20 Scholarships for Women in STEM to Apply for in 2024

Women only make up around 28% of those working in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). That number is even lower in fields such as engineering which is at 15% women, and computer and mathematical sciences which is at 26%. And, in a time when many students are feeling unsure about their future, it’s important to note just how certain minority groups in specific fields can find new opportunities in their career of choice. 

Considering that women were estimated to hold around two-thirds of the student debt in the United States of America at $833 billion, applying for scholarships is incredibly important for all women looking to pursue higher education who demonstrate financial need in the pursuit of a STEM education.

Especially, women who are looking to get opportunities in a field such as STEM where some of the highest-paid positions are being gatekept by male-dominated communities. This isn’t helped by the challenges that female students face in terms of education. 

Best Scholarships for Women in STEM

This is a list of twenty scholarships that you can apply for now that are geared towards giving female high school students and female undergraduate students in the STEM field a greater opportunity to learn and gain experience through studying STEM and pursuing higher education.

With the disparity in student debt, these scholarships are important for making the pursuit of a STEM job and career worth it for women. This is important because STEM jobs earn around 26% more than their non-STEM counterparts.

For the world to see a more even distribution in pay among genders, these high-paying positions must be more open for women to not only gain entry-level jobs, but women need to be able to succeed in these high-paying positions. 

Learner Education Women in Mathematics Scholarship

This STEM scholarship is specifically for women looking to get into or continue studying in mathematics. The goal of the scholarship is to promote gender diversity and, as said on the application site, “This scholarship exists as part of our initiative to provide more opportunities for women in STEM.” 

• Award Amount: $1,000
• 400-600 Word Essay Deadline: August 1, 2022
• Winners Announcement Date: August 26, 2022

Newsette No-Essay Leadership Scholarship for Women

This scholarship is for women who wouldn’t mind being signed up for a newspaper that carries sections about technology. Instead of writing an essay, you apply, get a free membership for The Newsette Daily Newspaper and if you actively read and share the newspaper you can win the scholarship that way.

• Award Amount: $1,000
• Deadline: July 1, 2022
• Winners Announcement Date: July 1, 2022

Jacob Daniels Dumas Memorial Scholarship

This STEM scholarship is for students in or heading to North Carolina. It’s designed to support students studying STEM who are pursuing any career in the STEM field and isn’t specifically tied to one area of mathematics or science. As said on the application site, “The Jacob Daniel Dumas Memorial Scholarship will support students in their STEM educational journey.”

• Award Amount: $3,000
• 400-600 Word Essay Deadline: September 4, 2022
• Winners Announcement Date: October 4, 2022

Elevate Women in Technology Scholarship

This STEM scholarship is one that doesn’t have many requirements because “The scholarship is open to students at any educational level and field of study.” The student must be a woman who intends to pursue a career involving a form of technology. Whether that be a technologically advanced career or one that has something to do with the different forms of technology such as engineering. 

• Award Amount: $500
• Deadline: October 31, 2022
• Winners Announcement Date: November 30, 2022

Pablo M. Ortiz Scholarship Fund

This STEM scholarship was created in memory of the developer Pablo M. Ortiz who passed away a year ago. It was created for black, indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) for them to be able to pursue careers in software engineering and computer science. So, for women of color trying to pursue a two-year or four-year scholarship in these fields, it’s a great choice. 

• Award Amount: $1,000
• Developer Portfolio Deadline: June 20, 2022
• Winners Announcement Date: July 20, 2022 

Virginia Jeanette Drummond Kissane Women in STEM Memorial Scholarship

This scholarship is specifically intended for graduates of Girls Middle School of Palo Alto, California, or Presentation High School of San Jose, California. So, if the applicant is a high school graduate or attendee of either school they are qualified to apply to this scholarship that is meant for young women pursuing a STEM career. 

• Award Amount: $3,000
• 400-600 Word Essay Deadline: November 1, 2022
• Winners Announcement Date: November 30, 2022

Show your Mettle – Women in STEM Scholarship

This scholarship is for women who struggle to receive the same resources and support that men do when trying to enter the STEM field. It’s a general scholarship as, “Any female student pursuing IT or STEM may apply for this exclusive scholarship opportunity.” It’s a good scholarship to apply for when it comes to any woman who is pursuing a STEM career regardless of education level.

• Award Amount: $1,500
• 400-600 Word Essay Deadline: September 1, 2022
• Winners Announcement Date: September 30, 2022

Dynamic Edge Women in STEM Scholarship

This scholarship from the organization Dynamic Edge(leading IT services provider) is for any women looking to attain a STEM degree in either Michigan or Tennessee. If you wish to apply, all you need to do is write about your favorite tech invention over the past ten years and explain your goals as a Dynamic Woman in I.T.

• Award Amount: $4,000
• 400-600 Word Essay Deadline: September 15, 2022
• Winners Announcement Date: September 30, 2022

Rho Brooks Women in STEM Scholarship

This scholarship is for any women looking to pursue a STEM degree and is attending college during the Fall of 2022. The goal of this scholarship is to incentivize young women to pursue a career in a STEM field without being concerned with the monetary cost. 

• Award Amount: $2,000
• 400-600 Word Essay Deadline: July 30, 2022
• Winners Announcement Date: August 30, 2022

Minority/Women in STEM Scholarship

This is the prime scholarship for women of color and first-generation, low-income students. “This scholarship aims to support underprivileged students who are interested in pursuing careers in STEM.” So, all women of color or first-generation women with low income are capable of applying for this scholarship.

• Award Amount: $5,425
• 400-600 Word Essay Deadline: July 2, 2022
• Winners Announcement Date: July 31, 2022

Minority Women in STEM Financial Need Scholarship

This scholarship is intended for women of color. The scholarship is intended to encourage any women attending the University of Texas that they should pursue their dreams of a STEM career. To apply, simply write about your goals after college and define what a STEM career would be able to do for you after your education is complete.

• Award Amount: $1,000
• 400-600 Word Essay Deadline: June 20, 2022
• Winners Announcement Date: July 20, 2022

Texas Women Empowerment Scholarship

This is a scholarship based in Texas for Texas students all in the hopes of creating a better balance for women in education. It’s also trying to support the educational goals of the students by alleviating any financial burdens that the students and their families may be forced to bear. Students must have a GPA of 3.0 or higher to be eligible for application and is for those pursuing careers in political science, public health, medicine, or any related fields.

• Award Amount: $4,000
• 400-600 Word Essay Deadline: October 1, 2022
• Winners Announcement Date: November 1, 2022

ProjectGiveBack Scholarship for Black Women

This scholarship doesn’t require the student to be attempting to major in any specific STEM-related field, but it is designated for black women in particular. It’s specifically about giving back to the black community so if the applicant has any volunteering or work experience they have a good chance of actually earning the scholarship.

• Award Amount: $2,000
• 500-1000 Word Essay Deadline: July 26, 2022
• Scholarship Winners Announcement Date: August 26, 2022

Empowering Women Through Education Scholarship

This scholarship is for any woman who is struggling with low income and minimal finances. It’s the best fit for high school seniors trying to apply to colleges because if you’re an undergraduate you’ve more than likely found some financial relief. Meanwhile, for high school graduates, this type of simple scholarship is a good one to apply for because of how easy it is to grasp.

• Award Amount: $500
• 400-600 Word Essay Deadline: June 30, 2022
• Winners Announcement Date: July 31, 2022

The Gist Women’s Sports Business Scholarship

“The GIST is your witty, sports-obsessed friend, perfect for anyone interested in working in sports or the business of sports, particularly women’s sports.” This is a newsletter scholarship that rewards applicants for reading the newsletter and sharing it with their friends. It’s a good newsletter for those interested in women’s sports, but it has very little to do with STEM and is most beneficial due to how simple of an application process it is.

• Award Amount: $1,000
• Deadline: July 1, 2022
• Winners Announcement Date: July 1, 2022

Women’s History Scholarship

This scholarship is inspired by the struggles that many historically great women have experienced. As such, it is a pretty easy scholarship to apply for with there not being an essay to write. “Any high school senior, undergraduate, or graduate student who identifies as female may apply for this scholarship.”

• Award Amount: $1,000
• Deadline: August 31, 2022
• Winners Announcement Date: September 7, 2022

Bold Science Matters Scholarship

A scholarship for those interested in pursuing science and are fascinated by scientific discovery. There is an essay here but it’s much shorter than the typical essay for a scholarship application and it doesn’t require a specific education level. 

• Award Amount: $500
• 400-600 Word Essay Deadline: September 14, 2022
• Winners Announcement Date: October 14, 2022

Black Students in STEM Scholarship Fund

This is a very specific scholarship for those looking to attend a Historical Black College and University (HBCU). You must have at least a 2.5 GPA and must complete a short essay but it is a good pathway for black women to get financial support in order to attend STEM programs in black institutions. 

• Award Amount: $1,000
• 100-300 Word Essay Deadline: June 30, 2022
• Winners Announcement Date: July 30, 2022

Tony Alviani Memorial Scholarship

This scholarship is local to the state of Pennsylvania and is intended for a high school graduate or a college undergraduate who is interested in pursuing careers in both businesses, and more importantly, computer science. For any women local to Pennsylvania interested in the computer science portion of STEM, this is a solid scholarship to apply for.

• Award Amount: $500
• 400-600 Word Essay Deadline: October 2, 2022
• Winners Announcement Date: November 2, 2022

Software Engineers Scholarship

This scholarship is geared towards that hyper-focused in engineering or computer sciences and are willing to make an investment in order to apply. This application has the highest total word count for an essay that could be off-putting, but it does apply to multiple colleges and is a good general scholarship for those in STEM to consider.

• Award Amount: $1000
• 1000-1500 Word Essay Deadline: July 15, 2022
• Winners Announcement Date: August 15, 2022

About Scholarships for Women in STEM

These scholarships are geared towards very specific applicants and because of that these scholarships offer very different essay prompts from one another. Many of which are geared towards asking these women about their goals while studying a STEM course and how they will apply that knowledge outside of college. 

These scholarships are focused on giving these women the opportunity to focus all their attention on these STEM curricula and finding a way to circumvent the gender bias that prevents women in STEM from attaining these entry-level positions. Women are 30% less likely to be considered for a hiring process in an entry-level position than men are. 

What Are Scholarships for Women in STEM?

These are scholarships that may have certain requirements that different but they are designed to help women who wish to break into the field. These scholarships often range from $500-$2,000 so applying for multiple scholarships at once is the best course of action. Don’t just stop at applying for one scholarship and waiting for their response. Check out the companies or individuals that are funding these scholarships and see if they are funding any other scholarships that may apply for women in STEM. Also, don’t just focus on scholarships based on STEM and female applicants. There are many generalist scholarships that anyone can apply for, and while the wide spectrum of applicants may make it more difficult to even be considered for those scholarships, applying to women in STEM-centric scholarships will not guarantee you proper funding. Applying to multiple different scholarships will only get you a better chance at receiving financial aid.

What Qualifies as a Scholarship for Women in STEM?

Specifically for women in STEM scholarships, these organizations are looking for signs that these applicants won’t just be great STEM students but that they’re someone with the drive and tenacity to push past the STEM fields gender bias. Also, because many of these scholarships are geared towards STEM applicants it’s best if applicants try to separate themselves by either writing about something that isn’t just standard STEM knowledge at the high school level, or not talking about STEM at all. 

Types of Scholarships for Women in STEM

In such a wide field involving different subjects such as STEM there are many different scholarships that are geared towards different students. Some are geared more towards freshmen while others are specifically intended for graduate students. 

Others are geared towards a specific subject of STEM, such as mathematics or engineering, which while tangentially linked to one another are not the exact same. For these scholarships, one of the major requirements is that the student applying must be in or pursuing STEM degrees. Most of these scholarships will be for women but some are simply designated for underrepresented parties which women definitely qualify as in this circumstance.

How to Find Women in STEM Scholarships

Due to the gatekeeping nature of the STEM working field these scholarships are intent on producing the situations necessary for women to not only attend these STEM courses but for them to crush them and have such staggeringly good results that these STEM companies have no choice but to accept these women for their positions. As such, when applying for these scholarships show your commitment to these scholarships. Whether that be by showing a certain level of activity during the post-application process or by producing a heartfelt essay that conveys the applicant’s interest in STEM and how these applicants intend to succeed. 

If the applicant is in high school, or if they are about to graduate then they have plenty of resources that they can explore before applying for these scholarships. “…the career center and school library…can help you narrow down the universe of options to a manageable list. Career counselors and college financial aid officers often can direct you to specific websites, scholarship sources, and information that might not be obvious via an online search.”

Tips for Winning STEM Scholarships

To win a STEM scholarship award the applicant must show evidence of their academic achievements and their academic ability in STEM fields. Having a record of performing highly in high school is of huge benefit to high school graduates looking to attend a private school.

Frequently Asked Questions About STEM Scholarships 

For college students who want to pursue post-secondary education, some expenses can be stressful and cause a financial burden. Luckily, for graduating high school seniors, and undergraduate and graduate students, there are a variety of programs and scholarships for students that can help ease the strain.

Are STEM scholarships legit?

STEM scholarships are legit as can be. These scholarships often are tied to those who are looking to attend schools with STEM majors as well as the actual school with STEM majors itself.

How can I improve my chances of winning STEM scholarships?

You can improve your chances by taking your time with your essays. STEMS scholarships often require written sections so taking your time with those written sections is important when submitting to any participating schools.

How many scholarships can you get?

As many as there are available. There is no limit to the amount of sports scholarships you can apply for or accept. You can receive funding from multiple scholarships like the college’s sports scholarship as well as independent scholarships that aren’t tied to any one college.

Are scholarships taxable income?

Yes, STEMS scholarships are tax deductible income. The general rule for scholarships being taxable income is that if the grants or scholarships are for research, teaching, housing, or food, they are taxable.

What’s the best way to apply for scholarships?

By checking the requirements for the scholarship and making sure that you have the best essays and that you do your research on who is funding the scholarship as well.

Are there scholarships for schools other than colleges?

Yes, there are scholarships for students that attend a vocational school, a vocational program, a trade school, a two-year community college, or even an accredited post-secondary institution.