Searching for Scholarships
There are thousands of opportunities out there, so finding the best opportunities for you will always entail personal research. Here are some places to begin.
Use your network
- Talk to people in your field: your advisor, department chair, professors, internship coordinator, employers.
- Become active with your field’s professional organization and take advantage of their resources.
- If applicable, explore opportunities with the government agency for your field on federal, state, and local levels.
- Make professional contacts with businesses, research organizations, schools, and nonprofits in your field.
- Check opportunities through organizations and honorary societies you belong to (now and in the past).
- Aspects of your identity may present scholarship opportunities: ethnic minority, gender, religion, hometown, financial need, or an unusual life in some way.
NAU-sponsored search engine for external funding
NAU graduate students can use the PIVOT search engine, sponsored by the NAU Vice President’s Office for Research, to search for national and global funding opportunities, and to identify researcher expertise from within or beyond NAU.
Free online scholarship/fellowship search engines include:
- FastWeb
- College Board’s FUND FINDER
- Scholarships.Com
- Unigo/ScholarshipExperts.Com
- Peterson’s Award Database
We do not recommend paying for a scholarship search or applying to any scholarship or opportunity that charges an application fee without researching legitimacy.
Search via university databases
Some universities maintain their own scholarship search engines/databases, such as the ones below. Many are accessible to the public.
- Columbia
- Duke University: Research Funding
- GRAPES at UCLA (grad and postdoc)
- Cornell (grad students)
- Stanford: Haas Center for Public Service
- Harvard Graduate Guide to Grants
- University of Chicago
- Florida International
- Illinois (grad students)
Other Search Vehicles
- Adventures in Education: Searchable database of undergraduate scholarships
- ProFellow: graduate and professional fellowships
- Nationally Coveted College Scholarships, Graduate Fellowships & Postdoctoral Awards
- Graduate Study and Scholarly Research Sources
- The Foundation Center: searchable database of private funds
- Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance: Searchable listing of all federal funds
- see Government Resources for federal databases
- GrantsNet: Database of funding for graduate biomedical sciences and undergraduate STEM study
Google it!
Use your favorite Internet search engine: plug in key words (“your field” + “your concentration area” + “scholarship,” or “scholarships for women,” etc.).
Study Abroad
For study-abroad funding, contact schools of interest to see if they offer scholarships or other opportunities to international students.
International search resources to find institutions and/or funding include:
- NAU Center for International Education
- Institute of International Education: Study Abroad Funding
- International Scholarships.com
- International Education Financial Aid
- Fund for Education Abroad
- Foundation for Global Scholars
- British Council: Education in the UK
- Education UK
- Study in Ireland
- Studying in Germany: Guide
- Research in Germany
- Study in Germany: DAAD
- Study in France
Scholarships for International Students
Finding scholarships international students can apply to
NAU scholarships for undergraduate international students who wish to study here
(If you discover a wonderful search resource, please share with the coordinator to benefit your fellow Lumberjacks!)