Scholarships for U.S Students · Scholarship Explore

The rising costs of tuition, fees, and living expenses can be overwhelming for U.S. students who want to pursue higher studies. Also, the stress of balancing academics with part-time jobs is undeniable. Worrying about all the expenses and focusing on your education can become difficult at times. However, finding the right resources to fund your studies can help you deal with financial challenges. Therefore, we have compiled a list of fully funded, partially funded, government-funded, university and other organizational scholarships for you to make the process easy.

You can find the official pages of the scholarships, and information to help you with the initial research. You can go through the programs to find the relevant scholarship that fulfils your requirements and is for your field of study. Before getting into the details, let’s understand the nature of funding available for students across the globe.

Fully funded scholarships for U.S. citizens cover the complete cost of tuition, fees, and often include a living stipend for bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral programs, both within the United States and internationally. These prestigious awards are highly competitive and are offered by various organizations, universities, and government agencies to support exceptional students and advance academic and research goals.

Within the U.S.

Ivy League Scholarships
State University Scholarships
STEM Scholarships

Outside the U.S.

Canadian University Scholarships
European University Scholarships
Asian University Scholarships

Types of Funding

Fully Funded
Partially Funded
Tuition fee waiver
Fellowships
Loans
Grants
Bursaries
Crowdfunding
Sponsorships
Research Assistantships

Fully funded scholarships

Fully funded scholarships cover all of your expenses including:

Tuition fee
Living expenses
Health Insurance
Travel expense
Miscellaneous costs
Research expenses( if needed)
Cost of attending workshops and seminars

Consider a fully funded scholarship as a complete package. As a student you do not have to worry about anything except focusing on your studies.

Partially Funded scholarship

Partially funded scholarships only cover part of your educational expenses. It can either cover your tuition fee or living expenses. You need to cover the remaining cost yourself.

Tuition fee waiver

Your tuition fee is waived to support your studies. However, you have to cover all other expenses including your living, travel, stationary and other miscellaneous costs.

Fellowships

Fellowships support research projects and professional development. The difference between fellowship and scholarship is that fellowships have certain expectations. They are merit-based, competitive and financial support.

Loans

Loans are given with certain interest. Once you complete your education, you can pay your loans with interest. Government, banks and private lenders give loans to students to complete their education.

Grants

Grants are need or merit-based, and you don’t need to repay the amount.

Bursaries

Bursaries are like grants and they are based on financial needs or academic achievements.

Research Assistantships

Research Assistantships provide graduates with a stipend or fee viewer for working on projects. They work alongside other researchers for specific projects.

Students also cover their financial needs through crowdfunding and sponsorships.

Top fully funded scholarships for U.S citizens

Let’s start with the fully funded scholarship programs available for U.S citizens both within the USA and abroad. These scholarships includes:

Fully funded scholarships to study within the US

Fulbright scholarship
Gate scholarships
Coca-Cola Scholarship
Google Scholarship
National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship

Fully funded scholarships to study abroad

Fulbright Commission Scholarship
Rhodes scholarship
Marshall Scholarship
DAAD scholarship
Australian Government scholarship
New Zealand Commonwealth Scholarship
Swedish Institute scholarship
French Government Scholarship
Erasmus Mundus Scholarship

Fulbright Scholarship for U.S students

The Fulbright scholarship program is one of the biggest programs funded by the U.S government. The scholarship is for U.S citizens to study, research, or teach abroad. The program covers all the expenses, including tuition fees, living allowance, research grants, monthly stipend, and more. The program allows U.S students to study in different countries. Fulbright scholarship for U.S students includes graduate study, master’s degree, Doctoral degree, research, Postdoctoral Research, independent research program, English teaching assistantship, Foreign Language teaching and a few other programs. Students can find all the information on their official website https://us.fulbrightonline.org/. Award opportunities are open to all academic disciplines. Let’s get some information about the programs under Fulbright.

How to find a Fulbright scholarship Program?

The information available on the official site can be overwhelming if you are not familiar with the program. Therefore, nearly every accredited U.S. college or university has one or more Fulbright Program Advisors (FPAs). They help guide students through the application process and provide support for essays and interviews.

Fulbright Program Advisors on U.S. campuses are specifically available for the:

Recent graduates
Master’s and doctoral candidates
Young professionals and artists

You can search for your campus FPA here: Fulbright Program Advisor.

Fulbright Programs for U.S Students

Fulbright offers an opportunity for U.S students to study in other countries. These programs includes;

Fulbright U.S student Program
Fulbright English Teaching Assistant (ETA) Program
Fulbright National Geographic Award Program
Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Program
Fulbright-John Lewis Civil Rights Fellowship

The Fulbright U.S. Student Program offers fellowships for U.S. graduating college seniors, graduate students, young professionals and artists. They can study, conduct research , or teach abroad. To participate in the Fulbright U.S. Student Program, the applicant must be a U.S. citizen and have:

at least a Bachelor’s degree required by the start of grant. Applicants who hold a doctorate are ineligible.
sufficient proficiency in the host language to carry out the project required.

Note: Non-U.S. citizens who have legal permanent residency status in the United States are not eligible for any Fulbright grants.

The Fulbright English Teaching Assistant (ETA) Program places recent college graduates and young professionals as English teaching assistants in primary and secondary schools or universities overseas. The program helps the young graduates to improve their language skills. Since they will be teaching in countries other than the United States, they can learn about the host country. ETAs may also pursue individual study/research plans in addition to their teaching responsibilities.

The Fulbright-National Geographic Award Program is for those working on globally relevant issues. The program is for open study/research projects. Funded projects will incorporate science, storytelling, and/or education, and must align with one or more of the Society’s five focus areas: Ocean, Land, Wildlife, Human History and Cultures, or Human Ingenuity. This award is made possible through a partnership between the U.S. Department of State and the National Geographic Society.

The Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Program is for U.S individuals including K-14 pre-teachers, teachers and administrators, pre-doctoral students, postdoctoral faculty as well as U.S institutions. It is funded by Congressional appropriation to the U.S Department of Education. Funding supports research and training efforts overseas, which focus on non-Western foreign languages and area studies.

Hays Training Grants- Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad
Hays Training Grants-Faculty Research Abroad
Fulbright Hays training -Group Projects abroad
Hays Seminars Abroad- Bilateral Projects.

Fulbright Programs for American Teachers

Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Short-Term Program
This program offers U.S. K–12 educators have an opportunity to share their expertise and collaborate with international peers through short-term projects lasting 2 to 6 weeks. It’s ideal for teachers seeking a brief but impactful global education experience.

Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Research Program
The program is for experienced U.S. K–12 educators, this program supports individual research projects abroad for a period of 3 to 6 months. Participants explore best practices in education and bring valuable global perspectives back to their schools and communities.

Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms Program
Spanning approximately 12 months, this professional development program includes online coursework, global education training, and a 2 to 3-week international field experience. It helps the U.S. K–12 teachers with the tools to globalize their classrooms.

Fulbright Leaders for Global Schools Program
This 10-day program is for U.S. school and district administrators. It offers immersive international experiences that improve leadership in global education and strategic planning to internationalize U.S. school systems.

If you are a U.S teacher and Interested in the program, you can find all the information here.

The Fulbright-Hays Seminars Abroad – Bilateral Projects

This program, funded by the U.S. Department of Education, offers grants to U.S. educators, including K–14 teachers, administrators, pre-teachers, pre-doctoral students, postdoctoral faculty, and institutions. The grants support overseas research and training focused on non-Western foreign languages and area studies.

You can also check Scholarships for Teachers around the world.

Fulbright Scholarships for U.S Professionals

The Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program provides opportunities for American scholars, artists, and professionals to conduct research, give lectures, and/or consult with other scholars and institutions abroad.

The Fulbright Specialist Program is a short-term addition to the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program. It sends U.S. faculty and professionals to serve as expert consultants on curriculum, faculty development, institutional planning, and related subjects at academic institutions abroad for a period of 2 to 6 weeks.

The Fulbright U.S student Program is a fellowship program for U.S young professionals and artists. The program duration is one year. It includes an English teaching Assistant component.

Fulbright Program for Groups

Fulbright Hays Group Project abroad program provides support for overseas projects in research, training and curriculum development. The program is for U.S teachers, students and faculty engaged in modern foreign languages and area studies. Projects can be short-term seminars, group research or study or curriculum development and advanced language programs.

According to the official website, the Fulbright program provides approximately 8,000 competitive, merit-based grants each year. However, to apply for these programs, you need to check the official page for announcements and updated information.

Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES)

Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (Yes) program is for U.S High school students and recent graduates. The age limit for the program is 15-18.5 years. It is a merit based scholarship. The program provides an opportunity for the students to study in other countries. The students live in a host family and attend local school. The program is to create mutual understanding between the USA and other countries. The scholarship covers costs related to round-trip airfare and room and board for the pre-departure orientation; round-trip airfare between the participant’s home region and community abroad. It also provides in-country support; cultural activities; school tuition (where applicable); room and board with a host family; secondary medical benefits; visa fees; and a modest stipend. Other similar programs for the students includes:

Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX) Outbound
Future Leaders Exchange Abroad Program (FLEX Abroad)
National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y)
Youth Ambassadors and Youth Leadership Programs

Gate scholarships for U.S students

Gate scholarship offers opportunities for U.S students. The program is for students with outstanding academic records in high school from low income households.

Eligibility for Gate scholarship program

To apply, students must be:
A high school senior
Pell-eligible
A US citizen or permanent resident
In good academic standing with a minimum cumulative weighted GPA of 3.3 on a 4.0 scale (or equivalent)

Additionally, a student must plan to enroll full-time, in a four-year degree program, at a US accredited, not-for-profit, private or public college or university.

Coca-Cola Scholarships for U.S students

The Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation supports more than 1,400 exceptional college students each year through three nationally recognized programs. It is an achievement-based scholarship awarded to students in their final year of high school. 150 Coca-Cola Scholars are selected each year to receive this $20,000 scholarship.

Google Scholarships for U.S students

Google offers different scholarships to students supporting their studies. These scholarships are announced each year. These scholarships includes:

Generation Google Scholarship (North America)

The scholarship is for U.S. or Canadian students enrolled in computer science, engineering, or related fields.High school seniors or undergraduates; emphasis on underrepresented groups in tech (e.g., Women, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latinx) can apply for the program. The program requires financial need, leadership, and academic excellence.

Link: Generation Google Scholarship

Doodle for Google Scholarship

The award is up to $55,000. U.S based students including homeschooled aged 13+ can apply for Doodle google scholarship. This scholarship is based on a theme ‘’ My wish for the Next 25 years.’’

Link: Doodle for Google

Grow with Google Career Certificates Scholarships

It is a fully funded scholarship program for the residents of NorthWest Michigan counties including Antrim, Benzie, Grand, Traverse etc. Those who are looking for career change or upskills in the fields of cybersecurity, data analytics or UX design can apply for the scholarship. The scholarship is for self-paced online courses and career support.

Link: Grow with Google Scholarships

Google Lime Scholarship

Google lime scholarship program is for both U.S and Canadian undergraduates with disabilities studying in computer science and engineering. It focuses on academic excellence and leadership.

Link: Google Lime Scholarship

Google Policy Fellowship (U.S.-Based)

The fellowship program is open to students interested in tech policy. It focuses on public interest work with organizations tackling internet policy.

Link: Google Policy Fellowship

Google keeps updating the programs each year depending on the requirements, therefore, you can visit Google career for future updates about scholarships.

National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship

The National Science foundation (NSF) offers a Graduate Research fellowship program. The program is for five-year providing financial support including annual stipend of $37,000. The program is for undergraduates, bachelor’s degree holders, or early-stage graduate students (first or second year) pursuing research-based master’s or doctoral degrees in STEM or STEM education. Applicants must enroll in a non-profit, accredited U.S. institution (including territories/possessions or Puerto Rico) for graduate studies.

Besides the above mentioned scholarships, there are many other programs that you can find across the U.S to support your studies. Now let’s talk about some of the International scholarship programs for U.S students to study abroad.

United Kingdom scholarship Programs for US citizens

Gates Cambridge Scholarship

The scholarship is for postgraduate studies (master’s or PhD) at the University of Cambridge. About 80 full-cost scholarships are awarded each year. Applicants with strong academic records and leadership potential can apply. The scholarship covers the full cost of studying at Cambridge: tuition and required fees, a maintenance allowance (around £21,000/year), and one economy airfare each at the start and end of study. Additional discretionary funding (for conferences, dependents, etc.) is also available.The applications usually open in september.

Link: Gates Cambridge Scholarship

Rhodes Scholarship

Rhodes scholarship offers U.S citizens an opportunity to study postgraduate at the University of Oxford. The program covers full tuition fee, living stipend and travel expenses. It is one of the most competitive programs around the world. Each year 32 U.S. citizens (representing U.S. states and territories) are chosen based on academic excellence, leadership, and character.

Link: Rhodes Scholarship

Marshall Scholarship

Marshall supports students for two years graduate studies at any UK university. It offers tuition, living costs, travel and research grants. Typically about fifty American scholars are selected each year. By enabling U.S. students to study in Britain, the Marshall program strengthens long-term British–American relations through education. Marshall also has partnership scholarships between US and UK institutes. You can check all the details on the official website.

Link: Marshall Scholarship

Churchill Scholarship

The Churchill Scholarship supports American science, math, and engineering graduates for one year of postgraduate research at Churchill College, University of Cambridge. Up to fifteen scholarships are awarded annually. Winners must be U.S. citizens who have completed a bachelor’s degree and have strong research achievements. The scholarship covers Cambridge tuition and college fees, provides a generous stipend for living expenses, and includes funding for travel between the U.S. and UK (roughly totaling $50–60K per year). The aim is to give top U.S. STEM students a transformative research experience in the UK.

Link: Churchill Scholarship

Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship

The Gilman Scholarship helps U.S. undergraduates of limited financial means to study or intern abroad. Eligible students are U.S. citizens receiving Pell Grants. Gilman awards up to $5,000 (with additional supplements for STEM research or critical languages) that can be used for tuition, room and board, books, local transport, and international travel costs during a study abroad program. Americans use Gilman funds to go to over 170 countries, including UK universities. In the UK, Gilman Scholars can apply their award toward the costs of an accredited semester- or year-long program.

Link: Gilman International Scholarship

You can also check Think Big Scholarships and Clarendon Fund for studying in the UK.

Australian Government Scholarships for U.S students

If you are interested in studying in Australia, you can find various ways to support your studies. Many universities offer scholarships to International students which you can directly apply to. Also, the Australian government provides scholarships for International students including U.S. students to study in Australia. Let’s explore a few of them.

American Australian Association – Graduate Education Fund

The Graduate Education Fund program supports students pursuing full-time graduate-level study (Master’s, Ph.D., or Postdoctoral Research) at accredited Australian institutions. The program provides up to US$40,000 for tuition and living expenses. There are three categories of the funding including speciality field scholarships, Journalism scholarships and indigenous scholarships. The program accepts applications from Open for application on August 1 to September 30.

Eligibility Criteria

Be an American citizen or permanent resident of undertaking research / study inAustralia
Applicants must be conducting research or studying within the fields supported
Applicants must have a formal letter of offer from an accredited institution, program or course
At the time of application Educational programs must be at least one year of full time study
Dual citizens are not eligible

For your ease, we have give so information about the categories of the scholarship below,

GRADUATE EDUCATION SCHOLARSHIPS

Awarded to American individuals for full-time Graduate level study (Masters, Ph.D. or Postdoctoral Research) in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, Health, Medicine and Sustainability.

GRADUATE EDUCATION INDIGENOUS SCHOLARSHIPS

Awarded to Native American, Alaskan Native, Native Hawaiian, Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander individuals undertaking full-time Graduate level study (Masters, Ph.D. or Postdoctoral Research) in each other’s countries respectively.

SPECIALTY FIELD SCHOLARSHIPS

Sustainable Health Care Funding (SHCF) Scholarship Awarded to an American Graduate (Postdoctoral, Ph.D. or Masters) student undertaking comparative research in the field of health care policy and management in Australia.

Find more information visit: American Australian Association

We already have discussed Fulbright Scholarships and Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship that provides American students fundings to study in other countries including Australia.

Scholarships to study in Germany for American students

Besides the Fulbright US program and Benjamin Gilman, DAAD Scholarships (German Academic Exchange Service) is one of the biggest programs that provide scholarships to American students to study in Germany. So let’s talk about the DAAD program.

DAAD Scholarships for U.S students

DAAD provides fully funded scholarships to recent graduates pursuing a full master’s degree, doctoral candidates, and postdocs conducting research, short-term courses, and Research internships in science and engineering fields. The DAAD database has almost 79 scholarships for US students. The scholarships cover almost every field, including specific scholarships for arts, music, STEM, and other fields. It also offers country-specific scholarships.

You can visit the DAAD database, refine your search and look for relevant scholarships to support your studies in Germany.

Fulbright US provides funds for graduate studies, Master’s program, research and english Language teaching in Germany. You can visit Fulbright Germany to apply for these programs.

Gilman-DAAD scholarship offers fundings for undergraduate students every year. To apply for the scholarship you must be a U.S. citizen, undergraduate student in good academic standing, Federal Pell Grant recipient and in the process of applying for, or accepted to, a credit-bearing study abroad or internship program in Germany.

Scholarship to study in Europe

We will add more info regarding scholarship opportunities in Europe. For now, we will only talk about Erasmus Mundus Programs.

Erasmus Mundus scholarships

Erasmus is one of the biggest programs of the European Union. The program is supporting students, researchers, policy makers, and teachers and works on education widely. One of the most popular scholarship programs of Eramus is Erasmus Mundus for masters. Though there are many other programs, Erasmus Mundus joint Master’s degree program covers different fields and funding is available for most programs each year.

The program is fully funded, and students can study in multiple universities across Europe. It is a very competitive scholarship program.Most programs open between October and January, with deadlines usually in December to February for the upcoming academic year. You can check further details here.