You don’t have to be a rocket scientist — yet — to win a college scholarship. For some awards, you just have to be interested in the stars. Interest in astronomy or aerospace engineering could be tickets to money for a college degree.
A number of organizations present scholarships to students who can demonstrate a love for studying the stars. Here are a few of those awards.
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The Galactic Unite Blytheway Scholarship, a joint effort of burgeoning spaceline Virgin Galactic and Virgin Unite, is designed to help unlock the potential of space travel. This $7,500 scholarship is awarded to rising freshman women college students pursuing science, technology, engineering and math — or STEM — degrees at accredited two- or four-year colleges.
The award is renewable for up to four years, and recipients are required to participate in the Galactic Unite mentorship program, through which they spend two hours a month with their mentor. Applicants must be U.S. citizens and have a minimum 3.2 GPA. Application requirements include two recommendations, academic transcripts and a resume. The deadline for this year’s scholarship has closed, but look for the 2018 cycle to open in May.
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics awards a number of scholarships annually to both undergraduate and graduate students who are AIAA student members in good standing. Scholarships range between $500 and $5,000.
In general, undergraduate and graudate applicants must have completed at least one full-time academic semester, have a minimum 3.3 GPA and be enrolled in an accredited U.S. institution. Each individual scholarship may have additional eligibility requirements, such as specific fields of study.
Applicants must submit their academic transcripts, a 500-1,000-word essay about their career goals and the academic requirements to achieve those goals, three recommendations and a list of their extracurricular activities. Graduate student applicants must also submit a research description.
The application period runs from mid-October through January. Check the website this fall for specifics on the next scholarship cycle.
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The Aerospace States Association awards up to two $2,000 scholarships annually to students studying aerospace-related curriculum. Students may be rising undergraduate sophomores or juniors and must demonstrate participation in community and school activities and have a letter of recommendation.
Recipients may use the award for tuition and books. The application deadline is April 30 each year.
Graduate students who want to conduct research to advance scientific understanding of space and the universe can apply for the Boustany Astronomy Scholarship. Provided by the Boustany Foundation and awarded every three years, this scholarship opportunity is open to students of all nationalities and pays all tuition and college fees for students to attend a doctorate course at the Institute of Astronomy at the University of Cambridge. The scholarship also covers travel and hosing expenses related to the award period.
Applicants must meet the institute’s admission requirements and demonstrate outstanding promise as a student. Recipients must also be willing to participate in an unpaid two-month internship with the foundation. The next year this scholarship will be available is 2019, with applications due Feb. 28, 2019.
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A number of universities also offer scholarships for astronomy scholars. Minnesota State University–Mankato, for example, awards the Leo V. Standeford Astronomy Scholarship annually for at least $500 to a student who has declared an astronomy major or minor and has at least a 3.3 overall GPA and at least a 3.4 GPA in astronomy courses. Applications for the 2018 award are due in February.
Northern Arizona University also offers at least four physics and astronomy scholarships to budding astronomers. Amounts vary as do eligibility requirements. Applications for all are typically due in February or March.
If you love studying the stars and space, these and other related scholarships could help you pay for your education.
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Your Scholarship Money Could Be in the Stars originally appeared on usnews.com
