The Power of Schol’Art’Ships

Thrilled about the prospect of art school but concerned about the financial aspect? It’s time to channel that bottled-up creativity into discovering ways to fund your college journey.

While loans, grants and budgeting can alleviate the financial strain, one golden opportunity often overlooked is scholarships, or as we affectionately call them, schol’art’ships.

Scholarships are essentially free money awarded to support your education, and the best part? You don’t have to pay it back. Contrary to popular belief, they aren’t exclusive to students with impeccable grades. Colleges, universities and art institutes extend scholarships based on various criteria, including grades, portfolio work, community involvement and chosen areas of study. Moreover, there’s a plethora of nationwide scholarships catering to a diverse range of qualifications.

If you’ve written off the possibility of securing a scholarship, it’s time to reconsider. You might be missing out on financial assistance that could significantly ease the burden of paying for college.

While the thought of filling out more forms after investing hours in college applications might seem daunting, the potential payoff is substantial. So, grab your favorite beverage and immerse yourself in the enchanting realm of schol’art’ships.

Don’t forget that most colleges mandate the completion of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to qualify for financial assistance, encompassing loans, grants and scholarships. You can access FAFSA at fafsa.ed.gov.

To explore available scholarships further:

We’ve compiled a list of some college-specific and national scholarships for your consideration. However, this is by no means an exhaustive list, so conduct additional research to find the scholarships that align best with your aspirations.

College Specific Scholarship Programs:

Academy of Art University
www.academyart.edu/finances

Alfred University
www.alfred.edu/admissions/financial-aid/types/scholarships.cfm

Belmont University
www.belmont.edu/sfs/scholarships/

California College of the Arts
www.cca.edu/admissions/financialaid/all-scholarships

Cornish College of the Arts
www.cornish.edu/tuition-financial-aid/scholarships/

Delaware College of Art and Design
www.dcad.edu/financial-aid/dcad-scholarships/

Drexel University – Westphal College of Media Arts & Design
drexel.edu/part-time/financing/overview/

Illinois State University School of Art
finearts.illinoisstate.edu/art/scholarships/

Indiana State University
indstate.academicworks.com/

Kansas City Art Institute
kcai.edu/financial-aid-scholarships/

Kean University
kean.edu/offices/financial-aid

Los Angeles Film School
www.lafilm.edu/admissions/financial-aid/

Louisiana State University
design.lsu.edu/student-life/scholarships/

Massachusetts College of Art & Design
massart.edu/Admissions/Financial_Aid.html

Millikin University
millikin.edu/scholarships

Minneapolis College of Art & Design
mcad.edu/admissions-and-aid/undergraduate/types-of-aid

Montana State University-Bozeman
www.montana.edu/admissions/scholarships/

Parsons The New School of Design
www.newschool.edu/student-financial-services/scholarships-and-grants/

Pennsylvania College of Art & Design
pcad.edu/admissions/financial-aid/

San Francisco Art Institute
sfai.edu/admissions/tuition-and-financial-aid/scholarships-grants-and-fellowships

School of the Art Institute of Chicago
www.saic.edu/admissions/freshmen/scholarships-grants

School of the Museum of Fine Arts
smfa.tufts.edu/admissions-aid/financial-tuition

School of Visual Arts
www.sva.edu/students/financial-aid

Syracuse University, College of VPA
financialaid.syr.edu/

University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
www.umassd.edu/financialaid/scholarships/

Wentworth Institute of Technology
wit.edu/admissions/undergraduate/scholarships

National Scholarship Programs:

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences Student Academy Awards were established in 1972 to support and encourage excellence in filmmaking at the collegiate level.
www.oscars.org/saa

The Atlas Shrugged Essay Contest is open to undergraduate and graduate students. To enter, students must read Ayn Rand’s novel Atlas Shrugged and write an essay (800 to 1600 words) on one of the topics provided on the website.
www.aynrand.org/students/essay-contests#atlasshrugged-1

The Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant is available to emerging figurative artists with a representational style of painting, drawing, sculpture or printmaking. Offers additional renewal awards to selected applicants.
www.elizabethgreenshieldsfoundation.org

The Randy Pausch Scholarship Fund was established to support students who are pursuing careers specializing in the development of interactive entertainment. Possible career paths include (but are not limited to) art, animation, programming, engineering, game direction, game design, sound design and music composition.
www.interactive.org/foundation/scholarships.asp