Home » Financial Assistance » Scholarships » Catholic Scholarship
Catholic Scholarship
Catholic scholarships are not as common as some of the other scholarships, largely due to the vast number of Catholic individuals that live within the United States. Providing specific funding for Catholic students would be cost prohibitive to most Catholic churches, however there are some specific scholarship programs offered. One of the differences between Catholic scholarship programs and general Christian scholarships is that Catholic scholarships are generally only applicable to Catholic private post secondary schools and often have a requirement of service to the Church upon completion of the degree or academic program. Often this may include working in the church as a missionary or in a supporting role within the church.
Catholic scholarships may also be linked to various organizations and groups that exist within the massive structure of the Catholic Church. There are several different scholarships of this nature including the Father Krewitt Scholarship, which is awarded to a student that is a member of the Kolping Society. The Kolping Society is a group that is dedicated to action and higher education and is particularly available to students that have a financial deficit that is prohibiting them from completing their education. Another Catholic group the Knights of Columbus offers sixty two Fourth Degree Pro Deo and Pro Patria Scholarships to Catholic students across the United States. Fifty of the scholarships are open to any Catholic University while 12 scholarships are specific to the Washington DC school The Catholic University of America. These renewable scholarships are $1,500 each and can be repeated as long as the student has outstanding academic performance at a Catholic University for a maximum of four years.
Various ethnic groups that make up the Catholic Church also offer specific scholarships for students of a particular cultural heritage in connection with their faith. The various groups and the websites for the scholarships include the Italian Catholic scholarship http://www.icf.org/scholarships.html, which is open to high school seniors of Italian heritage; the First Catholic Slovak Ladies Association Scholarship, for students that are either of Slavic or Czech heritage. Each of these programs provides hundreds of scholarships per year and require no further commitment of the student to any requirements other than maintaining academic standing.
For Catholic teaching professionals that wish to return to school at an accredited college or university and continue their education the National Catholic Educational Association offers several different scholarships and grants. There are several grants for teachers that are focusing on education in social justice, research on Catholic education, new initiatives in Catholic education as well as special education. In most of these scholarships the teachers must agree to share their knowledge with their colleagues and remain at the same school for at least one year after graduation. If considering this type of scholarship be sure to clearly understand the expectations of the scholarship fund and what you in turn are agreeing to fulfill upon receiving the scholarship award.
Resources: