Scholarships for Business Degree Concentrations

Include These in Your Business Model

Money makes the world go ’round, so business pursuits are front-and-center for ambitious college students.  The far-reaching field encompasses specialty disciplines in accounting, management, economics, finance, and a host of other employment sectors.  Business programs also draw from entrepreneurial ranks, educating future business owners and CEOs.

Undergraduates and MBA candidates utilize these and other scholarship opportunities – made available by schools, associations and other business-minded organizations:

National Business Scholarships

The National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE) offers Future Entrepreneur Scholarships to help promote entrepreneurial thinking among aspiring business students. This valuable undergraduate scholarship provides $12,000 the first year and $4,000 each following year.  The Association makes additional grants of $4000 each, under its general NASE Scholarship Program, which has disbursed nearly $2 million, since forming in 1989.  The newest offering in the group’s stable of business scholarships is the Succeed Scholarship, which provides funding for business professionals returning to college for continuing education.

Students majoring in Finance receive scholarship help from the Government Finance Officers Association, which administers various financial aid programs.  The Daniel B. Goldberg Scholarship ($10,000), the GFOA Minorities in Government Finance Scholarship ($5,000), and the Frank L. Greathouse Government Accounting Scholarship ($3,500) are awarded to deserving business students.

Graduating high school seniors are eligible for commerce related scholarships from the Community Bankers Scholarship Program.  Help is available from banks in Illinois, Texas, Tennessee, and Oklahoma.  In Illinois, The CBAI Foundation sponsors essay competitions that help get college cash into the hands of students who need it.  High school seniors compete for 13 annual awards, which are worth as much as $4000 each. Local economics are emphasized for essays which must be dedicated to the concept of community banking.  Students should present accurate information, in a clearly written, grammatically correct format.

The National Business Association (NBA) has a scholarship program for dependents of current NBA members. College freshmen, sophomores, and juniors are eligible for the $1,500 scholarship, as well as graduating high school seniors. Qualified high school applicants show ACT scores between 18 and 26 or SAT scores of 850 to 1190.

Accounting majors who have maintained 3.0 GPA standards are eligible to participate in the National Society of Accountants Scholarship program. Scholarships are awarded to undergraduates in amounts of $500, $1,000 and $2,000 – depending on which academic programs winners are enrolled in.

Minority Business Scholarships

The University of Missouri, Columbia has several business scholarships set aside for minority students. Students from the finance, marketing and management departments qualify for various endowed scholarships.  Robert Brock, Ginger Bryant and John Dean Scholarships contribute need-based aid to business students.

The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) offers scholarships for minority accounting students. Up to $5,000 each,  is awarded to minority accounting majors who have overall GPA of at least 3.3. Funding is available for both graduate and undergraduate students.

Each year the National Black MBA Association provides scholarships for graduate students and minority undergraduates enrolled in business programs throughout the United States. The awards are valued between $1000 and $15,000 each, and are extended to twenty- five full-time MBA students annually.

Campus Aid for Business Students

Noted business schools support their own academic programs with campus-specific financial aid.  Attracting top talent enhances prestige and credibility among leading schools, so merit-based scholarship competitions are in-place to reward high achievers.  Campus scholarship winners use institutional resources to bridge the affordability gap, after other financial aid avenues are exhausted.  These programs demonstrate the types of opportunities typically associated with business education:

University of Wisconsin Milwaukee - Sheldon Lubar School of Business supports undergraduates and graduate-level business students with campus assistance.  In addition to conventional academic scholarships, the school also admits stand-out students into a series of seminar-type learning modules, which augment monetary awards.

Cal Sate LA College of Business and Economics maintains a stable of academic scholarships for business students enrolled in these, and other, specialties:  Accounting, urban economic development, and business administration.  Grade point averages exceeding 3.0 are common eligibility requirements for scholarships made possible by corporate philanthropy from companies like Farmers Insurance and Founders Savings and Loan.  Endowed Scholarships are named for their benefactors, supplying college assistance in honor of Ted Berkowitz, Frank J. DeSantis and others.

C.T. Bauer School of Business, at the University of Houston distributes scholarships for every major students choose.  Financial need is a prerequisite for consideration, so candidates are required to submit FAFSA results indicating level of need.  International students file a special Bauer-generated application. Specific scholarship conditions and award amounts are in-force, based on :

• Academic Major
• Specialty
• Student Type
• Level of Need
• and other considerations

Business education is undertaken at community colleges, as well as traditional four-year institution.  Students at CC’s like Ivy Tech Community College benefit from campus-specific financial aid.  The Indiana school requires FAFSA results, to demonstrate each applicants financial requirements.

San Franscisco State Business Students enjoy access to scholarships from individual departments.  Several endowed funds benefit business students from several specialties, like Hotel Management, Economics, Business Administration and Hospitality Management.

Numerous scholarships originate from the Oregon State University School of Business.  Applicants are evaluated for their performance in certain areas, depending on which scholarships are sought.  Gade Point Average, class-level, financial need, and Oregon residency are a few of the criteria used to establish scholarship winners.