Financial Resources for Native American Students

For Native American students in underserved communities, the road to college can be a long one.

Fortunately, many advocacy groups and universities offer financial awards and resources to help this group thrive.

In this guide, find over 100 scholarships, grants, and internships designed specifically for Native American students.

Internships and Fellowships

Internships and fellowship programs are a great way to get field-specific experience and set yourself apart when applying for jobs in the future. Start your search with this list of opportunities below.

Internships

• American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees (AFSCME): AFSCME Union Scholars Program is a 10-week summer internship for students of color.
  
• American Association for the Advancement of Science: AAAS provides summer internship program for undergraduate students who are deeply committed to diversity and interested in pursuing journalism as a career.

• Microsoft: Explore Microsoft is a 12-week summer internship program specifically designed for first- and second-year college students who pursue degrees in computer science, computer engineering, or related technical disciplines (Microsoft encourage underrepresented group students to apply).
  
• NASCAR: NASCAR Diversity Internship Program is a 10-week, paid summer internship that seeks diverse undergraduate and graduate college students with high academic standing at elite institutions.
  
• Quality Education for Minorities: QEM provides Talent Development and Innovation and Sciences (TDIS) Summer Internship for minority students in STEM related fields.
  
• T. Howard Foundation: T. Howard Foundation's Internship Program is dedicated to improving the participation of diverse and underrepresented groups in the media and entertainment industry.
  
• Getty: Getty Marrow Undergraduate Internship program in Los Angeles supports substantive, full-time summer work opportunities for college undergraduates from backgrounds that have traditionally been underrepresented in the arts.
  
• Smithsonian: Smithsonian offers internships to increase participation of groups who are underrepresented in the disciplines of research conducted at the Institution, and in the museum field.
  
• Center for Third World Organizing: MAAP is an 9 week summer paid intensive training program for young activists of color.
  
• Barclays: Sophomore Springboard is an internship for high-achieving, underrepresented candidates, including female, Black, Hispanic/Latino, Native American and LGBTQAI+ students, as well as military veterans and students with disabilities.
  
• Google: The Building Opportunities for Leadership and Development (BOLD) Internship Program is a paid summer internship for rising underrepresented undergraduate seniors (including but not limited to Black, Hispanic, Native American, students with disabilities, and veterans).
  
• McKinsey: Sophomore (second-year) Summer Business Analyst program is an 8-10 weeks summer internship program for underrepresented group (including Black, African American, Hispanic, Latinx, and/or part of Indigenous groups in North America).
  
• Seizing Every Opportunity (SEO): SEO Career recruits and trains high achieving Black, LatinX, and Native American college students for challenging summer internships that lead to coveted full-time jobs.
  
• PwC: Start is PwC's diversity summer internship experience for high-performing college sophomores/rising juniors who are in underrepresented minority groups.
  
• Facebook: Facebook University is an 8-week internship program that enables students from underrepresented communities to get to know Facebook's people, products and services.
  
• Udall Foundation: Native American Congressional Internship Program provides American Indian and Alaska Native students with the opportunity to gain practical experience with the federal legislative process to understand first-hand the government-to-government relationship between Tribes and the federal government.
  
• National Congress of American Indians: NCAI offers internships and fellowships to provide an opportunity for young leaders from across Indian Country to serve on the front lines of legislative action and policy development.

Fellowships

• Wyoming Space Grant: Wyoming Space Grant Consortium (WSGC) awards fellowships to undergraduate students attending the University of Wyoming or one of Wyoming's community colleges to provide the student with the opportunity to do research.
  
• American Bar Foundation: American Bar Foundation provides Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship Program for students who are diverse and traditionally underrepresented in the fields of law and social science.
  
• American Educational Research Association: AERA provides Minority Dissertation Fellowship in Education Research to enhance the racial and ethnic diversity of faculty, scholars, and researchers who study topics in education research.
  
• FleishmanHillard: Alfred Fleishman Diversity Fellowship is a 6-12 months paid Fellowships — with benefits — professional development opportunities and a mentor program for diverse candidates.
  
• Public Policy & International Affair Program: PPIA Junior Summer Institute (JSI) Fellowship Program is a rigorous academic graduate level preparation program for undergraduate juniors committed to public service careers.
  
• Harvard Business School: The Harvard Business School (HBS) Summer Venture in Management Program (SVMP) is a competitive weeklong residential and academically rigorous program for graduating and rising college seniors.
  
• APSA Diversity Fellowship Program (DFP): Diversity Fellowship Program (DFP) is a fellowship competition for individuals from underrepresented backgrounds applying to or in the early stages of doctoral programs in political science.
  
• American Sociological Association: Minority Fellowship Program (MFP) supports the development and training of sociologists of color in any sub-area or specialty in the discipline.
  
• FTE Leaders: FTE Leaders Fellowship provides financial support for doctoral students of Latino/a, Asian, Pacific Islands or First Nations descent who have completed the course work stage of their Ph.D. or Th.D. program in religion, theological studies or biblical studies.
  
• Tennessee Higher Education Commission & Student Assistance Corporation: Minority Teaching Fellows Program is intended to encourage talented minority Tennesseans to enter the teaching field in Tennessee.

Scholarships

As you approach college (or graduate school), be sure to seek out scholarships and financial awards to lighten the financial load.

Below, we list several general scholarships and others that are meant for specific majors or disciplines.

• Association on American Indian Affairs: Association on American Indian Affairs provides scholarships to undergraduate and graduate Native American students who are citizens/members of their Tribal Nation.
  
• Actuarial Foundation: Actuarial Diversity Scholarship promotes diversity within the profession through an annual scholarship program for Black/African American, Latinx, Native North American and Pacific Islander students.
  
• American Indian College Fund: American Indian College Fund provides support to American Indian and Alaska Native college students seeking undergraduate and graduate degrees at tribal colleges, and other nonprofit, accredited schools.
  
• American Indian Services: The AIS Scholarship program is to help undergraduate Native American students with financial support to attend college, maintain enrollment and graduate through scholarships.
  
• American Meteorological Society: AMS Minority Scholarships will award funding to minority students who have been traditionally underrepresented in the sciences, especially Hispanic, Native American, and Black/African American students.
  
• American Planning Association: APA Foundation scholarships provides scholarships to students of great merit and from historically underrepresented groups.
  
• Augustana University: Augustana University provides Diversity Scholarship for full-time domestic students of color.
  
• Catching the Dream: Catching the Dream provides a scholarship for Native American students who demonstrate academic achievement, clearly defined goals, leadership, the determination to succeed, and the desire to return to their communities and help others realize their dreams.
  
• Chahta Foundation: Chahta Foundation provides scholarships for member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma.
  
• Chickasaw Nation: Chickasaw Nation provides higher education grant that may be awarded to undergraduate, graduate or doctoral students who maintain a 2.0 GPA or higher each semester.
  
• Daughters of the American Revolution: DAR American Indian Scholarship is awarded to help Native American students of any age, any tribe and in any state striving to get an education at the undergraduate or graduate levels.
  
• Next Day Animations: Illustrating Awesomeness Scholarship is a scholarship opportunity for young women or gender non-conforming individuals of color who are actively working to change the world.
  
• Grand Rapids Foundation: Grand Rapids Foundation provides several scholarships for students with color (African American, Asian, Hispanic, Native American, Pacific Islander).
  
• Indiana University: Hudson & Holland Scholars Program (HHSP) is a scholarship and support program for high achieving underrepresented minorities.
  
• Minnesota Office of Higher Education: Minnesota Indian Scholarship provides postsecondary financial assistance to eligible Minnesota resident students who are of one-fourth or more Native American ancestry and demonstrate financial need for an award.
  
• Florida Fund for Minority Teachers: FFMT provides Minority Teacher Education Scholarship (MTES) for Florida students who are on the following racial groups: African American/Black, Hispanic/Latino, Asian American/Pacific Islander, or American Indian/Alaskan Native.
  
• Illinois Student Assistance Commission: ISAC provides Minority Teachers of Illinois (MTI) scholarships for students who are African American/Black, Hispanic American, Asian American, or Native American.
  
• Morgan Stanley: Morgan Stanley Richard B. Fisher Scholarship Program is granted for undergraduate sophomore and junior students who self-identify as Black, Hispanic, Native American, and LGBT+ .
  
• The National Press Club: The National Press Club provides a scholarship consisting of a $5,000 one-year scholarship, which can be renewed for up to three years at $5,000 per year for minority students.
  
• Oracle: UNCF Scholars Program offers students from underrepresented minorities the opportunity to launch their career with a world-class internship experience and scholarship funding.
  
• Page Education Foundation: Page Education Foundation provides grants for students of color who graduate from a Minnesota high school and will be attending an accredited Minnesota post-secondary school at full-time enrollment.
  
• Phoenix AISES: Phoenix AISES Scholarship is granted for Native American, Alaskan Native, and Native Hawaiian college students.
  
• Jackie Robinson Foundation: Jackie Robinson Foundation provides scholarship program for undergraduate students who are in minority groups.
  
• Intertribal Timber Council: Intertribal Timber Council provides scholarships for Native American/Alaskan Natural Resource Students.
  
• Udall Foundation: Udall Foundation awards scholarships to college sophomores and juniors for leadership, public service, and commitment to issues related to Native American nations or to the environment.
  
• American Indian Education Fund: AIEF program offers competitive graduate scholarships to eligible American Indian/Alaska Native/Native Hawaiian students pursuing a Masters or Doctoral degree.
  
• American Indian Science and Engineering Society: AISES Chevron Scholarship is offered for American Indian, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, First Nations, and other indigenous peoples of North America who are students in higher education.
  
• Goldman Sachs: Goldman Sachs Scholarship for Excellence (SFE) is awarded to undergraduate juniors pursuing a summer internship at GS from all majors that identify as Black, Latinx/Hispanic and/or Native American.
  
• International Order of The King's Daughters and Sons: IOKDS awards $1000 college tuition scholarships for Native American students.

Scholarships for Specific Majors & Disciplines

• New York Intellectual Property Law Education Foundation: NYIPLEF provides scholarship for diverse minority law student for tuition and expenses related to attending law school.
  
• American Bus Association: The Diversity Scholarship focuses on broadening the number of traditionally underrepresented groups in the management and operation ranks of the transportation, travel, and tourism industry.
  
• American College of Healthcare Executives: Albert W. Dent Graduate Student Scholarship provides financial aid to racially/ethnically students in healthcare management graduate programs.
  
• American Chemical Society: ACS Scholars Program awards renewable scholarships to underrepresented minority students majoring in undergraduate chemistry-related disciplines, and are also intending to pursue careers in chemistry-related fields.
  
• Architects Foundation: Diversity Advancement Scholarship is a scholarship for minority students so they can pursue a successful career in architecture.
  
• AIA Chicago: AIA Chicago Foundation Diversity Scholarship Initiative, is an opportunity to attract and retain diverse, talented young professionals in Chicago who are interested in architectural profession.
  
• American Indian Alaska Native Tourism Association: AIANTA Tourism & Hospitality Scholarship gives financial assistance for American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian students towards a degree or certificate in hospitality, tourism, recreation, culinary arts or related fields.
  
• American Institute of CPAs: The AICPA Minority Scholarship awards outstanding minority students to encourage their selection of accounting as a major and their ultimate entry into the profession.
  
• American Indian Science and Engineering Society: AISES provides scholarships for full-time undergraduate and graduate students who pursue STEM related degree.
  
• Library and Information Technology Association: LITA/LSSI Minority Scholarship is awarded to minority students (American Indian or Alaskan Native, Asian or Pacific Islander, African-American, or Hispanic) who are pursuing library and automation field related degree.
  
• American Library Association: ALA provides Spectrum Scholarship Program for American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, Middle Eastern and North African, and/or Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander students to assist them with obtaining a graduate degree and leadership positions within the profession and ALA.
  
• Brown and Caldwell: Brown and Caldwell offers a $5,000 Minority Scholarship to support students who identify as minorities and are interested in pursuing a career in the environmental profession.
  
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: The EPP/MSI Undergraduate Scholarship provides funds for two years of undergraduate study to rising junior undergraduate students majoring in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields.
  
• ESA Foundation: ESA Foundation provides scholarships for women and minority students across the United States earning a computer science or video game arts and sciences-related degree.
  
• American Association of Law Libraries: George A. Strait Minority Scholarship & Fellowship is granted for minority students who pursue ALA accredited library graduate school program; or law school.
  
• Society for American Archaeology: Historically Underrepresented Groups Scholarship (HUGS) grants scholarships for underrepresented minorities who obtain degrees in archaeology.
  
• KLJ Way: The Kearns Louis-Jean Memorial Scholarship is awarded to students of color within Boston, and neighboring cities/town, entering their first year of college, and pursuing a degree within STEM.
  
• American Bar: American Bar provides annual Legal Opportunity Scholarship to first-year law racial and ethnic minority students.
  
• American Association of School Personnel Administrators: AASPA provides Leon Bradley Scholarship Program to encourage more minorities or persons of color to enter the field of teaching and school leadership.
  
• Government Finance Officers Association: Minorities in Government Finance Scholarship is granted for outstanding minority students enrolled in a course of study preparing for a career in state or local government finance.
  
• Society of Classical Studies: Frank M. Snowden Jr. Undergraduate Scholarships is offered for undergraduate students from historically underrepresented groups who study classics or classical archaeology.
  
• National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering: NACME Scholars provides scholarships for underrepresented minority students in the fields of engineering and computer science.
  
• The National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development: NCAIED American Indian Business Scholarship Program is granted for junior, senior or graduate student majoring in a business related field.
  
• Radio Television Digital News Association: Carole Simpson Scholarship is granted for minority students to overcome hurdles along their career path in electronic journalism.
  
• Souder Miller & Associates (SMA): Souder Miller & Associates (SMA) and Water Engineers for the Americas (WEFTA) offer scholarship opportunity to Native American students pursuing a four-year degree in STEM.
  
• Stantec: Stantec Equity & Diversity Scholarship is provided for underrepresented and Black, Indigenous, people of color (BIPOC) students who study in STEAM related field.
  
• Gates Millenium Scholar Program: GMSP promoting academic excellence, providing opportunities, reducing financial barriers by providing scholarships for outstanding students of color who study STEM related fields.
  
• The Engineering Center Education Trust: The Rossiter Family Scholarship is offered for the benefit of women and minority students currently enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program in civil or environmental engineering.
  
• Lockheed Martin: Lockheed Martin award scholarships of $10,000 per student to individuals studying engineering or computer science that demonstrate financial need and come from underrepresented or underserved communities.
  
• American Geosciences: AGI Scholarship for Advancing Diversity in the Geoscience Profession is granted for underrepresented minority graduate students in geoscience.
  
• American Institute of Chemical Engineers: AIChE Minority Scholarship Award is presented for minority underrepresented undergraduate student members annually in chemical engineering.
  
• The Surety Foundation: The Surety and Fidelity Industry Intern and Scholarship Program provides awards of up to $5,000 to outstanding underrepresented students to support their studies in the areas of insurance/risk management, accounting, economics, or business/finance.
  
• Alfred P. Sloan Foundation: Alfred P. Sloan Graduate Scholarship Programs provides scholarships for underrepresented doctoral students in sciences, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), especially in fields where national trends document persistent underrepresentation.
  
• AIGA: AIGA Worldstudio Scholarship is offered for underrepresented and economically disadvantaged students who are studying photography, illustration, and design disciplines in colleges and universities in the United States.

Organizations and Advocacy Groups

Nonprofits and organizations dedicated to Native American students can provide tons of helpful information, mentorship, and much more. Don't miss this list of resources below.

• Indigenous World: Indigenous World is an accessible technological resource designed for engaging the unique arts, cultures, ideas and identities of Indigenous people.
  
• American Indigenous Business Leaders: AIBL is the only American Indigenous non-profit organization solely dedicated to empowering business students in the United States.
  
• ColorComm Network: ColorComm, Inc. is the nation's leading women's platform addressing diversity & inclusion across the communications, marketing, advertising, and media industries.
  
• American Indian Science and Engineering Society: AISES promote the highest standards of education and professional excellence to widen the STEM workforce and grow sector support.
  
• Women Empowering Women for Indigenous Nations: Women Empowering Women for Indigenous Nations is an organization for Native American women to empower each other.
  
• Administration for Native Americans: ANA supports Native American communities by providing financial assistance and capacity building, gathering and sharing data, and advocating for improved policies within HHS and across the federal government.
  
• Association on American Indian Affairs: The Association on American Indian Affairs is the oldest non-profit serving Indian Country protecting sovereignty, preserving culture, educating youth and building capacity.
  
• Center for Native American Youth: The Center for Native American Youth is an organization that believes all Native American youth should lead full and healthy lives, have equal access to opportunity, and draw strength from their culture and one another.

• NAFOA: NAFOA is committed to supporting tribal economies through sound economic and fiscal policy, innovative learning opportunities, convening thought leadership, and developing resources for tribes that strengthen governance and exercise sovereignty.
  
• American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC): AIHEC provides a support network as they work to influence federal policies on American Indian higher education.
  
• Native American Rights Fund: NARF is an organization that specialize in legal assistance to Native American tribes, organizations, and individuals nationwide.
  
• Management Leadership for Tomorrow: Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT) is a national nonprofit that equips and emboldens high-achieving women and men from underrepresented communities to realize their full potential, to make a mark, and make a difference.
  
• The Consortium for Graduate Study in Management: The Consortium for Graduate Study in Management is an organization that enhance diversity and inclusion in global business education and leadership.
  
• Association of American Indian Physicians: The Association of American Indian Physicians provides educational programs, health initiatives, and services to American Indian and Alaska Native communities and students.
  
• Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science: SACNAS is an inclusive organization dedicated to fostering the success of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans, from college students to professionals, in attaining advanced degrees, careers, and positions of leadership in STEM.
  
• Alpha Pi Omega Sorority: Alpha Pi Omega Sorority Inc., is the country's oldest Native American Greek letter organization.

Bottom Line

Locating financial resources or scholarships can be an arduous task, but don't get discouraged. We hope that this list of helpful links can provide some guidance and a little inspiration to pursue the major or discipline that brings you joy. Best of luck!