5 Superlative Scholarships for Education Majors

Teachers earn an early-career median salary of between $32,100 and $38,000, a modest sum that makes it all the more important for education majors to limit their student loan borrowing. Repaying debt on a limited income isn’t easy. Fortunately, you can avoid that fate by seeking out scholarships for education majors.

Your state and federal government could be a source of grants for teachers, and your college or university is likely to offer gift aid too. Some of the higher-value scholarships for education majors, however, are available from nonprofit and private organizations.

Below are five scholarship opportunities, broken down by their targeted group, plus our tips on finding additional financial aid that doesn’t need to be repaid.

1. For students of Color: Leon Bradley Scholarship Program
2. For all aspiring teachers: Jack Kinnaman Scholarship
3. For early education majors: American Montessori Society Scholarships
4. For would-be teachers of high-need subjects: AAEE Critical Need Teacher Scholarship
5. For future high school civics teachers: James Madison Memorial Fellowship
● Plus: Explore additional scholarships for education majors

1. For educators of Color: Leon Bradley Scholarship Program

This scholarship for education majors was established by the American Association of School Personnel Administrators to broaden diversity among educators. The organization’s two annual scholarships ($3,500 each) assist minority candidates for teaching certification. You must be in your final year of meeting certification requirements in order to be eligible.

Deadline to apply: 2021 application not yet available
Also check out: The American Association for Employment in Education (AAEE) Teacher of Color Scholarship ($1,000) could be another option if you’re not yet in the final year of your program.

2. For all aspiring teachers: Jack Kinnaman Scholarship

Named in honor of a former vice president of the National Education Association (NEA), this scholarship for future teachers ($2,500) is awarded to five students annually. You can improve your chances to be selected by participating in NEA events on or off your campus and by securing two convincing letters of recommendation. A minimum 2.5 GPA is also required.

Deadline to apply: April 15
Also check out: Speaking of membership-oriented scholarships for education majors, the Phi Delta Kappa Educational Foundation Scholarship Program ($500 to $5,000) are accessible if you’re a part of a variety of organizations, including Educators Rising.

3. For early education majors: American Montessori Society Scholarships

If you already know you’ll be pursuing an early education teaching career, keep tabs on scholarship opportunities at organizations like the American Montessori Society. Its education scholarship is for students accepted into a credential program for infant/toddler, early childhood/elementary and secondary school education. The organization awarded $28,000 to 20 aspiring Montessori teachers in 2019.

Deadline to apply: 2021-2022 application not yet available
Also check out: The Nancy Larson Foundation College Scholarship is another award meant for early education majors in their junior or senior year of college, as well as for graduate students.

4. For would-be teachers of high-need subjects: AAEE Critical Need Teacher Scholarship

Sponsored by the American Association for Employment in Education (AAEE), this scholarship for future teachers ($1,000) is targeted to full-time college students who plan to teach one of a variety of subjects, including:

• Mathematics
• Sciences like chemistry and physics
• Languages, including American Sign Language, Arabic, Chinese and Russian
• Special education
• Speech pathology

Deadline to apply: 2021 deadline was Jan. 18; 2022 application not yet available
Also check out: If STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) is your subject area, also check out the National Science Foundation’s Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program and scholarships for education majors from organizations such as the American Association of Physics Teachers and National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

5. For future high school civics teachers: James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation

Maybe recent events have inspired you to forgo STEM or other subjects in order to teach American History, government or civics classes at the secondary school level (grades 7 to 12). If so, you could be a fit for this award from the James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation.

The $24,000 fellowship is awarded to one applicant per state annually. You must be a U.S. citizen who has earned or will soon earn a bachelor’s degree. After completing your master’s, you must teach U.S. Constitution history for one year to receive the funding.

Deadline to apply: March 1
Also check out: Scholarship opportunities related to your specific area of interest. (See the table below)

Explore additional scholarships for education majors

Thanks to online scholarship search tools, it’s never been easier to find scholarships for education majors or frankly, for any major. Check with organizations like those listed above to learn about opportunities related to your background or interest in a particular education level or subject area.

And don’t stop there. Talk to your campus financial aid representative about school-sourced grants and scholarships for education majors. There are also grants from your state or from the federal government in the form of the TEACH Grant.

And just because you’re an aspiring teacher or professor doesn’t mean you have to limit yourself to scholarship for education majors. Seek out awards you may otherwise be eligible for, perhaps because of your high school academic record, community service or other defining characteristics. The more scholarship aid you secure, the less likely it is that you’ll need to rely on federal or private student loans.