MSW Scholarships

MSW Scholarship Opportunities

The scholarship options for graduate students are very different from those available to undergraduates. There are fewer of them, certainly, but universities are more likely to offer financial support at the graduate level. There are many MSW programs that can provide a break on tuition or partial support to students; until recently there were also programs that offered financial support to MSW students who were following a particular career track such as clinical study. We have listed some of the major scholarship programs in social work that are funded by foundations, as well as a representative group of the programs made available through colleges and universities.

• The University of Denver makes scholarships, grants or stipends available to 90% of all graduate students in social work. These awards include merit scholarships of up to $18,000 per year, tuition grants of $7,500 per year, and endowed scholarships for female students, Latino students, international students and for students focusing on clinical practice.

• New York University typically provides support to 75% of its MSW students in the form of scholarships or tuition grants. Some of the designated scholarships are for bilingual students, mature women returning to school, students committed to working in the addiction field, and the usual merit-based awards that are for highly competitive students who have exhibited academic achievement.

• The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) has two MSW scholarship programs made available through its foundation. The Consuelo Gosnell scholarship program is for Hispanic or Native American MSW candidates. The Verne LaMarr Lyons Scholarship is awarded to an African American MSW student who is interested in the mental health field.

• Virginia Commonwealth University has provided scholarships to MSW students who demonstrate need for tuition support. There are also two programs for students interested in the field of gerontology. The William Randolph Hearst Scholarship is designated for a student focused on working with the aging; the Geriatric Practicum Partnership Program provides funding to pay students working in field placements for geriatric services.

• The Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans are made available to first generation Americans who have exhibited personal excellence in some fashion and who are enrolled in a graduate studies program. This foundation is focused on integrating high-achieving students who have immigrated to the United States into the society through professional achievement.

• Boston University has a long list of endowed scholarships available to its MSW students. Several of them are awarded to students who are oriented to urban social work; there are also several that are awarded to ethnic minorities. One scholarship is made available to students who wish to work with HIV positive clients. The School of Social Work also has a matching funds program that doubles the federal allocation for work/study programs.

• North Carolina Child Welfare Education Collaborative is an example of a state-oriented program that offers scholarships for students willing to work in the child welfare area. This program is for students at any of the University of North Carolina campuses. Other states have sponsored similar programs; currently the University of Michigan and the University of Minnesota offer similar scholarships, which are funded in part by federal dollars provided through Title IV of the Social Security Act.

• Rutgers University has a scholarship program sponsored by Verizon that supports grants to MSW students who want to work in agencies that deal with violence against women and children. The University also has a scholarship program for students who are interested in working with the aging.

• The California Society for Clinical Social Work has several endowed scholarship programs for MSW students interested in clinical practice. Two of them are designated for students attending the University of California/Los Angeles or the University of Southern California. Others are for students at any California university.

• The Hogg Foundation for Mental Health has several scholarship programs, one of which is for graduate students in social work. There is also a program for bilingual students who are studying in the mental health field, which may be applicable to a MSW program. All grants and scholarships offered through this program are for Texas students.