Those majoring in humanities or social sciences have some exciting funding options. Many of these programs have the aim of steering students toward secondary education or public-service careers.
The Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation awards up to 85 scholarships each year to college juniors who have shown a strong interest in government. One unusual aspect of this scholarship is that it provides support not only for graduate study but also for the senior year of college. Another distinction of this scholarship is that the foundation looks not only for academic strength but also a strong community service record. The total amount of the award is $30,000. Full information is available at truman.gov.
The James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation (jamesmadison.com) grants fellowships to college seniors and college graduates who wish to pursue careers as secondary school teachers of American history, American government and social studies. Areas of graduate study covered by this award include history, political science and education; the amount of the award is $12,000.
Opportunities abound for the more technically minded, as well. Even for those whose undergraduate major is not in a technical field, some excellent programs are available. The U.S. Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif., for example, offers two scholarship programs: one for technical majors (STEM) and one for nontechnical majors (MONARCH). Each program offers fully paid tuition for a master's in computer science, as well as a $30,000 yearly salary. The condition? Students completing the program must agree to work full-time in civilian federal government jobs for a period of two years.
For more information, visit cisr.nps.edu/scholarships.html.
For those aiming for foreign language fluency and international travel, opportunities range from short-term immersion grants to traditional university study. The U.S. government's Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) offers complete funding for seven- to 10-week, intensive, group-based language instruction. The program is open to U.S. citizens, targets languages critical to U.S. interests and is designed for both master's and Ph.D. students. Visit clscholarship.org for details.
For students with a "global citizen" mindset, the Boren Fellowship (borenawards.org/boren_fellowship) is an outstanding option. Boren Fellowship awards can be as much as $30,000. Like the U.S. government's program, the goal is to encourage fluency in less studied languages. This fellowship seeks to address not only U.S. security, but global challenges. Those areas include sustainable development, environmental issues, global disease and hunger, and population concerns.
Don't forget to check out the most obvious funding options--the programs offered through your particular college or university.