9 Awesome Scholarships for Education Majors
Teaching is a noble and rewarding profession—and it’s also in-demand! According to the Economic Policy Institute, public K-12 education employment is 890,000 jobs below where it would need to be in order to keep up with growing student enrollment; about half of those jobs are teaching roles. In order to meet the growing need for educators nationwide, a number of organizations have rolled out scholarships specifically for education majors. Keep reading to learn more about these incredible scholarship opportunities! Amount: $500 to $5,000 Deadline: April 2022 Eligibility: Applicants must be enrolled full- or part-time at an institution of higher education; pursuing a career in public education; and a member of one of the following organizations: Educators Rising, Educators Rising Collegiate, Pi Lambda Theta, and/or PDK Association Application Requirements: Transcript and letter of recommendation PDK has been supporting educators since 1906 and is dedicated to improving teaching and learning in schools. One way PDK does this is with scholarships, offering numerous awards for aspiring educators. More than 100 scholarships are available—ranging between $500 and $5,000—with some awards being one-time payouts and others renewable. Amount: Varies Deadline: April 19, 2022 Eligibility: Applicant must provide verification of acceptance into an AMS-affiliated program Application Requirements: Students in the process of being accepted to, or who are already enrolled in an AMS-affiliated teacher education program are eligible to receive a scholarship from the American Montessori Society. To win the award, write a compelling personal statement describing your financial need, why you chose Montessori education as a career, and the type of teacher you hope to become. Amount: $1,000 Deadline: January 31, 2022 Eligibility: Applicants must be undergraduate and graduate students majoring in education at institutions of higher learning in the U.S. Application Requirements: Transcript and a 500-word essay Sponsored by the National Institute for Labor Relations Research, this scholarship honors three Michigan public school teachers who were fired for refusing to pay union dues. The scholarship is awarded on academic ability and an interest in the institute’s work, which the applicant can demonstrate through a 500-word essay on the Right to Work principle as it applies to educators. Amount: Up to $10,000 Deadline: May 1, 2022 Eligibility: Applicants must be full-time students with a 3.0 GPA or better at a four-year college or university pursuing a career as a certified teacher of secondary school mathematics Application Requirements: Students with a love of both mathematics and teaching will want to look into this awesome scholarship from the NCTM, aimed at supporting those who want to have a career teaching math in high school. Amount: $1,500 Deadline: N/A Eligibility: Applicants must be students 25 years of age or older studying to teach at the elementary school level Application Requirements: College sophomores, juniors, and seniors with a 3.5 GPA or better attending (or planning to attend) and accredited college or university Sponsored by the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), this scholarship is given to aspiring elementary school teachers over the age of 25 and is awarded based on academic merit. The DAR also sponsors a similar scholarship for students pursuing careers teaching at the secondary school level (the Edward G. and Helen A. Borgens Secondary Teacher Scholarship). Amount: $2,500 to $5,000 Deadline: June 15, 2021 Eligibility: Applicants must be enrolled tribal members accepted into an undergraduate program at a four-year college or university, and planning to work in education or social service with Native Americans Application Requirements: 3.0 GPA or higher, a statement of financial need, and an official transcript The Continental Society Daughters of Indian Wars funds two scholarships annually—one valued at $5,000 and the other at $2,500—in support of students with career goals of working with Native Americans in the fields of education and social service. Amount: $2,500 Deadline: April 15, 2022 Eligibility: Applicants must be members in the National Education Association’s (NEA) Aspiring Educator Program Application Requirements: Looking for a great scholarship for education majors? Look no further. The NEA Jack Kinnaman Scholarship was established to help assist aspiring educators. The scholarship is awarded in the spirit of its namesake, who cared about his students, especially those facing financial challenges and in need of a helping hand. Amount: $3,500 Deadline: May 31, 2022 Eligibility: Applicants must be minority candidates in their final year of completing certification/endorsement requirements Application Requirements: Transcript, a letter from the Dean of the College of Education (or designated representative), and a letter of recommendation AASPA established the Leon Bradley Scholarship Program to encourage more minorities and people of color to become teachers and pursue careers in school leadership. AASPA believes that diversity among educators who serve as role models is vital for all students to experience. Amount: Up to $2,000 Deadline: December 1, 2021 Eligibility: A great scholarship opportunity for future physics teachers, the Barbara Lotze Scholarship is awarded to promising students with an interest in a career teaching high school physics. In addition to the monetary award, winners receive a free American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) Student Membership. As colleges continue to climb in price, scholarships are becoming increasingly valuable and competitive. Whether you plan to teach high school math or become a school administrator, scholarships can be an incredible way to fund your own education in whole or in part. Get ahead of the competition with these tips for winning scholarships for education majors. Whether studying for a test or applying for a scholarship, waiting until the last minute rarely works out favorably. Begin applying for scholarships early (such as these 10 College Scholarships for High School Sophomores) to minimize stress later in your high school career and improve your odds of winning an award. Think of scholarships as a part-time job; schedule a few hours to “work” on them every week. Set an achievable goal like applying for two scholarships a week—the time you spend working on finding scholarship opportunities and applying for them can pay off in big college savings. A lot of the information you need to apply for one scholarship will translate to other scholarships. Collect all the commonly required information like your transcript, letters of recommendation, and FAFSA form in one place to expedite the scholarship application process. Even items like essays that might not specifically fit a particular scholarship application can often be easily tweaked to fit different themes and word counts. While you want to try to apply for as many scholarships as possible, you don’t want to speed through applications and make silly mistakes that can disqualify you from winning awards. Be sure to read the directions and submit all the required materials. Furthermore, proofread all the materials you submit to avoid spelling, punctuation, and grammar errors. Scholarship winners reflect on the organizations and groups handing out the awards; consequently, these organizations will commonly look into applicants thoroughly before choosing a winner. Perform a Google search on yourself to make sure what returns is in line with the digital profile you want to present. While your social media accounts don’t necessarily need to reflect a professional profile (unless it’s LinkedIn), you’ll want to avoid any content that could offend or turn off scholarship committee members.
What’s Covered:
10 Awesome Scholarships for Education Majors
1. PDK Educational Foundation Scholarship Program
2. Montessori Teacher Education Scholarships
3. The Applegate-Jackson-Parks Future Teacher Scholarship
4. National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) Prospective 7–12 Secondary Teacher Course Work Scholarship
5. Edward G. and Helen A. Borgens Elementary Teacher Scholarship
6. Continental Society Daughters of Indian Wars Awards
7. Jack Kinnaman Scholarship
8. American Association of School Personnel Administrators (AASPA) Leon Bradley Scholarship Program
9. Barbara Lotze Scholarship for Future Physics Teachers
5 Tips for Applying to Scholarships
1. Start Early
2. Stick to a Schedule
3. Build a Scholarship Resource Center
4. Take Your Time
5. Cultivate a Winning Profile
