Engineering is one of the toughest but most lucrative college majors in the world. Regardless of the type of engineering job, careers in engineering always offer the chance to do engaging work and earn high annual salaries. However, paying for engineering school is no small feat. The best way to manage the cost of attendance is by finding the right engineering scholarship program.
This article will inform you on how to get an engineering scholarship to cover your specific engineering degree needs. While reading, you’ll discover the common requirements and tips for finding relevant engineering scholarship awards. You’ll also find a list of ideal engineering scholarships for high school students, college students, and graduate students.
What Is an Engineering Scholarship?
An engineering scholarship is a financial aid or reward offered to prospective and current engineering students who meet the scholarship requirements to cover their college tuition and fees. Engineering scholarships provide financial relief to college and high school students who are pursuing an engineering career.
Most students apply for scholarships to reduce their education costs. The National Center for Education Statistics reports that average tuition costs and fees were $9,400 for four-year public schools and $36,700 for four-year private non-profit schools in the 2019 to 2020 academic year.
Common Engineering Scholarship Requirements
- FAFSA application requirement. Most universities request that all incoming first-year students interested in applying for engineering college scholarships fill out FAFSA application forms before the application deadline. This increases your chances of landing need-based scholarships and grants. Some scholarship providers even request applicants’ FAFSA information before consideration.
- Online application requirement. Filling out a scholarship form is a common requirement for most STEM scholarship applications. These forms provide relevant details about your social background, academic progress, class level, leadership roles, work, and community service history. They also require documents such as transcripts, letters of recommendation, and essays.
- School transcript and GPA requirement. Your scholarship application may have to be accompanied by academic transcripts from your college or high school. Scholarship committees use this to review the applicants’ academic standing. Typically, eligible students must have a minimum 3.0 GPA. Recipients may need to consent to periodic GPA reviews for renewable scholarships.
- Engineering admission requirement. Most scholarship programs require applicants to be enrolled in an ABET-accredited engineering program before they can be considered for the scholarship award. ABET-accredited programs have met the standard educational requirements for STEM degrees and are better equipped to prepare students for careers in engineering.
- Additional requirement. Your scholarship provider may request a letter of recommendation, personal statement, essay report, resume, or project portfolio. Usually, the recommendation letter has to be written by a faculty member, the personal statement details your motivation and career goals, and the essay report, resume, and project portfolio showcase your technical knowledge.
How to Find Engineering Scholarships
Engineering scholarships are usually awarded to incoming college freshmen and students already enrolled in a full-time or part-time engineering degree program. If you’re interested in securing a scholarship to sponsor your college education, these are the tips you should implement for the best result.
Enroll in an Engineering College Offering Financial Aid
If you’ve yet to apply to college, make sure you check out the financial aid website for your choice colleges. Some schools advertise outside scholarships to students along with their internal scholarships. This way, you have a broader financing option. To ensure you find engineering schools that offer relevant financial aid options, apply through admissions services.
Volunteer or Work with Engineering Student Organizations
Another ideal way to find engineering scholarships is to join student chapter organizations. Most of these organizations make scholarships easily available to members. You’ll also gain access to useful resource guides to boost preparation for careers in engineering fields. Consult the student services office in your college to find out what engineering organizations you can join.
Use Scholarship Search Engines
You can make your scholarship search easier with scholarship finders. Platforms such as Fastweb and Cappex offer engineering students access to engineering degree program scholarships. The advantage to using scholarship finders is that you’re less likely to fall for scholarship scams as the scholarships advertised on the boards have already been vetted.
Tips to Find Engineering Scholarships for High School Students
Consult Your Guidance Counselor
If you want to secure an engineering scholarship before you’re a high school graduate, consult with your guidance counselor often. They’ll help you simplify the scholarship search process by providing you with the expert opinion you need. Your high school counselor can help you compile the list of personalized scholarships, as well as help you prepare for them.
Participate in STEM-Related Projects and Community Services
Some engineering scholarship awards are reserved for students who display impressive technical competence in different aspects of engineering. If you want to stand out in your scholarship applications, get involved with the engineering community at your level and participate in as many STEM-related projects as you can to build your field competence.
Build a Strong Academic Standing
A good number of engineering scholarships are academic scholarships. They are usually very competitive and require the scholarship applicants to have a specific minimum GPA, which is usually between 3.0 and 3.5. If you want to increase your chances of finding and landing relevant scholarships, you have to start building on your grades from high school.
10 Best Engineering Scholarships in 2022: Overview
| Scholarship Name | Who Is Eligible | Amount Covered |
| A Scholarship Fund for Aspiring African American Engineers | African American students in junior or senior year, graduate students with one or two years until graduation | Varies |
| CGCS-Bernard Harris Scholarship Program | Black and Hispanic high school seniors from CGCS member schools attending college in the US to study STEM field degree programs. | $5,000 |
| Churchill Scholarship | Undergraduates or recent graduates from any of the Winston Churchill Foundation partner colleges in the US willing to pursue a master’s in engineering, math, or science at Cambridge University | Up to $60,000 |
| Engineering Undergraduate Scholarship | Currently enrolled engineering students in US universities and colleges | $3,000 |
| Great Minds in STEM Scholarship | Students of Hispanic descent currently enrolled in a STEM undergraduate or graduate degree program in the US or US territories | $500 to $5,000 (merit-based scholarship), $500 to $1,000 (non-merit scholarship) |
| IEEE Charles LeGeyt Fortescue Scholarship | First-year graduate student from the US with bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering | $24,000 |
| Lockheed Martin STEM scholarship | High school seniors and college students enrolled in an ABET-accredited institution in the US majoring in engineering, math, or physics | $10,000 (renewable for up to three years or until bachelor’s degree is acquired) |
| Society of Women Engineers Scholarship | Female freshmen enrolled in community college programs, undergraduate and graduate programs in engineering, engineering technology or computer science. | Varies |
| Undergraduate Engineering Scholarships | Pre-engineering and undergraduate engineering students pursuing a bachelor’s degree for an HVAC&R profession | $3,000 to $10,000 multiple scholarships |
| Women in STEM Scholarship | International students studying in the US or students licensed to study in the US | $6,000 (grand prize), $2,000 (runner-up), $1,000 (honorable mention) |
Top 10 Engineering Scholarships: In Detail
1. A Scholarship Fund for Aspiring African American Engineers
- Awarded by: The Bill H. James Foundation
- Deadline: May 15, 2022
The Bill H. James Foundation Scholarship is for African American and Hispanic students who are currently enrolled as juniors and seniors at accredited four-year colleges or universities in California. If you’re in graduate school, you should have only one year left to complete your degree. Your resume, transcript, reference letter, and essay must be submitted in a single PDF.
2. CGCS-Bernard Harris Scholarship Program
- Awarded by: Council of the Great City Schools and the Harris Institute
- Deadline: May 6, 2022
The Council of the Great City Schools, in collaboration with Bernard Harris, launched this scholarship to equip high school seniors with the resources needed to pursue STEM degrees at university. The $5,000 scholarship award will be presented to four students of African American and Hispanic descent attending a STEM program.
3. Churchill Scholarship
- Awarded by: The Winston Churchill Foundation
- Deadline: November 2, 2022
This scholarship award is offered by the Winston Churchill Foundation in the United States. To apply for any of the 16 scholarships offered to STEM students, consult the scholarship office at your undergraduate engineering school to find out their internal deadline. To be selected, you should have a talent for research, impressive academic achievement, and a unique personality.
4. Engineering Undergraduate Scholarship
- Awarded by: The American Society for Nondestructive Testing
- Deadline: December 15, 2022
The Engineering Undergraduate Scholarship offers $3,000 cash incentives to final-year engineering students interested in the field of nondestructive testing. Applicants are required to present an application form, student’s program of study outline, official transcript, three recommendation letters, and an original essay detailing their NDT/NDE career aspirations.
5. Great Minds in STEM Scholarship
- Awarded by: Great Minds In STEM
- Deadline: April 30, 2022
The GMiS Scholarship is for STEM students with Hispanic roots who can display their academic excellence and leadership ability through their school transcript, application, personal statement, and letters of recommendation. To qualify, you must be a first-time degree student with a minimum of 2.5 GPA from an ABET-accredited university in the US.
6. IEEE Charles LeGeyt Fortescue Scholarship
- Awarded by: IEEE Organization
- Deadline: May 2, 2022
The scholarship award offered by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers is offered through a trust fund to the recipient and should be used to cover one year of graduate work in electrical engineering at an accredited US school. Eligible students are those with Bachelor’s Degrees in Electrical Engineering from recognized US schools.
7. Lockheed Martin STEM Scholarship
- Awarded by: Lockheed Martin Corporation
- Deadline: April 1, 2022
The Lockheed Martin Scholarship program was designed for US students from underrepresented communities who wish to pursue degrees in engineering or computer science. This year, $10,000 renewable scholarship awards will be offered to 200 students planning to or already enrolled in full-time engineering programs in US accredited institutions.
8. Undergraduate Engineering Scholarships
- Awarded by: ASHRAE
- Deadline: December 1, 2022
The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers offers several scholarship awards ranging from $3,000 to $10,000 to incoming first-year students and undergraduate students seeking engineering bachelor degrees in ABET-accredited programs who have HVAC&R career prospects. To qualify, you need a 3.0 GPA and a top 30 percent class standing.
9. Women in STEM Scholarship
- Awarded by: MPOWER Financing
- Deadline: June 15, 2022
To qualify for the MPOWER Women in STEM Scholarship, you need to be an international female student who has been accepted to study or is already enrolled in a full-time STEM program at a US or Canadian school supported by MPOWER. You should also possess permanent residency or a valid visa that allows you to study in the United States.
10. Society of Women Engineers Scholarship
- Awarded by: Society of Women Engineers
- Deadline: May 2, 2022
The Society of Women Engineers Scholarship was set up to offer education funding to women in community college programs, bachelor’s programs, master’s programs, and doctorate programs to pursue engineering and computing degrees. To be considered eligible for this scholarship, you should be a current student with financial needs and submit a reference letter.
Should I Apply for an Engineering Scholarship?
Yes, you should. If you’re a high school senior or an undergraduate student preparing for a degree in the STEM field of study, an engineering scholarship can help you easily achieve your career goals. Once you know how to get an engineering scholarship and find the right one for you, remember that some of these scholarship opportunities come with more than just financial rewards.
An engineering scholarship offers you more time and resources to prepare for high-paying engineering careers. You could earn an average engineering salary as high as $91,010 with an engineering degree, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. If finding engineering scholarships for degree programs prove too difficult, you should check out scholarships for coding bootcamps.
Engineering Scholarships FAQ
Depending on the scholarship provider, scholarships for engineering students are between $500 to $100,000. Most of the engineering scholarship awards are granted to high school students and college students based on their academic performance, career interests, and minority representation.
Yes, you can apply for a scholarship in your second year. There are several engineering scholarship programs specifically designed for second-year engineering students, you just have to know the right places to look. However, if for some reason you can’t find a good scholarship within this category, you can apply to general engineering scholarships that come with a broader eligibility scope.
Technically, there are no limits on how many scholarships a student can get. However, in reality, it’s not as simple. Scholarships are usually very competitive. If you do succeed in securing one, you might be limited by the award. Some scholarship awards restrict their recipients from applying for additional scholarships within their current award period.
The best scholarships for engineering students are renewable scholarships offered by engineering industry leaders. Securing an annual scholarship that can be easily renewed substantially eliminates the need to accumulate student debt. However, these scholarship awards are mostly reserved for outstanding students.
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