Program specific scholarships are generally sponsored by professional organizations or underwritten by a corporation with an interest in furthering one profession or another. There are also legacy scholarships, left as part of an estate and usually managed by a university financial aid office. Seeking these scholarships can be a labor-intensive effort, as there are thousands of scholarships and grants out there. But many colleges maintain databases for scholarship search, and graduate school offices can be of assistance as well. To the degree that you can, let others help you target your search. And never utilize a fee based scholarship service – they don’t know anything that can’t be learned elsewhere.
Nursing
The federal Health Resources and Services Administration provides nursing scholarships for undergraduate and graduate students who are willing to work in a geographic area with inadequate healthcare resources. The American Association of Critical Care Nurses has a scholarship program for graduate level students. The American Academy of Nurse Practitioners has a scholarship and grant program solely for graduate work. The American Nurses Association has a list of resources for nursing scholarships, grants and loan forgiveness programs.
Health Care Sector
The National Environmental Health Association awards scholarships to graduate students in Public Health. A good example of university-administered scholarship programs is provided by the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, where there are options for students in Epidemiology, Health Policy & Management, Human Genetics and several others. Oregon Health and Science University maintains a similar roster of graduate scholarships. The Tylenol Scholarship program awards $250,000 in scholarships annually to students pursuing a healthcare related education.
Education
Teachers Count has a list of regional scholarships available for teaching students, offered mostly by city and state organizations. The Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program, funded through the National Science Foundation, provides scholarships to graduate students on a teacher track in return for service in an area where there is a critical teacher shortage. The American Association of School Administrators funds the Educational Administration Scholarships, for which applicants are submitted by universities.
Business
Some of the top business schools such as the University of Chicago have a number of scholarships that are co-sponsored by corporations who want to support the development of new leaders in the business world. McKinsey & Company underwrites a scholarship program at MIT as do several other firms. Columbia Business School has a list of about seventy five scholarship opportunities that are in-house. The National Black MBA Association awards scholarships ranging from $1,000 to $15,000 to students who are members of the organization.
Information Technology
The Society of Women Engineers awards nearly $500,000 annually to undergraduate and graduate students in engineering or computer science. The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) offers several graduate level scholarships, some specifically targeted at certain research or study areas. The Federal Cyber Service is an information assurance agency now offering scholarships at the undergraduate and graduate level in return for a period of service with the federal government.
