Masters in Education Scholarships and Fellowships

There are many opportunities for scholarships and fellowships in the field of education.  For students in a graduate program who are interested in teaching, there are also a couple of federally underwritten loan forgiveness programs.  The strength of support for education students is reflected in the number of endowed scholarships for education students that are managed at the university level.  There are several national organizations that provide scholarships or fellowships for education students as well, including the American Federation of Teachers and many programs funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.  As always, the best resources for grants or scholarships are often local instead of national.  University scholarship databases are excellent resources.  Asking about merit based grants from local service organization scholarships or in the case of education, state teachers organizations is always a good idea.

1. National Association of School Psychologists has a program for scholarships and grants for students pursuing a career in the school psychology field.  There are many Master of Education programs with this specialty offered as an academic option.  There is a scholarship program for minority students enrolled in an acceptable program, which can be any academic program in the field except a doctoral program.  The scholarship is for students who intend to practice.
2. Illinois State University has an impressive collection of fellowships and scholarships available to graduate students in education.  There are at least twenty endowed scholarships for special education students alone.  There are grants for learning and behavior specialist students, for curriculum & instruction students, and perhaps fifteen scholarships dedicated to teaching students.  In addition there are fifteen merit based scholarships for School of Education students who may be enrolled in curriculum & instruction, in educational administration, in special education or in a variety of other subject areas.
3. American Association of School Administrators offers scholarships to graduate students who are working on a degree in educational administration or a related field.  The goal of each applicant must be a career school superintendency, which requires a master’s degree.  Many people who fill this role in larger school districts hold doctorates.  The Association has had this program since 1949; each year it awards seven scholarships to national applicants based on merit.
4. Texas A&M has several scholarship programs for graduate students working on a degree in instructional technology.  All of these fellowships are endowed by private individuals or trusts; some are allocated for doctoral students and some for those pursuing a Masters in Education for Instructional Technology.  One of them is underwritten by the Texas Association of Educational Technology.
5. Syracuse University has an inventory of scholarships awarded by the School of Education that are endowed by various trusts, individuals and corporations.  About 15% of all School of Education students receive support from one of these programs.  Some are designated for graduate students in the School of Education, some for Teacher Leadership students, some for Instructional Design students, and some are designated for women, for minorities, or for students who demonstrate financial need.

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