We all know that scholarships are available from many colleges and universities, but some may be surprised to learn that corporate scholarships are also an option to pay for college. Many companies — from small businesses to major corporations — offer scholarships and grants to college students.
Often, you don’t need to be an employee or a relative of an employee to qualify. Most company scholarships are awarded based on academic merit or financial need, and ranging in value from a few hundred dollars to awards that cover full tuition.
25 Corporate scholarships
To qualify for a corporate scholarship, you’ll need to do some research. This includes finding out which companies offer scholarships, their eligibility requirements and when the deadline is to submit your application.
To give you a head start, we identified 25 major companies that give scholarships to college students. Some of these are aimed at a specific group of students, based on their heritage or field of study — both indicated in boldface below.
1. Amazon
2. AstraZeneca
3. BMW
4. Burger King
5. Charter Communications
6. Chevron
7. Coca-Cola
8. CVS
9. Dell
10. Duck Brand
11. Fontana Transport
12. Google
13. Lilly
14. Microsoft
15. McDonald’s
16. MPower Financing
17. Rover
18. Salix Pharmaceuticals
19. Sallie Mae
20. Shell
21. SignatureCare
22. Taco Bell
23. Tylenol
24. U.S. Bank
25. Your local credit union
1. Amazon
Amount: Up to $40,000 ($10,000 Per Year)
The Amazon Future Engineer Scholarship provides eligible students with $10,000 per year towards an undergraduate degree in computer science, up to a maximum of $40,000. Award winners are also guaranteed a summer internship at Amazon.
To qualify, you must be a high school senior in the U.S. with a demonstrated financial need for assistance and plan to major in computer science or a related field.
In the past, applications were available from November through February.
2. AstraZeneca
Amount: Up to $15,000
AstraZeneca, a pharmaceutical company, partnered with the Tom Joyner Foundation to present the AstraZeneca Scholarship Program. It provides scholarships to students in science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) that attend a Historically Black College or University (HBCU).
Award recipients will receive up to $15,000, along with a mentorship from an AstraZeneca employee.
To apply, students must submit a video essay, transcript and completed application. In previous years, the application deadline was in December.
3. BMW
Amount: $1,500
The German automaker partnered with the Society of Auto Engineers to award a renewable scholarship of $1,500 per year. To qualify, students must be incoming first-year college students with a strong academic record and pursue an engineering or related science degree through an ABET-accredited program.
Applications are accepted from January through March.
4. Burger King
Amount: $1,000 to $50,000
In addition to scholarships for employees and their dependents, the Burger King Scholars Program also has scholarships for high school seniors that aren’t connected to the company. The general high school track scholarship is for graduating high school seniors with a GPA of 2.0 or higher that are enrolled at an accredited two-year or four-year college or university.
The application deadline is usually in mid-December.
5. Charter Communications
Amount: Up to $20,000
Charter Communications’ Spectrum Scholars program is for rising college juniors with financial need that identify as Asian/Pacific Islander, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino or Native American. Students receive $10,000 for their junior year and $10,000 for their senior year, for a maximum of $20,000. Winning students are also mentored by a Charter Communications employee and have the opportunity to intern at one of the company’s corporate campuses.
Applications typically become available in January.
6. Chevron
Amount: $5,000
Chevron partnered with the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) to fund undergraduate and graduate STEM degrees for Indigenous people of North America. To qualify, students must identify as American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or as a member of the First Nations.
Eligible students will receive $5,000 per academic year. Continuing scholarships may be awarded, but students have to reapply every year.
Applications for the scholarship are due in May.
7. Coca-Cola
Amount: $20,000
The Coca-Cola Scholars Program awards $20,000 to eligible students. To qualify, students must be high-achieving high school seniors with a minimum GPA of 3.0 or above.
Coca-Cola also has two other scholarship programs for students attending community college, issued in partnership with the Phi Theta Kappa honors society.
Applications are usually due at the end of October.
8. CVS
Amount: $10,000
CVS Health partnered with the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) to offer the CVS Health Scholarship. It provides $10,000 in financial aid to students attending a TMCF-member school.
Undergraduate students must have at least a 3.0 GPA, be enrolled at an eligible school and plan to major in pre-pharmacy, biology, pre-medicine, chemistry, clinical laboratory science, environmental health, health administration, health information management or respiratory therapy.
Applications are available in February, and must be submitted by April.
9. Dell
Amount: $20,000
Funded by the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, the Dell Scholars Program awards $20,000 to full-time college students with financial need. To qualify, students must participate in a Michael & Susan Dell Foundation-approved college readiness program in grades 11 and 12.
In addition to the scholarship, award recipients also receive a laptop, credits to buy used textbooks and mentorship.
Applications are available starting in October each year and must be submitted by the beginning of December.
10. Duck Brand
Amount: Up to $10,000
One of the more unique awards is the Duck Brand Stuck at Prom scholarship, which gives up to $10,000 to students that use Duck Brand duct tape or crafting tape to design their prom outfits. Students submit their photos, and the public votes on their favorites to decide the winner.
Students usually have to send in their photos and scholarship application by the end of March.
11. Fontana Transport
Amount: Up to $5,000
Fontana Transport, a family-owned company, issues scholarships to first-generation high school seniors. To qualify, students must be pursuing four-year degrees at an accredited university and major in transportation management, math, science, engineering, architecture, environmental design,pre-med, psychology or the Spanish language.
Students must have a GPA of 3.5 or higher, and applications are typically due in mid-March.
12. Google
Amount: $10,000
Google offers several scholarships, but the largest is the Generation Google Scholarship award. It gives up to $10,000 to college students studying computer science. Google encourages students belonging to groups that have been historically excluded from technology careers, such as those that are women, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latinx, American Indian or Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander.
Applications typically become available at the beginning of the calendar year.
13. Lilly
Amount: Up to $5,000
Lilly, a pharmaceutical company, contributes to the Diabetes Scholar Program. It issues scholarships of $1,000 to $5,000 to graduating high school seniors with type I diabetes. It’s given to students pursuing degrees in policy or advocacy-related work.
Applications must be submitted by early April.
14. Microsoft
Amount: Up to $20,000
The Blacks at Microsoft Scholarship provides eligible students with $2,500 to $20,000 in financial assistance. The scholarship was designed to help Black and African American students pursue careers in technology. To qualify, students must be high-school seniors of African descent and plan to attend a four-year college immediately after graduation.
The deadline for the scholarship is usually mid-March.
15. McDonald’s
Amount: Up to $100,000
The McDonald’s® HACER® National Scholarship is meant for high school seniors with Hispanic heritage who have a GPA of 2.8 or better. It provides up to $100,000 in scholarship awards per student.
Applications become available in the fall.
16. MPower Financing
Amount: Up to $10,000
MPower Financing, a student loan company that specializes in student loans for international students, operates the Global Citizen Scholarship Program for international students. Eligible full-time students in the U.S. or Canada can qualify for up to $10,000 in scholarships.
The deadline for the scholarship is typically in mid-January.
17. Rover
Amount: $2,500
Rover, the pet-sitting app, offers up to $2,500 to eligible students that submit an essay. High school seniors, first-year college students, sophomores and juniors are eligible for the scholarship, as well as graduate students. You must have a GPA of 3.0 or higher to qualify for the scholarship.
Applications are due at the beginning of May.
18. Salix Pharmaceuticals
Amount: Up to $10,000
The Salix Gastrointestinal Health Scholar Awards gives qualifying students up to $10,000 toward their undergraduate or graduate degrees. To qualify for the award, students must submit an application and write an essay about how their gastrointestinal condition has impacted their education.
Applications are usually due at the end of May.
19. Sallie Mae
Amount: Up to $10,000
The Sallie Mae Bridging the Dream Scholarship is issued in partnership with the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. It’s designed for high school seniors from minority groups and other historically underserved communities.
Applications become available in January and are due by the end of February every year.
20. Shell
Amount: $2,500
The Shell Company Technical Scholarship and Shell Incentive Fund Scholarship give $2,500 to graduating high school seniors enrolling at accredited universities to study engineering or geosciences.
Applications are usually due by mid-March.
21. SignatureCare
Amount: $1,000
The SignatureCare Emergency Center College Scholarship program gives $1,000 to prospective medical students enrolled full-time at accredited universities. To qualify, students must submit a video addressing a question and write an essay.
There are two application rounds per year, one in the fall and one in the spring.
22. Taco Bell
Amount: Up to $25,000
Taco Bell’s Live Más Scholarship gives up to $25,000 to its recipients. It’s issued to students enrolled in post-secondary programs, including community colleges, universities, trade schools and technical schools.
To qualify, students must submit a video answering questions about their college and career plans.
Applications are accepted beginning in November, and the deadline is usually in early January.
23. Tylenol
Amount: Up to $10,000
The Tylenol FutureCare Scholarship awards up to $10,000 to graduate students or college seniors that plan to attend graduate school. Students must be enrolled in medical school or a nursing or pharmaceutical program.
Applications become available in May and must be submitted by the end of June.
24. U.S. Bank
Amount: Up to $14,000
The U.S. Bank Student Scholarship is a sweepstakes that awards up to $14,000 to pay for your tuition. To qualify, you must fill out a registration form and complete financial education lessons. A winner is randomly selected from eligible registrants.
In the past, the promotion accepted registrants between February and October.
25. Your local credit union
Amount: Varies
Many credit unions operate their own scholarship programs. For example, Fairwinds Credit Union gives $2,500 to high school seniors, while the Community First Credit Union gives up to $8,000 to eligible students through its Raymond A. Vinson Scholarship program.
You can find a credit union near you with the National Credit Union Administration’s credit union locator tool.
Look for more company scholarships
As the data show, the majority of college students leave school with student loan debt. Using scholarships and grants from companies and non-profit organizations can help reduce the need for student loans and lower your overall education costs.
In fact, many companies don’t just offer scholarships, but also might help you pay off student loans you already have. But before resorting to taking out debt, be sure to exhaust all of your “gift aid” options.
You might not have thought that, for example, online lenders or brick-and-mortar banks would actually hand out aid that doesn’t need to be repaid. But the truth is that there are many such companies that give scholarships.
And if you’ve already taken care of your college costs for the current term, you can get a headstart on next year with our guide for finding scholarships.