Zina Kumok Image Written By: Zina Kumok | Edited By: Kevin Ladd | Updated: December 5, 2024

Scholarships by Major

Key takeaways:

  • There are a lot of scholarships based on academic major and they're not all for business, medical or legal studies.
  • Most scholarships based on major will also have other requirements, such as school year, gender, race and ability to demonstrate financial need.
  • Each year the Amazon Future Engineers Scholarship awards 40 scholarships worth $40,000 each and also includes a paid internship.

Figuring out what you want to study as a college student can take months or even years. However, once you crack that nut, a whole new world of possibilities opens up to you with major-specific scholarships. These are scholarships focused on one specific criteria: what you’re majoring in. These awards are given to students who already know what they want to do.

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What is a major-specific scholarship?

A major-specific scholarship is a scholarship that is only given to students who are currently studying or planning on studying a specific topic. Major-specific scholarships can be tied to a certain career (like accounting) or a general industry (like business).

Some may be lenient on requirements. For example, if a scholarship requires that you be a journalism major, but your school doesn’t offer a journalism major, you may be eligible if you’re an English major who writes for the school newspaper.

One exmple of major-specific scholarships would be those which are focused on getting more women into STEM fields of study and careers. The FS-ISAC Women in Cyber Scholarship is one such scholarship and one that should not be overlooked if you happen to be a woman with an interest in any STEM major.

Eligibility for the FS-ISAC-Women-In-Cyber Scholarship

Women in Cyber Scholarship is 100 percent funded by FS-ISAC members. Firms provide financial support, mentorship, and even career opportunities to women pursuing cybersecurity careers in financial services in the United States as well as many other countries all over the world.

Major-specific scholarships may or may not have a financial need component. Some may also have additional requirements, such as focusing on applicants of an academic major or majors in a particular school year, with the most common being high school senior.

A good example of a major-specific scholarship that accepts multiple majors that also requires the applicants to be a senior in high school is the Amazon Future Engineers Scholarship.

Eligibility for the Amazon Future Engineers Scholarship

There are 400 winners of $40,000 each year, plus winners get a paid internship at Amazon. In fact, if your internship goes well, you could end up working for Amazon once you have graduated from college!

Where to find major-specific scholarships

If you're already in college, you can find many potential scholarships through your school. Ask your department’s academic advisor about possible awards. You’ll likely have to complete a separate application to qualify.

You can also create an account at Scholarships.com and input your major. Then, you’ll be able to see potential awards that fit your academic interests.

You can also try using our Scholarship Directory to search for scholarships available for your major. You can also use our directory to search for other types of scholarships like those based on gender, ethnicity, state of residence and more. However, it will always be much faster and more fruitful to just create a free profile at Scholarships.com and get a list of scholarships that match you based on all of the aforementioned.

How to apply for major-specific scholarships

When applying for major-specific scholarships, one of the keys is to find awards that you’re a good fit for. Also, you need to sell yourself and your passion for the subject.

Next, check to see if you need to have already declared a major or if you can be undeclared. Also, if you’re truly undecided, don’t declare one just to qualify for a scholarship. The award committee will likely be able to see through your lack of genuine interest.

If the scholarship lists financial need as a requirement, you may have to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Some schools may ask for a copy of your tax return in addition to or instead of the FAFSA.

You may also have to provide a letter of recommendation from a professor or mentor and some may require more than one. As part of the initial screening process, you will likely have to answer questions to show your interest in the major.

FAQs about major-specific scholarships

Scholarship availability varies across academic majors. The most popular ones often offer more scholarships. It’s probably easier to find a nursing, education, business or legal scholarship than an art or philosophy scholarship.

This doesn't mean that you should change your major just to potentially win more scholarships. You’re still better off picking a career you’re well-suited for, even if award opportunities are fewer. In this case, focus on minimizing the cost of attendance and choose a school with lower tuition. STEM fields and healthcare and nursing (which are actually a subset of STEM), along with education, are very popular currently and offer a lot of scholarship opportunities.

If you’re having trouble finding major-specific scholarships, don't despair. You can still find plenty of awards if you focus on other unique attributes, like your hobbies, extracurricular activities, skills or racial and ethnic demographics. Your major isn’t the only thing that can help you stand out from other students.

The number one rule when applying for any kind of scholarship is to find niche awards. It's not that these awards are more generous. However, they may be easier to win.

General scholarships have bigger pools of candidates, which means it’s going to be difficult to stand out. But even the most popular major-specific scholarships will have fewer applicants. And just like any contest, the fewer the entrants, the greater your chance of winning. You can get even more granular if you look for major scholarships that have other distinguishing criteria, like the Blacks at Microsoft Scholarship. This scholarship is worth up to $20,000 over four years.

Eligibility for the Blacks at Microsoft Scholarship

  • Must be a high school senior of African descent (for example, African American, African, Ethiopian, etc.).
  • Must plan to attend a four-year college or university in the US in the fall immediately following your high school graduation.
  • Must plan to enroll in full-time undergraduate study in Engineering, Computer Science, Computer Information Systems, or one of the following Business programs – Business Administration, Finance, or Marketing at an accredited four-year college, university, in the United States, for the entire upcoming academic year.
  • Must demonstrate a passion for technology.
  • Must have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale or its equivalent.
  • Must be able to demonstrate financial need.