8 Scholarships for Students Interested in Computer Science
If you’re an ambitious high school student passionate about computer science, chances are you’ve looked at a top university to pursue your future studies. However, one barrier to pursuing higher education is the cost. However, you can offset some of this cost with financial aid and scholarships! The good news is that multiple scholarships are available for high-performing students who want to pursue computer science education.
In this blog, we’ll explore eight scholarship opportunities that can help ease the financial burden and allow you to focus on achieving your academic and professional goals. Some of these scholarships are only limited to monetary benefit, while others also have a provision for mentorship and guidance throughout your undergraduate course.
1. Amazon Future Engineer Scholarship
Provider: Amazon.com, Inc.
Scholarship Amount: Up to $40,000 in total (up to $10,000/year) and a paid internship offer at Amazon after their freshman year of college
Eligibility: Open to current high school seniors or recent graduates who are permanent residents or U.S. citizens. Students must demonstrate financial need and should have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.3 on a 4.0 scale.
The Amazon Future Engineer scholarship program offers students from underserved communities who require financial assistance a scholarship of up to $40,000 towards an undergraduate degree in computer science or related fields. In the FAQ section, they have defined the majors that students need to pursue in their undergraduate courses. Selected students also get to intern at one of Amazon’s locations in the summer after their freshman year!
The applications open in October and will stay open through December every year. The maximum scholarship amount is $10,000 per year, and Amazon will determine your exact monetary award depending on your financial situation. Once determined, the amount won’t change throughout your course completion, and it will be auto-renewed as long as you maintain a good academic standing and complete the course on time.
2. Lockheed Martin STEM Scholarship Program
Provider: Lockheed Martin
Scholarship Amount: Up to $40,000 in total (up to $10,000 per year)
Eligibility: Open to current high school seniors, freshmen, sophomores, or junior undergraduate students who have U.S. citizenship. Students need to have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale.
The Lockheed Martin STEM Scholarship Program is designed to provide students from diverse backgrounds and communities historically underrepresented in STEM fields with an opportunity to pursue education and explore careers in technology. Selected recipients will be awarded $10,000 per year for a four-year undergraduate course. In 2024, 100 students were selected for this program, and the applications were evaluated by Scholarship America.
The program requires high school students to plan enrolment in one of these majors - Aerospace Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Mathematics, or Physics. For more details, you can refer to this FAQ document.
3. National Society of High School Scholars (NSHSS) Scholarships
Provider: NSHSS
Scholarship Amount: Varies based on scholarship; amounts tend to start from $1,000
Eligibility: Varies based on scholarshi, and high school scholarships are open only to members. Lifetime membership fee is $90.
NSHSS is an international honors organization that rewards high-achieving high school students and encourages their pursuit of higher education and personal growth. As a member of the organization, you can apply for a large number of college scholarships while in high school! One thing to keep in mind is that limited openings are available for every scholarship, and membership with NSHSS does not guarantee your selection for the award.
Students interested in computer science and related fields should consider applying for the NSHSS Cybersecurity Excellence Scholarship, which offers two scholarships worth $1,500 each. NSHSS Artificial Intelligence (AI) Innovation Scholarship is also a good option, offering three scholarships yearly.
If you are interested in knowing more about this, you can look at our blog, which covers the NSHSS AI Innovation Scholarship in detail!
Provider: REC Foundation
Scholarship Amount: Varies based on scholarship; amounts tend to start from $1,000
Eligibility: Varies based on scholarship and they are open only to participants from the VEX competitions.
Robotics Education & Competition Foundation is an organization that aims to spark interest in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) by offering high school and middle school students affordable and interesting robotics programs. They work in close partnership with VEX Robotics, Inc., the creator of the robotics kits and educational tools used by students, educators, and mentors, and organize the prestigious VEX Competitions!
REC partners with over 50 organizations, universities, and colleges to offer a scholarship program to students who compete in the various REC programs. Every scholarship has a different application process and eligibility criteria, you can check out all available scholarships here.
For example, this scholarship from Intertech is open only to high school seniors interested in pursuing computer science in college, with a minimum GPA of 3.3 on a 4.0 scale. It offers a $2,500 award per year to selected recipients.
5. Cooke College Scholarship Program
Provider: Jack Kent Cooke Foundation
Scholarship Amount: Up to $55,000 per year
Eligibility: Open to high school seniors residing and attending a high school in the United States or a U.S. territory. Students need to have a cumulative unweighted GPA of 3.5 or above and a family annual gross income of up to $95,000.
The Cooke College Scholarship Program is a highly competitive undergraduate scholarship program available to talented high school seniors with financial needs who aim to attend and graduate from some of the top colleges and universities. Recipients are eligible to earn awards as high as $55,000 but will vary by individual, based on the cost of tuition and other grants or scholarships they may receive.
Apart from the monetary award, you will also be given personal advice about selecting a college and navigating financial aid. You will also be advised about transitioning to college and maximizing the student experience. In 2023, 60 College Scholars were selected for the program.
Provider: Michigan Technological University
Scholarship Amount: $4,000 per year, renewed annually depending on the student's performance
Eligibility: Open to high school seniors who have competed in the FIRST Robotics Competition, FIRST Tech Challenge team, or VEX Robotics and want to pursue an undergraduate degree at MTU.
Michigan Technological University offers the FIRST Scholarship for incoming first-year students pursuing any major. Participation in a FIRST Robotics Competition, FIRST Tech Challenge team, or VEX Robotics during high school is the only requirement.
While it follows that students who participated in such competitions will be included in robotics and computer science, recipients of the awards are free to pursue the major of their choice. What’s more, you remain eligible for any other financial aid even after this award.
The awards are given to only 16 participants every year, and the auto-renewal is contingent on you keeping a cumulative GPA of 2.5 on a 4.0 scale.
Provider: C3 Integrated Solutions
Scholarship Amount: $10,000 Over Two Years of College
Eligibility: Open to high school juniors who have a GPA of 2.5 or higher. The 2022 program was open only to students from Massachusetts, and eligibility for the 2024 program might change.
The Steel Root scholarship is open to high school juniors interested in technologies like cybersecurity and belongs to underprivileged communities. There will only be a single award of $10,000, which will be given to the student in two installments: $5,000 at the start of the freshman year and $5,000 at the beginning of the sophomore year.
The scholarship also includes free college preparation and career services through Leap for Education's College Success Program. A C3 cybersecurity professional will be nominated to serve as a mentor to meet with the student quarterly through the final year of high school and into freshman year of college so you can be assured of a comprehensive experience.
Provider: Edison International
Scholarship Amount: $50,000 for the four-year course
Eligibility: Open to high school seniors with a cumulative 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale, currently studying in high schools within Southern California Edison’s service area. You can check all the cities that fall in that area here.
The Edison Scholars Program allows high school seniors to earn $50,000 in scholarships for their education in STEM fields only. Selected students will have to take up STEM majors, including computer and information systems, engineering, engineering technology, management information systems, mathematics, natural resources and conservation, and physical sciences.
The top 50 finalists will be required to submit a short video and might be required to participate in a final interview, depending on the competitiveness of the application process. Scholarships are awarded to only 30 outstanding students each year who have a financial need. The application portal opens every year in the fall,, and decisions are made based on academic accomplishments and financial needs.
If you’re looking to build unique projects in the field of AI/ML, consider applying to Veritas AI!
Veritas AI was founded by Harvard graduate students, and through the programs, you get a chance to learn the fundamentals of AI and computer science while collaborating on real-world projects. You can also work 1-1 with mentors from universities like Harvard, Stanford, MIT, and more to create unique, personalized projects. In the past year, we had over 1000 students learn data science and AI with us. You can apply here!