Find the Best Economics Scholarships for Undergrad, Grad, and Doctoral Study

Study Economics at the college level and two things become clear: you have a zillion career pathways from which to choose, and a need for financial support, preferably free money.

Scholarships for Econ students come from all different kinds of sources, but those most popular are private companies and professional associations, as well as colleges and universities.

Keep in mind: many Econ majors complete Masters and Doctoral degrees. This opens up wider funding opportunities—students at these levels are more commonly awarded fellowships, as well research and travel stipends.

Best starting strategy for finding Econ scholarships:

  • Identify your personal short-term and long-term educational—be able to sum these up in a few short, compelling statements (you’ll need these for applications).
  • Do the same with your career goals.
  • Use the following guide to steer you in the direction of appropriate scholarships.
  • Narrow down those awards for which you are most-qualified. Your list of realistic scholarship options should be fairly short when you’ve discounted out-of-reach awards and those just not targeted to your goals.

Private Sources for Economics Scholarships

Some private sources supply good money for Economics students, but they are few and far between. If you have access to a professional association within your field of economics study it may be a source for scholarships. Examples:

  • Land Economics Students: Lamba Alpha International is solely devoted to the land economics sector. The LAI offers foundation scholarships for students and professionals working on research in this very specialized area. Students are encouraged to become involved in local students chapters.
  • The American Institute for Economic Research maintains funds for graduate and post-graduate fellowships. Paid summer fellowships are available for undergraduates in their final year of baccalaureate study as long as they are enrolling in a graduate economics program. Recipients reside on-site, receive full tuition for the summer plus $1,000 cash stipends. Preference is given to those students most interested in Economics from the academic or teaching perspective, but the emphasis is on making economics accessible to a broad audience.

College and University Sources

Most of the free money in Economics comes directly through your college or university pipelines. At the undergraduate level scholarships tend to be of the more general kind. However, once you enroll at the graduate level and begin specializing in an Economics or related field, the scholarship money becomes bigger and more accessible.

Graduate and PhD students usually have free financial options in the form of fellowships, assistantships and paid internships. Those conducting long-term research may also mine sources for research scholarships and travel stipends.