Minnesota Scholarships

Introduction to Minnesota scholarships

The state of Minnesota is home more than 80 public universities, two-year community colleges, and private undergraduate and graduate universities combined. Whether you’re a high school senior looking at attending a Minnesota college or university, or you’re a current college student at one of Minnesota, many institutions, this post highlights many great scholarships and resources for you to take advantage of. 

Let's go over a few of Minnesota's best scholarships for students.

Minnesota scholarships to apply for

  • Amount: $1,000

    Deadline: March 31, June 30, September 30, December 31

    While our quarterly scholarship is not exclusive to Minnesota students, it’s a great no-essay scholarship to apply for in addition to the scholarships on this list! Open to high school, college, and graduate students of all years. DACA students are also encouraged to apply.

  • Amount: $25,000

    Deadline: Monthly

    Details: This monthly scholarship is open to all college students!  Just fill out one simple registration form.

  • Amount: up to the cost of Tuition

    Deadline: Rolling

    Eligibility:  The North Star Promise (NSP) Scholarship program will create a tuition and fee-free pathway to higher education for eligible Minnesota residents at eligible institutions as a “last-dollar” program by covering the balance of tuition and fees remaining after other scholarships, grants, stipends and tuition waivers have been applied.

  • Amount: up to $5,000

    Deadline: Varies

    Eligibility: Are you a Minnesota resident attending one of the 26 community and technical colleges of Minnesota State? If so, you may be eligible for the Minnesota State Workforce Development Scholarships! Each year, the scholarship awards $2,500 (per academic term) to multiple eligible students pursuing the fields of Education, Public Safety, Construction, Advanced Manufacturing, Agriculture, Health Care Services, Information Technology, Early Childhood Education, or Transportation.

  • Amount: up to $5,000

    Deadline: Rolling

    Eligibility: Are you a Minnesota resident attending one of the 26 community and technical colleges of Minnesota State? If so, you may be eligible for the Minnesota State Workforce Development Scholarships! Each year, the scholarship awards $2,500 (per academic term) to multiple eligible students pursuing the fields of Education, Public Safety, Construction, Advanced Manufacturing, Agriculture, Health Care Services, Information Technology, Early Childhood Education, or Transportation.

  • Amount: $4,000

    Deadline: Varies

    Eligibility: Are you an undergraduate or vocational student from Minnesota, and are enrolled at least half-time? If so, you may be eligible for the Minnesota Office of Higher Education Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant! Each year, the scholarship grant awards up to $4,000 to multiple eligible Minnesota undergraduates who demonstrate financial need.

  • Amount: Varies

    Deadline: Varies

    Eligibility: High school students from 38 Twin Cities-area high schools are eligible to be considered for a Wallin Education Partners Scholarship. Selection decisions are based on academic achievement, community and family involvement and higher education potential as determined by success in academic coursework, letters of recommendation and demonstrated financial need.

  • Amount: $1,000

    Deadline: January 9

    Eligibility:  To be eligible, you must be a member of Future Farmers of America.

  • Amount: $2,000

    Deadline: January 31

    Eligibility: InspirASIAN makes a difference in our community by supporting graduating high school seniors with their college education through our scholarship awards. InspirASIAN awards national scholarships to students residing in any state with a participating local InspirASIAN chapter.

  • Amount: $20,000

    Deadline: February 1

    Eligibility: The Barry Scholarship Program is available to graduating seniors who participate in the Philanthropy and Youth (PaY) program at participating North Dakota and Minnesota high schools. Recipients are chosen for their leadership potential, character, and involvement in the PaY program.

  • Amount: $1,500

    Deadline: February 2

    Eligibility:Scholarships are open to students planning to major in journalism, broadcasting or electronic media at an accredited post-secondary educational institution.

  • Amount: Varies

    Deadline: February 14

    Eligibility: Shari Simon Greenberg Community Scholarships of the Simon Youth Foundation are available to high school seniors living near a Simon mall or in the surrounding communities.

  • Amount: $2,500

    Deadline: March 1

    Eligibility: Two scholarships will be awarded to a mid-west student pursuing a Bachelor degree in welding engineering, welding engineering technology, manufacturing or mechanical engineering with a welding emphasis.

  • Amount: $12,000

    Deadline: March 11

    Eligibility: PFund’s scholarship fund is used to provide scholarships to LGBTQ+ learners from the upper Midwest at all stages of their educations.

  • Amount: up to $11,000

    Deadline: March 15

    Eligibility: The Catch a Break!® Scholarship Program was established to assist highly motivated Minnesota residents who have faced challenges in life and learned from them, and are now enrolling for the first time in post-secondary education.

  • Amount: $2,000

    Deadline: March 31

    Eligibility: The Sterbenz-Ryan Scholarship is to assist students residing in Minnesota and Wisconsin who plan to enroll full-time in undergraduate study at an accredited two- or four- year college, university, or vocational-technical school in the United States for the entire upcoming academic year. Qualified applicants must be high school seniors, high school graduates or current postsecondary undergraduates residing in Minnesota or Wisconsin with a grade point average of 2.5 to 3.5 on a 4.0 scale, or its equivalent.

  • Amount: $1,000

    Deadline: April 1

    Eligibility:  Are you an immigrant, child of immigrants, or undocumented student with demonstrated need attending one of Minnesota State’s two-year colleges? If so, you may be eligible for the John and Kathryn O’Brien Scholarship! Each semester, the scholarship awards $1,000 to multiple such students who are currently attending a Minnesota state two-year college and have a minimum 3.0 GPA.

  • Amount: $1,000

    Deadline: May 1

    Eligibility:  The Minnesota AFL-CIO Scholarships are for high school seniors graduating this school year. Applicants must be union members or dependents of union members whose local union is affiliated with the Minnesota AFL-CIO.

  • Amount: $2,000

    Deadline: June 1

    Eligibility: Are you a college-bound high school junior in Minnesota? If so, you may be eligible for the Minnesota Association of Townships Scholarship Program! Each year, the scholarship awards $2,000 to up to five Minnesota high school juniors who submit the best 450-500-word essays on townships.

  • Amount: $750

    Deadline: November 15

    Eligibility: Amount of scholarship varies, but is generally $750, and is based on the number of qualified applicants. Undergraduate students entering their junior year may apply if they are enrolled in a degree program at an accredited 4-year college or university, majoring in accounting with the intention to practice in the field of public accounting.

  • Amount: Full Tuition

    Deadline: November 28

    Eligibility: Students are eligible to apply if they: love their community and want to use their college education to make a difference as a leader on campus and at home;

    are not currently enrolled at a four-year college (students at two-year colleges may apply); live in one of our seven Act Six program sites; and want to attend at least one of the Act Six partner colleges in their program site.

Additional scholarship and financial aid resources for Minnesota students

A great resource for Minnesota students comes from the Minnesota Office of Higher Education. Students can access a lot of great resources on the site by completing the online form to apply.

Minnesota student debt snapshot 

According to the Department of Education, Minnesota residents owe $26.6 billion in federal student loan debt with student borrowers, owing on average $34,292.  54.5% of these loan borrowers are under the age of 35 and 13.5% of all state residents have student loan debt.

When looking for ways to fund your higher education journey, remember that scholarships allow you to take fewer loans. Be sure to apply for as many as you’re eligible. You will surely want to take advantage of any merit & need-based scholarships from colleges in Minnesota.