Women's History Month

Celebrating Women’s History Month by highlighting STEM scholarships for women is an excellent way to support and empower women in fields where they are traditionally underrepresented. Here are some notable STEM scholarships for women:

Palantir Future Scholarship is to celebrate and support students from underrepresented groups in STEM who are beginning careers in technology. We hope to encourage these students in their computer science, engineering, and technical studies, and celebrate their potential to become leaders in these fields. We especially encourage students attending US-based Minority Serving Institutions to apply.

This year, 10 scholarship recipients will be chosen and invited to participate in our professional development workshops, designed to prepare them to successfully launch their careers in technology. Scholarship recipients who are eligible for their 2024 internship and full-time roles will have the opportunity to interview for bigger opportunities

All recipients will be awarded grants of $7,000 to support their education.

The Future Scholarship North America is open to students who:

• Are undergraduate or masters students actively enrolled in an accredited U.S., Canadian, or Mexican university during the academic years that the scholarship is awarded, i.e. you must be enrolled in both the current (2023-24) and upcoming (2024-25) academic years.
• Are a freshman, sophomore, or junior who are majoring in or plan to major in the fields of Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a closely related technical field.
• Are from an underrepresented group in STEM. This includes (but is not limited to) individuals from ethnic/racial minority groups, women, veterans, individuals with disabilities, and members of the LGBTQ+ community.
• Have not been a Palantir scholarship recipient in the past.

Criteria to apply:

• Two (2) essay-style responses to the provided prompts. Note: If you are eligible to apply for multiple Palantir scholarships you may submit the same essay responses for each application.
• Your most recent resume or CV. Please ensure that your university, major, and expected graduation year are listed clearly.

The 2024 application period is now open. The deadline to apply is Friday, 22 March 2024 at 4:00 PM PST.

Various organizations and companies offer scholarships specifically for women pursuing degrees and careers in cybersecurity. These scholarships aim to address the gender gap in the cybersecurity industry and support women in advancing their careers in this field.

ISC2 WOMEN’S SCHOLARSHIP APPLICANTS: 

You will need to apply for the Undergraduate or Graduate Scholarships in order to be considered for one of those awards, applications will NOT be automatically transferred. You will be able to import your application information and documents directly into the Undergraduate or Graduate application. Just click on the link for the appropriate scholarship and look for the import button on the top right of your dashboard.

AWARDS

• Up to ten scholarships will be awarded. Each scholarship award will be between $1,000 – $5,000
• If awarded: the funds will be sent to the school with instructions that it be applied to tuition, fees, books and required materials. Recipients do NOT recieve award funds.
• Awards must be accepted within three (3) weeks of award notification. If the award has not been accepted it will be awarded to another applicant.
• All awards must be disbursed to the recipient’s educational institution by Dec. 31st of the award year. Awards will NOT carry over to the following year.
• Awards do not renew. You will need to reapply each year in order to be considered for another award.

ELIGIBILITY

• Must be pursuing, or plan to pursue, a degree with a focus on cybersecurity, information assurance or similar field in the fall of 2024.
• Must be pursuing an associates, undergraduate, graduate, or post graduate degree in 2024. 
• GPA must be at least 3.3 on a 4.0 scale (or an analogous rank based on a comparable scale).
• You may be a citizen of any country (US citizenship not required).
• May be attending on campus or online.
• May be attending full time or part time
• May be attending in the US or Internationally
• You do not currently need to be enrolled, however no awards will be disbursed until the recipient is enrolled in a college or university.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED

1. Unofficial transcripts from your current (or most recent) educational institution. If awarded; no funds will be disbursed until official transcripts have been received.
2. One Letter of Recommendation outlining the following:
3. How long have you known the applicant and in what capacity?
4. What skills or abilities does the applicant have that will support him/her in completing a degree?
5. What other information about the applicant should be taken into consideration?
6. Academic references are preferred; however, you may submit a professional letter of reference addressing the points above.
7. Resume/CV – No more than 3 pages maximum.
8. Essay questions to be filled out in application::
9. Tell us why you should be chosen to receive this women’s cybersecurity scholarship and what makes you stand out from your peers?
10. Describe why you need the scholarship.
11. Describe your personal and education backgrounds.
12. What – or who – inspired you to pursue a career in cybersecurity? What makes you a candidate for success in information security and what are your goals for your professional career.
13. When you graduate and secure a career in our industry, what steps can you take to “pay it forward” by supporting other women (currently in school, recent graduates, mid career transition) new to our field? 
14. Describe any contributions to the cybersecurity field i.e., volunteer work, articles, etc., and any other hobbies or extracurricular activities and what they mean to you. (Do not include links to articles)

SCORING CRITERIA 

Applicants will be scored by members of ISC2 and scholarship sponsors (if applicable). Scoring will be based upon three categories:

1. Passion
2. Merit
3. Financial Need

These are just a few examples of the many STEM scholarships available to women. It’s important for women to explore all available opportunities and to apply for scholarships that align with their academic and career goals. To be matched with life-changing scholarships visit www.ioscholarships.com