Jump to Jewish scholarship listings by state:
National, California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Washington D.C. (Maryland and Virginia), Wisconsin, For Study in Israel

Do you know of more scholarships for Jewish students? E-mail them to freshman@hillel.org.

Jewish federations - Many Jewish Federations offer scholarships for local students or students who plan to attend college in their area to help offset the costs of tuition and other college-related expenses. You can find the Jewish Federation in your area by visiting the Web site of the United Jewish Communities, the umbrella organization for the Jewish Federation system. Some local Jewish Federation scholarships are listed below, so if you don’t see yours listed, give them a call.

Jewish Vocational Service or Jewish Social Service agencies - Many large communities have Jewish Vocational Service or Jewish Social Service agencies that include college scholarships among the variety of services they offer to the local Jewish community.

Places you wouldn't think to look - Just doing a simple Google search using the search terms "Jewish" and "scholarship" yielded many sources of financial aid, from organizations like the Jewish War Veterans of America to the National Women's Studies Association. Many of these scholarships, like the one offered by the Association of Jewish Libraries, are specific to a certain area of study, but with a wide variety available, there is sure to be at least one that suits your needs.

Other potential sources of aid are synagogues, Jewish men's groups, local B'nai B'rith or Hadassah chapters and Jewish community centers, among others.

Jewish Student Internships:
Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life, funds the Campus Entrepreneurs Initiative (CEI), which helps college students impact Jewish life on campus. Each participating campus employs 12 students with broad social networks to build relationships with more than 700 uninvolved Jewish students over the course of a year. Visit CEI’s web site to find out how you can become a Campus Entrepreneur. Campus Entrepreneurs are given a budget to plan initiatives that identify them as relevant and Jewish, enable them to meet uninvolved Jewish students and follow-up with them in an authentic, comfortable, and open way.  Initiatives have the dual purpose of attracting uninvolved students and advancing Jewish values. 

NATIONAL:
The Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS) provides scholarships for students who immigrated after January 1, 1992.

The Jewish War Veterans of the USA each August awards three educational grants to high school seniors who are direct descendants (children, grandchildren and great grandchildren) of members in good standing. These include the Bernard Rotberg Memorial Scholarship Fund ($1000), the Louis S. Silvey Grant ($750), and the JWV Grant ($500).

The Kaplun Foundation sponsors an annual essay contest for 10th, 11th and 12th grade students. Awards include $1,800 for first place, $750 to each of the five finalists, as well as $18 awarded to the first 50 essays received in each level.

The National Museum of American Jewish Military History also awards the Harvey S. Friedman Annual Memorial Grant of $1,000 to assist students planning on a career in the museum field.

The Edward Fein Foundation Scholarship Awards program at QuestBridge gives high-achieving Jewish high school students an opportunity for college preparation training including scholarships for SAT prep courses. QuestBridge also awards selected students scholarships to prestigious university-based summer programs and laptop computers.

CALIFORNIA:
California State University, Northridge (CSUN) Hillel offers scholarships for currently enrolled students and active Hillel members. Applications are available in the spring on CSUN Hillel’s web site.

UC Davis offers the Malcolm R. Stacey Memorial Scholarship, established in 1977 by a provision in the Will of Harriette Stormes in memory of her son, the Malcolm Stacey Scholarship is restricted to needy, Jewish students with preference for students majoring in aeronautical engineering.

UCLA also provides the Malcolm R. Stacey Scholarship Fund to be used to support needy, orphaned UCLA students of Jewish parentage.

The Jewish Vocational Service of Los Angeles County administers a scholarship program to provide qualified local students who are permanent residents of Los Angeles County with need-based financial aid. Since its founding in 1972, the JVS Scholarship Fund has awarded $3.2 million to over 2,800 students. Today's recipients are pursuing studies at colleges, universities and vocational schools nationwide.

Jewish Family and Children's Services of San Francisco provides a number of scholarships, loans and grants for area residents.

The Bureau of Jewish Education of San Francisco also provides a large number of scholarships to students whose parents generally reside in San Francisco, the Peninsula (Sunnyvale and north), Marin, and Sonoma Counties.

USC offers a competitive Jewish Leadership Scholarship for incoming freshmen, with an emphasis placed on leadership within and outside the Jewish community. Recipients are expected to become involved with the USC Jewish community and to volunteer for prospective Jewish student recruitment activities.

FLORIDA:
While the Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties offers 80 scholarships for local residents, the Dave Yanis Scholarship Fund gives preference to graduating high school seniors who are Jewish and is also open to Russian immigrants as well as children and grandchildren of Russian immigrants.

ILLINOIS:
Western Illinois University offers the Doris Ruben Memorial Scholarship for female Jewish students (either by birth or conversion).

INDIANA:
The Robert A. and Sandra S. Borns Jewish Studies Program at Indiana University offers numerous funding opportunities for all of its undergraduate and graduate students in the form of scholarships, internships, prizes, fellowships, and other forms of funding.

MASSACHUSETTS:
The Leroy Weiner Scholarship administered through the Greater Worcester Community Foundation is for Jewish students with financial need who have performed community service; preference for members of Congregation B’nai Shalom (Westborough) and residents of Westboro, Northboro or Southboro.

MINNESOTA:
The Bentson Family Scholarship, for incoming freshmen at the University of Minnesota, became available for the first time for students entering the fall of 2004. It was created the year before through a gift of $10 million from alumni Larry and the late Nancy Bentson, the largest gift ever received by the university designated solely for scholarships. The Bentson Family Scholarships will provide students with at least $5,000 each year for four years and will eventually support hundreds of students a year. Based on an overall assessment of the Freshman Admission Application, Bentson Family Scholarships will be awarded to promising incoming University of Minnesota freshmen. Factors taken into consideration include outstanding academic potential and performance, demonstrated leadership, creativity, community involvement, contribution to diversity, and financial need. A preference will be given in awarding the scholarships to students of the Jewish faith.

NEW JERSEY:
Though not currently listed online, the National Council of Jewish Women of Bergen County provides scholarships for higher education.

NEW YORK:
UJA-Federation of New York’s Scholarship Guide for New Americans - Nothing can beat this comprehensive 48-page list of all sorts of scholarships for schools in the New York region. Please note that the guide was compiled in 2001, so some scholarships may be inactive. Even if you don’t live in New York or don’t plan to attend one of the New York region’s schools, be sure to check out this document because it does include scholarships that are not limited to those constituents.

The Jewish Foundation for Education of Women sponsors scholarships for émigrés in the health sciences and co-sponsors the Rose Biller Scholarships with the UJA-Federation of New York.

The Department of Judaic Studies at SUNY Albany administers several scholarships for undergraduate and graduate students pursuing degrees within the department.

OHIO:
University of Toledo offers the Joseph & Edith Friedman Memorial Scholarship, an annual award for Jewish incoming freshmen enrolled full-time at the University of Toledo, with preference given to graduates of a Toledo area high school. 

TEXAS:
The Dallas Jewish Community Foundation awards scholarships to undergraduate and graduate students each academic year. The scholarships range from $300 to $5,000 and are primarily given to students from the area served by the Jewish Federation of Greater Dallas.

WASHINGTON, D.C., MARYLAND, VIRGINIA:
The Jewish Social Service Agency of Greater Washington sponsors a number of scholarships and loans for Jewish students who reside in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area but do not necessarily attend school there.

WISCONSIN:
The University of Madison-Wisconsin Center for Jewish Studies provides a limited number of scholarships for undergraduate students pursuing degrees in its department. The center also has several financial awards students may apply for to assist them study in Israel or perform undergraduate or graduate research.

FOR STUDY IN ISRAEL:
The Alisa Flatow Memorial Scholarship Fund is dedicated to the memory of Alisa Flatow, a 20-year-old student studying in Israel murdered in a terrorist attack in near the settlement of Kfar Darom on April 9, 1995. The Alisa Flatow Memorial Scholarship Fund has been established to encourage others to follow in Alisa's footsteps in the full-time pursuit of traditional Jewish studies at schools in the State of Israel. It is open to men and women throughout the Diaspora.