15 Best Catholic Scholarships for Graduate Students

Did you know there are several Catholic scholarships for graduate students that can help you reduce or even totally waive your educational fees? We’ll list these scholarships shortly.

Undoubtedly, Catholic or other faith-based Universities have their own unique advantages over usual secular colleges. One of them includes Christian values, yes normal university has their own ethical values, but we won’t deny that these other schools can still tolerate some activities and beliefs that you won’t see in Christian Schools.

Also, because they are Catholic schools, doesn’t mean they only focus on faith-based degrees or give less attention to academic excellence. That’s absolutely not true, most of these schools are so outstanding in their academic delivery that they are ranked among the top universities in the country.

The downside we would all agree with is their tuition fee, they are quite high even for a graduate degree program, that’s why they also provide different scholarships and financial aid to reduce these expenses. Moreover, if you intend to pursue a graduate program in healthcare, these scholarships should be best for you, and if you’re a woman then go through these scholarships exclusively for graduate women.

We would advise disabled graduate students to also try these low-competitive (but productive) scholarships. Let’s get straight ahead to list these awards.

Catholic scholarships for graduate students

Catholic Scholarships for Graduate Students

1. St. John’s University – Catholic School Educator Grant

  • Award: 40% tuition reduction

Just like scholarships, grants are not repaid. This grant is awarded to full-time teachers and administrators in Catholic schools for one master’s degree, one advanced certificate, or one doctoral degree.

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2. Marquette University Graduate School Scholarships

  • Awards: Two-thirds of tuition charges up to six credits per term

Marquette University Graduate School provides Catholic scholarships for graduate students through the Catholic Schools Personnel Scholarship (CSPS) for candidates who are employed by the Archdiocese of Milwaukee or by the Archdiocese main office as teachers, administrators, or other professionals.

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3. Augustine Institute – St. John Paul II Scholarship

  • Award: Full Scholarship

I love one of the statements Augustine Institute boldly made, they said, “We Exist to Bear Witness to the Truth;

If this sounds surprising, that is because the default setting of the age is to deny that truth exists or willfully to forget, to hide, or to water it down. But the loss of truth brings confusion and desolation—which is why sharing the truth is one of the greatest works of mercy.”

Let that sink in a little bit.

Anyway, their graduate scholarship doesn’t only take care of the full tuition of scholars but also gives these scholars the privilege to work as apostolic interns for one of the Institute’s programs or for another Catholic apostolate in Denver.

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4. St. John Henry Newman and Saint Jean de Brebeuf Scholarships

  • Award Partial Scholarship

This is one of the Catholic scholarships for graduate students provided by Augustine Institute Campus in Denver, Colorado, to students who demonstrate a faithful commitment to the New Evangelization as well as an aptitude for theological studies. Newman scholarships are awarded to students applying for the MA in Theology, and Brebeuf scholarships are awarded to students applying for the MA in Leadership for the New Evangelization.

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5. Fordham University – Graduate School of Education Scholarship

  • Award: 40-50% of tuition charges up to six credits per semester

This is another scholarship that requires candidates to be full-time employees of Catholic or faith-based nonpublic schools who are pursuing degrees and/or certificates at the Fordham University Graduate School of Education. However, receiving this scholarship might hinder you from receiving other financial assistance.

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6. Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore Scholarships

  • Award: Up to full scholarship

Università Cattolica is one of the few Catholic colleges in Italy that ensures that several students are exempted from tuition annually. In fact, about 3,000 students are exempted from paying university fees on the basis of merit and financial conditions, and 4,000 receive additional financial benefits.

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7. Graduate Assistantships at the Catholic University of America

  • Award: Partial Funding

The Catholic University of America is a private university in the United States and was founded in 1887 making it one of the older universities in the United States. They provide Catholic scholarships for graduate students, which are for both Master’s and PhD students.

One of the interesting things is that anyone from any country is eligible for it.

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8. McGrath Institute for Jesuit Catholic Education

Up to six units per year of scholarship is provided to students enrolled in the Catholic Educational MA & EdD programs and the Catholic Educational Leadership Advanced Studies Certificate and the Transformative School Leadership program with MA or EDD in Catholic Educational Leadership.

For more inquiries, please contact 

9. University of San Francisco – Catholic Educator Reduced Tuition Rate

  • Award: 40% reduced tuition rate

For Catholic school employees, teachers, volunteers, or students who are connected to a Catholic organization and who are applying to a USF teacher credential program, they will receive a 40% reduced tuition rate. It doesn’t matter whether you’re yet to enroll or you’re already admitted.

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10. University of Mary – Graduate Scholarships

University of Mary understands how burdensome going back to school can be especially if you’re a working adult. So they decided to provide their programs both evening and online programs, and they also made the cost of it to be very affordable.

To add to that, they still provide some Catholic scholarships for graduate students such as;

  • Scholarships for Employees of our Business Partners
  • Scholarship for FOCUS Alumni
  • Scholarships for Catholic Educators

and, many others

11. DePaul University Scholarships

  • Award: 10% to 25% off tuition

DePaul University provides two graduate scholarship programs which are;

  • Double Demon Scholarship: awarded to DePaul alumni doing graduate work at DePaul, covering 25% of tuition for a master’s degree.
  • DePaul Graduate Catholic Scholarship: covers 10% of tuition.

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12. Canisius University Specialized Scholarships

  • Awards: Varies

Just like DePaul University, Canisius University also provides two (2) kinds of graduate scholarship programs which are;

  • The Vincent and Harriet Palisano Foundation Catholic Educator Scholarship: is available for employees of all New York Roman Catholic Dioceses and can cover up to 1/3 of tuition costs.
  • Canisius Jesuit Mission Grant: A 20% tuition discount is awarded to accepted graduate students who completed one year of service.

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13. Seton Hall University Graduate Scholarships

  • Awards: Varies

Our list of Catholic scholarships for graduate students wouldn’t be complete if we didn’t mention these, not just because of their enormous aids, but also because of the school’s outstanding performance and recognition. They are so good at what they do that they are ranked top by The Princeton Review, U.S. News & World Report, and Bloomberg Businessweek.

They have so many scholarships to choose from like the;

  • Boren Scholarship
  • Churchill Scholarship and Kanders Churchill Scholarship
  • Daniel B. Goldberg Scholarship

Etc.

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14. Cardinal Stritch University – Tuition Incentives for Graduate Students

Besides the internal graduate scholarships provided by Cardinal Stritch University, they also have numerous donor-funded scholarships available for students. Some of their internal scholarships include;

  • Boys and Girls Clubs Partnership Incentive: 20% tuition reduction
  • Ruth S. Coleman College of Nursing and Health Sciences Scholarship
  • Catholic Educators Incentive: 50% reduction

And more

15. Sacred Heart University – Dr. Thomas Pepe Scholarship

The Sacred Heart University is recognized as the first Catholic University in America to be led and staffed by lay people, and they have also gone ahead to be recognized by both U.S. News & World Report, and The Princeton Review. Their Dr. Thomas Pepe Scholarship is awarded to Sacred Heart University graduate student who have completed at least one term toward an MAT degree or Sixth-Year Degree who will be attending in the fall semester. 

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Conclusion

There are still other Catholic scholarships for masters students, in fact, most graduate Catholic schools provide financial assistance (that doesn’t need to be repaid) one way or the other.

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