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Scholarships & Grants for Women

by Donna Vitale

Overview

Scholarships and grants for women are financially based support packages that are awarded to women who want to pursue a degree in higher education. Many of the grants are awarded fields in which women are underrepresented, such as math, science, and technology. The scholarships are both publicly and privately funded, and promote the interests of women while focusing on diversifying both campus life and the general workforce.
Significance

According to the American Association of University Women (AAUW), older women have surpassed males in college at a ratio of 2:1. Although there are now more women attending college, women are considered a marginalized group since inequities still exist in certain areas of education resulting in wage gaps and shortages of working women in traditionally "male" fields. Scholarships and grants for women help bridge these divides and give women an opportunity to achieve more through financial help.

Women's Colleges

Many women's colleges offer financial scholarships and grants to a large majority of their students, regardless of income. Up to 40 percent of all students who attend women's colleges receive aid directly from the institution in support of their mission to guide women to success. A historically black college, Spelman College in Georgia grants African-American women scholarships based on both need and merit. Wellesley College in Massachusetts does not judge on merit, and spends millions of dollars each year so that almost all students have funds available based on need. (See Reference 2)
Types

There are many popular scholarships for women depending on a student's exact interests, minority status, merits, and financial needs. For women interested in pursuing a degree in an underrepresented field, the Society of Women Engineers offers particular scholarships and grants. There are also specific grants available for promoting the interests of minority and age-specific women, single mothers, women athletes and lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender (LGBT) identities. Many national organizations and government agencies, such as Adult Students in Scholastic Transition (for nontraditional students) and the Federal Pell Grant Program (for low-income students) help women from every corner of the country make a solid investment in their futures. (See Reference 3)
History

The suffrage movement catapulted women's independence into the American spotlight in the 1880s. Women's organizations began to emerge, and 1881 saw the beginning of The American Association of University Women. Shortly afterward in 1888, Ida Street became one of the first women to receive a graduate scholarship. She graduated from the women's college Vassar (which became coeducational in 1969), and was given $350.00 to continue her education in American Indian History at the University of Michigan. This is the oldest-known scholarship that specifically supports women. (See Reference 1)
Fun Facts

In 1920, Nobel Prize winning Scientist Marie Curie purchased one gram of radium from funds of over $150,000 collected by American Association of University Women members. The leftover money was donated back to the AAUW to create an endowment in the scientist's name so that other women could pursue science degrees. Other famous women scholars who have received grants from the AAUW include psychologist Joyce Brothers, novelist Susan Sontag, and challenger Astronaut Judith Resnik. (See Reference 1)