear Society.

ANS Graduate Scholarship

• $3000
• For a U.S. citizen or permanent resident in a degree related to nuclear science and technology. Need to be sponsored by an ANS local section, division, student branch, committee member or organization member.

James F. Schumar Scholarship

• $3000
• Must be studying material science/technology for nuclear applications, and be sponsored by local section, division, student branch, committee member, or member of ANS

Memorial Education Fellowship

• $3000
• Designed to assist a woman living in Massachusetts for at least five years. Fields of study change annually.

Catholic Daughters of the Americas Graduate Scholarship

• $3000
• Intended for a female student enrolled in any college or university program. Recipient chosen based on reasons for applying, undergraduate transcript, autobiography, and leter of reference from a college or university.

CastleBranch-GNSA Scholarship

• $2500
• Nursing students with a 3.5 grade point average and higher are eligible for this award. They also must be a member of the AACN Graduate Student Nursing Academy (GNSA) (membership is free)

Agnes Jones Jackson Scholarship

• $2500
• Must be a member of the NAACP and under 25 to qualify. Undergraduates need to be full-time students with a 2.5 GPA, graduate students need a 3.0 GPA

AASA Educational Administration Scholarship

• $2500
• This scholarship is for students with a outstanding background in school administration. It’s intended for students who want to make school superintendency their career.

Rudolph Dillman Memorial Scholarship

• $2500
• Must be a U.S. citizen studying in America and legally blind. Must be studying education/rehabilitation of the blind. Application includes personal statement, transcript, and three reccomendations

Educational Opportunity Fund Grant

• $2500
• Applicant must demonstrate financial need, live in New Jersey for at least 12 months and attend a New Jersey college or university. Must demonstrate academic achievement.

Scholarship Incentive

• $2200
• Need to have at least a 2.5 GPA, show financial need, and be enrolled full-time in a program in Delaware or Pennsylvania. Applicants from other states can qualify for the scholarship if they study a discipline that’s not available in Delaware.

Olive Lynn Salembier Reentry Scholarship

• $2000
• Applicants must be women who have been out of the engineering job market for at least two years. Must be in an ABET-accredited engineering program, engineering at SWE-approved colleges and universities, or computer science in a CSAB-accredited program or at an ABET-accredited or SWE-approved institution, and have a 3.0 GPA

Julia Kiene Fellowship in Electrical Energy

• $2000
• Must be working towards an advanced degree in the electrical industry, including communications, education, electrical engineering, journalism, marketing, radio/TV broadcasting. Must demonstrate vocational promise, academic excellence, financial need, and strong character.

Walter Patterson Scholarship

• $1750
• For students enrolled at a Broadcast Education Association (BEA) institution, studying broadcasting. Chosen based on academic record and contributions in the field.

Educational Leadership Graduate Fellowship

• $1500
• Members of Phi Delta Kappa in any full-time educational program can qualify for this scholarship. Requires an essay, transcript, recommendation, and PDK membership

Library Degree for Law School Graduates (Type I)

• $1500
• Must have graduated from an accredited law school and be a degree candidate at an accredited library school. Students are chosen based on financial need.

Desk and Derrick Educational Trust Scholarship

• $1500
• For students with a 3.2 GPA who are studying any area related to allied, energy, or petroleum industries. Financial need required and renewable with reapplication

Sarah Bradley Tyson Memorial Fellowship

• $1000
• Given to women in leadership in cooperative extension work, and/or initiative in scientific research. Extensive application to qualify.

H.S. and Angeline Lewis Scholarship

• $1000
• Must be a female resident of Wisconsin who’s related to a veteran. Need a 3.2 GPA and to demonstrate financial need.

Delta Gamma Foundation Memorial Scholarship

• $1000
• Intended for legally blind students who is studying/working in the education of the visually impaired or rehabilitation of the visually impaired. Applicants are chosen on their character and academic record.

Child Welfare Scholarship

• $1000
• Must be a relative of a veteran in Wisconsin. Need a 3.2 GPA, demonstrate a financial need, and be studying education or special education