If you’re a vocational student looking for financial assistance to support your education, you’ve come to the right place. In this article, we’ve compiled a list of 20 scholarships specifically designed for vocational students. These scholarships cover a wide range of fields and industries, providing opportunities for aspiring professionals to achieve their career goals without the burden of financial stress. So without further ado, let’s dive into the list of scholarships that can help you pave the way for a successful vocational education.
Victoria Ovis Memorial Scholarship – $2,000
Offered by the First Responders Children’s Foundation, the Victoria Ovis Memorial Scholarship is a one-time $2,000 award open to the children of law enforcement officers who were killed or permanently disabled in the line of duty. Applicants must reside and attend school in New York State or the New York metropolitan area. The scholarship does not require a declared major, but preference will be given to eligible candidates majoring in criminology or pre-law.
Cobell Scholarship – Varies
Established as the result of the Cobell v. Salazar settlement, the Cobell Scholarship program offers annual, merit-based, and nonrenewable scholarships to students who are enrolled members of a U.S. Federally-recognized Tribe (or can prove ¼ descent from multiple tribes). To qualify, applicants must be enrolled in or plan to enroll in full-time study at a nationally, regionally, and industry-accredited nonprofit institution (public or private), be pursuing a vocational certificate or diploma, associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral or professional degree, or certificate. While the Cobell Scholarship doesn’t set a minimum GPA requirement, a student should have the following GPA to be considered “competitive”: 3.5+ for graduate and professional students; 3.25+ higher for undergraduate and post-baccalaureate students; and 2.0+ for vocational students. The program offers four awards, each with its own deadlines: Cobell Scholarship Academic Year (open December-March), Cobell Scholarship Summer (open February-May), Elouise Cobell Summer Research Fellowship (open September-January), and Cobell Scholarship Vocational (open year-round until funds exhausted).
Folds of Honor Scholarship – Up to $5,000
Folds of Honor, a nonprofit organization, has two scholarships that support military families. The Children’s Fund Scholarship is for primary and secondary education students and can be used for private school or tutoring services (from an established, licensed business). The Higher Education Scholarship is for postsecondary students. The award amount is up to $5,000 per academic year and is based on a student’s “unmet need.” Recipients must reapply each year to get the scholarship in successive years. To qualify for the Children’s Fund Scholarship, applicants must be enrolled or planning to enroll in an accredited private school or tutoring institution, be at least five years old (by September 1st of calendar year applying in) and enrolled in full-time Kindergarten program, and be a dependent of a service member. To qualify for the Higher Education Scholarship, applicants must be enrolled or planning to enroll in a two-year, four-year, or postgraduate program of study at an accredited college or university, or be enrolled or planning to enroll in an accredited technical or trade school program, which results in a certificate or license, and be a dependent or spouse of a service member.
Prism Foundation Scholarships – $1,000-$5,000
The Prism Foundation is an organization that works to explore and address critical issues that affect the Asian and Pacific Islander LGBTQ+ community. As part of its commitment to this goal, the foundation provides scholarships to students who have made a demonstrable impact on the Asian & Pacific Islander and LGBTQ+ communities. Applicants do not need to identify as LGBTQ+ or Asian/Pacific Islander in order to apply. Furthermore, students in all fields are welcome to apply.
GLHF Education Scholarship – $250-$3,000
Administered by the Great Lakes Hemophilia Foundation (GLHF), the Education Scholarship is annually awarded to students with bleeding disorders as they pursue their education at an accredited, not-for-profit college, university or vocational/technical school. Applicants must live in Wisconsin or receive care at one of the Wisconsin Hemophilia Treatment Centers. The scholarship is also open to the parents, spouses, or siblings of those with bleeding disorders if enough funding is available.
MedEvac Foundation International’s Children’s Scholarship – $5,000
The MedEvac Foundation International, an international nonprofit organization that supports academic research studies and education programs relating to medical care and medical transportation, offers a $5,000 Children’s Scholarship. The scholarship is open to children who have lost a parent or had a parent seriously injured in an air medical or critical care ground transport accident. Applicants must be enrolled or accepted into an accredited college, university or vocational-technical school, and be a dependent of a medical transport crew member (parents, step-parents, legal guardians, or grandparents who had a significant role in raising the applicant) who lost their life due to an air medical or critical care transport accident.
Minnesota Masonic Charities Career and Technical Scholarships – $2,500 for up to 2 years
Each year, Minnesota Masonic Charities awards scholarships to students furthering their education at vocational/technical/trade schools. Each applicants must have graduated from a Minnesota high school and plan to pursue a vocational/technical/trade degree or coursework.
Empowering a Better Tomorrow Scholarship – $5,000
Offered by Walmart, the Empowering a Better Tomorrow Scholarship is meant for the formerly incarcerated or those who have recently been convicted and who have completed their sentence. Each year, $5,000 is awarded to 20 students who can exhibit qualities of leadership, commitment to change, and desire to give back to their community. Applicants must be a U.S. citizen; be released from incarceration and/or recently convicted but not sentenced for a crime; be enrolled in the Fall semester of 2023 at a public 4-year, 2-year, community college, trade school, or other public educational institution; have no serious disciplinary incidents within the past 12 months; and have applied for and received all federal, state, and other grants and loans available to them.
Jeannette Rankin Women’s Scholarship – $2,000 per year (for up to 5 years)
The Jeannette Rankin Women’s Scholarship Fund awards scholarships to low-income women ages 35+. In order to qualify, applicants must be defined as low-income, according to the Department of Labor’s income guidelines, and must be pursuing their first bachelor’s degree, an associate’s degree or technical/vocational education.
Sallie Mae $1,000 Sweepstakes – $1,000
Student loan servicer Sallie Mae offers a monthly $1,000 scholarship to students who simply apply for their Scholarship Search and College Planning Calculator, a tool that connects students with scholarships and provides automated college finance planning advice. This is a monthly sweepstakes. One winner is selected on the first day of every month, drawn from all entries made in the previous month. Applicants must be a legal resident of the United States, be over the age of majority in their state of residence, and must not have won any other Sallie Mae Bank contest or sweepstakes in the six-month period prior to their award period.
American Atheists Student Activist Scholarships – $500-$1,000
American Atheists, an American atheist activist organization, offers several scholarships in the amount of $500 or $1,000 to atheist students at U.S. colleges and universities with documented histories of participating in activist causes. To qualify for the scholarship, students will need to submit relevant information about, and evidence of, their activism in the previous year, including student essays, photographs, letters, and testimonials from teachers, mentors, friends, or other activists. Applicants need not be U.S. citizens to be eligible but must attend U.S.-based institutions.
CBCF Reducing the Financial Barrier Scholarship – $10,000
Administered by the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (CBCF), the CBCF Reducing the Financial Barrier Scholarship is a needs-based scholarship for academically talented and highly motivated African American or Black students. Applicants must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident; be African American or Black; submit Federal Student Aid Report (FAFSA) to demonstrate financial need; have a minimum 2.5 GPA on a 4-point scale; and be enrolled full-time at an accredited 2-year or 4-year college or university, or a vocational-technical school.
Dr. Pepper Scholarship – $100,000 Tuition Prize (5 total), $20,000 Runners-Up Prize (5 total), $2,500 Consolation Prize (5 total)
The Dr Pepper Tuition Giveaway is an annual video contest that gives students the opportunity to win up to $100,000 in tuition awards, which must be used for postsecondary education expenses at an accredited two- or four-year college, technical school, vocational school, or master or doctorate degree program in the United States. To enter, applicants must create a video and submit it during a one-month window, starting on September 12, 2022 and ending on October 12, 2022. In the video, which must be between 15 and 60 seconds long, they must state their career goals, why they need tuition assistance, and how their life, community, and the world will be improved if they are able to pursue their goals with the help of the tuition assistance. They should submit the Video publicly through their TikTok account, using the official Challenge (“Tuition Dreamin’”) sound and #DrPepperTuitionContest. Additionally, if they are not doing it already, they must follow @drpepper on TikTok until such time as the Grand Prize winners have been announced. Finalists will be selected to throw for the prize at a College Football Conference Championship game this year. To qualify, applicants must be a U.S. legal resident residing in one of the 50 U.S. states or District of Columbia and be 18-24 years of age at the time of submission of video entry.
Foot Locker Associate Scholarship – $5,000
Each year, Foot Locker, Inc. awards the Foot Locker Associate Scholarship to one of 30 Foot Locker team members selected as a part of the Foot Locker Associate Scholarship. The recipient will receive an additional $5,000 (for a total of $10,000) for demonstrating superior educational achievement, as well as outstanding leadership, and a true love of the game. The recipient must be either employed part-time or full-time with the Company during the application process AND at the time the scholarship is awarded; be employed for at least 6 months; be a U.S. citizen or permanent legal resident; demonstrate personal passion and drive to succeed; demonstrate strong core values, bring others along, and participate fully and with enthusiasm, whether in school, in sports, or in their community; be interested in entering OR enrolling as a part-time or full-time student in a certificate, undergraduate, or graduate degree program at an accredited community college, two-year or four-year college/university in the upcoming fall; and have a minimum GPA of 3.0 (if currently attending school).
MissionSquare Retirement Memorial Scholarship Fund – Up to $10,000
The MissionSquare Retirement Memorial Scholarship Fund (formerly, the Public Employee Memorial Scholarship) is annually awarded to the children and spouses of deceased employees who worked in education, health care, not-for-profit, public safety, local or state government who died while in service to their community. Applicants must be high school seniors or graduates who plan to enroll or students who are already enrolled full-time in an undergraduate or program at an accredited two- or four-year college, university, or vocational-technical school for the entire academic year, and they must provide a letter from the deceased family member’s place of work.
Lockheed Martin Vocational Scholarship – $5,000
Lockheed Martin’s Vocational Scholarship helps students of all ages afford skills-based training in cutting-edge technology and advanced manufacturing fields. It provides funding for students pursuing associate degrees, credit-bearing certificates, or industry-recognized credentials at an accredited vocational technical school, trade school, or two-year community college. Applicants must be U.S. citizens, high school graduates or GED holders, have not earned a bachelor’s degree, be enrolled or planning to enroll at a U.S. accredited vocational technical school, trade school, two-year community college, or state college, and be pursuing an associate degree, credit-bearing certificate, or an industry-recognized credential in a technology or advanced manufacturing field.
Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation – Up to $40,000 (over 4 years)
The Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation (MCSF) provides need-based scholarships to military children to support them in their pursuit of an associate’s or undergraduate degree or a non-degree career and technical certificate program. To date, MCSF has awarded scholarships worth nearly $185 million in honor of Marines. To qualify, applicants must be the child or step-child of (i) an active duty, reserve, or veteran U.S. Marine, (ii) a Marine killed while serving in the U.S. Marine Corps, or (iii) an active duty, reserve, or veteran U.S. Navy Corpsman, Navy Chaplain or Religious Program Specialist, who is or was attached to a U.S. Marine Corps unit or who was killed while serving with a U.S. Marine Corps unit; meet a cumulative GPA of 2.0; and meet the income threshold. Students must submit their application along with supporting documentation, such as tax documents, transcripts, and evidence of military service, by the deadline.
Patsy Takemoto Mink Foundation Education Support Awards – Up to $5,000
The Patsy Takemoto Mink Foundation, named for the trailblazing Japanese American politician from Hawaii who was the first woman of color to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, offers five Education Support Awards of up to $5,000 to assist low-income women with children who are pursuing their first degree at a postsecondary level of education (e.g., vocational, associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral), provided that the degree program adds to the level of education they already accomplished (e.g., a bachelor’s degree after associate’s, or advanced degree after a bachelor’s degree). To apply, interested students must complete an application form and provide the following documents: an official transcript, a student aid report (SAR), proof of admission, and a tuition statement.
Completing the Dream Scholarship Program – $2,500
Launched in partnership with the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, the Sallie Mae Fund’s Completing the Dream Scholarship Program awards a one-time scholarship of up to $2,500 to help diverse students from historically underserved communities complete their post-secondary education. By 2024, the program will award nearly 800 scholarships totaling $1.95 million. Applicants must be in good academic standing, but at risk of not returning to or graduating/completing due to an outstanding financial need, and/or emergency situation that leads to a financial aid crisis. To qualify, applicants must be a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident, be a diverse candidate (including gender, disability, race, ethnicity, or belonging to an underserved community), be enrolled full-time or part-time at an accredited two- or four-year colleges or universities, or vocational/technical certificate/certification program, have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.75, and demonstrate leadership qualities and good moral character. The program is open to students who plan on completing their degree or program by the end of Spring 2023 semester.
Live Mas Scholarship – $25,000
Offered by the fast food chain Taco Bell, the Live Mas Scholarship is annually awarded to passionate high school and college students throughout the United States. Applicants must be between the ages of 16 and 24 and be U.S. citizens. Applicants must be enrolled in or on track to enroll in an accredited post-secondary institution, including two-and four-year colleges, universities, vocational-technical, and trade schools.
In conclusion, the journey to finding the perfect scholarship doesn’t have to be daunting. Whether you’re just beginning your search or looking to expand your options, our comprehensive scholarship directory offers a wide range of opportunities catering to diverse academic interests and backgrounds. For a more personalized approach, consider leveraging the power of TUN AI, our innovative tool designed to match you with scholarships uniquely suited to your profile. Start exploring today and take a step closer to securing the financial support you need for your educational journey.