How to Find Business Degree Scholarships

Pursuing a business degree is not easy. Luckily, uncovering scholarships to help pay for your business degree may not be as hard as it seems, as long as you know where to look.

1. Your University or College of Choice: The first, and probably most obvious, place to find scholarships is through the school from which you are earning your business degree.  Contact your financial aid office or speak with an adviser in the Business department. Often alumni, benefactors and outside foundations support the school, and some of the money bestowed is used for student scholarships or grants. Even if your school does not offer scholarships specific to the business program, the financial aid office is a great starting point for additional resources. They may suggest a fellowship or teaching assistantship as an alternative way of earning money while you go to school.
2. Your Employer: Many companies offer some sort of tuition assistance program for their employees as part of their benefits package. This is often referred to as “tuition reimbursement” but some companies might opt to position it as additional training or continued education. Keep in mind, there may be some fine print to relying on your employer for tuition assistance, such as a promise to continue working there for a set number of years after you’ve received your degree. This is particularly true if you’re pursuing an MBA (Master’s of Business Administration).
3. Your Industry of Choice: Don’t forget to look into businesses and associations that specialize in the area of business you’re focusing on, as well. You might be pursuing an undergraduate business degree or an MBA, but what do you plan to do with it? Identify national associations that promote a specific business discipline, such as marketing, human resources, finance or accounting.
4. Your Own Backyard: Ward Allebach at BusinessSchools.com makes a great point that many national associations have local affiliates, so you might do yourself a favor by finding a chapter in your state or region and investigate as to whether they offer a scholarship for residents.  Scholarships from local organizations generally range in smaller sums (think a few hundred dollars to $2500), but the effort needed to apply could be in your favor, as your competition is likely a smaller pool of students than those of larger, more publicized national scholarships.

Sometimes, where you are in your degree program will affect the type of scholarships you should look for as well. Some scholarships require eligible students to be currently pursuing an undergraduate business or business administration degree and proceed to graduate school or an MBA. Keep in mind that requirements are listed for a reason – if you don’t meet the eligibility requirements exactly, you should move on to find other scholarships that are a better fit.