Scholarships for Accounting Students

Some providers restrict scholarship eligibility to accounting majors, but majors like statistics, mathematics, and actuarial science may also qualify if you demonstrate a commitment to launching an accounting career. You can also find funding programs specifically for learners pursuing specialized degrees in areas like auditing, forensic accounting, or management accounting.

For example, the Ritchie-Jennings Memorial Scholarship Program from the directory below provides funding to students interested in fraud examination or an anti-fraud profession.

Other programs, such as the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Foundation Accounting Doctoral Fellowship from the directory below, help to fund accounting students at specific program or degree levels. These scholarships begin at the accounting certificate level, proceeding through the associate degree and bachelor’s degree levels, and continue into scholarships for students in accounting master’s programs.

Doctoral programs in accounting are relatively rare, but they tend to offer unique funding opportunities not commonly available at lower levels, such as research stipends and teaching assistantships.

Your enrollment status could also lead to unique scholarship opportunities. Students who choose to study part time or online often do so because they need to balance work and school to pay for their education. Recognizing this, scholarship providers operate need-based funding programs for eligible learners.

If you work, you should also check to see if your employer offers tuition reimbursement or other funding programs to employees who attend college part time. Employers can provide as much as $5,250 in tax-free education assistance, or more if the education relates directly to your job.

Along similar lines, some scholarships specifically support transfer students. As an example from the directory below, the TACTYC Scholarships program offers funding to degree-seekers continuing their accounting studies at a two-year college.

The accounting profession continues to become more diverse, thanks in part to scholarship programs geared toward students from historically underrepresented groups. According to the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), Hispanic and Latino/a students now make up 13% of accounting graduates, Asian and Pacific Islander students account for 9%, and Black students earn 7% of accounting degrees. Examples of these groups include women, members of racial or ethnic minorities, and people in the LGBTQ+ community.

Many providers award scholarships to applicants from diverse backgrounds. The directory below includes many examples, including the American Dream Scholarship and the Clark Burrus Scholarship, which support historically underrepresented students.

Scholarships are often designed to reward military personnel for their service. Depending on the provider, you may qualify as an active-duty serviceperson, reservist, veteran, direct family member, or emerging service professional.

While the directory below does not include any accounting scholarships specifically for military students, you can connect with funding opportunities by following this link: Financial Aid for Military & Veterans.

Corporate donors commonly operate scholarship programs, with financial services and certified public accounting (CPA) firms ranking among the most common providers of accounting scholarships.

Some major corporations offer generous awards. For example, the Deloitte Foundation Accounting Scholars Program, which is listed in the directory below, covers 100% of tuition and academic fees for one academic year.

Some nonprofit organizations earmark a portion of their funding for accounting scholarships. While corporate scholarships generally intend to advance the provider’s branding objectives while doubling as recruitment tools, nonprofit providers more commonly offer awards aligned with their organizational mission. The National Association of Black Accountants (NABA) National Scholarship, listed below, is an excellent example.

Accounting societies, institutes, and professional organizations frequently offer need-based and merit-based scholarships to accounting students. For instance, the directory below includes many awards from the AICPA Foundation, a more than 100-year-old career development organization aligned with the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

In some cases, providers require recipients to have or obtain membership in their organization. This could involve membership fees and other expenses, so research requirements carefully before preparing an application.

Some providers design government-specific accounting scholarships to attract learners planning careers in the public sector. Government ties with finance and insurance as the second-largest employer of accountants and auditors in the United States, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Frank L. Greathouse Government Accounting Scholarship from the directory below is an excellent example of a government-specific scholarship. Founded in 1987, this scholarship awards $10,000 to an accounting student with a dedicated commitment to a public-sector career.

Scholarship providers may restrict eligibility to applicants from a specific location or geographic area. In some cases, location-based criteria overlap with other categories, such as scholarships from accounting societies and scholarships for diverse learners. These policies are generally designed to ensure the education funding has a tangible local impact.

While the directory below mainly focuses on scholarships open to a national applicant base, you can and should search for location-based programs designed for accounting students in your state, county, or municipality.

You can also seek accounting scholarships that are only available for students or alumni of specific high schools or colleges. Providers may offer these funding programs to both current and prospective accounting students.

The directory below does not feature any school-specific scholarships. However, you should check with the financial aid office at the institution where you study or plan to study to see what scholarships they offer.