Central Washington University | Scholarships and Grants

Scholarships and Grants

List of CWU Scholarships by Major/Program

Did you know that there are many scholarships and grants that can help future teachers pay for school? CWU, Washington state, and the Federal Government all offer financial support to become a teacher.

Scholarships Open to All Education Majors
The following list of scholarships are open to any education major. Some of them have GPA or essay requirements. Find details and apply for these scholarships through Scholarship Central.

Education Scholarships that support students who have financial need (complete the FAFSA or WAFSA)
- Robert D. Malde Memorial Scholarship
- Nancy J. Noller Scholarship Fund
- Albert E. Gerritz Memorial Scholarship
- Gladys H. Hart Teacher Scholarship
- Kenneth Keener Scholarship
- Joyce L. Johnson Scholarship
- Catherine Hall Moe Scholarship in Education
- Neal and Linda Ottmar Scholarship
- Robert E. & Alma E. McConnell Scholarship
- Zelma L. Burke Scholarship
Education Scholarship that do not require financial need
- Lillian Clark Canzler Scholarship
- Amanda K. Hebeler Scholarship
- Morton Sisters Scholarship
- Frances Kilkenny Peek Scholarship
- Virginia Funkley Ward Education Scholarship
- Gary Brown Scholarship
- N. May Spurling Jankowski Memorial Education Scholarship
Education Scholarships for specific locations
- Richard Miller Education Scholarship - graduates of Cle Elum-Roslyn High School
- Adeline Family Scholarship - From Yakima Valley, preference if you have a parent that teachers in the Yakima Valley
Elementary Education Scholarships
Apply for these scholarships through Scholarship Central.

Friends for Youth Scholarship
- To provide support for Education, Development, Teaching, and Learning (EDTL) majors.
Ferne Daniel Scholarship
- To provide financial support for students majoring in Elementary Education or Early Childhood Education.
William D. Floyd Scholarship
- To provide financial support for students majoring in elementary education who demonstrate qualities of service and leadership.
- Three letters of recommendation required that emphasize qualities of service and leadership
Marit Thomas Rhoads Scholarship
- To provide financial support for students majoring in teacher preparation in elementary education
- 3.0 or higher GPA required
Catherine H. Craft Scholarship
- To provide financial support for students majoring in elementary education who have achieved academic success and have demonstrated financial need.
- Complete a FAFSA or WAFSA with demonstrated financial need
- 3.0 or higher GPA required
Margaret Loseth Westphal and Verna Loseth Scholarship
- To provide financial support for students majoring in teacher education with the intention of teaching in an elementary school
- Complete a FAFSA or WAFSA with demonstrated financial need
- 3.0 or higher GPA required
STEM Education
Apply for these scholarships through Scholarship Central.

Browse the Teach STEM webpage for more science and math scholarship infomation.

Kris Graap Math Scholarship
- To support junior and senior Mathematics Department majors.
Technology Education
Apply for these scholarships through Scholarship Central.
William and Jackie Wallace Industrial Education Scholarship
- To provide financial support for students who have been accepted into the Industrial Education Program.
Jere Cary Industrial Education Scholarship
- To provide financial support for students planning to teach exploratory technology education at the junior or senior high level.
Owen J. Shadle Memorial Industrial Education Scholarship
- To provide financial support for students majoring in the teacher preparation program in Industrial Education and Technology who have a GPA of 2.75 or above.
Special Education Scholarships
Apply for these scholarships through Scholarship Central.

Dohn Miller Scholarship
- To provide financial support for students majoring in Special Education.
- Sophomores or junior undergraduates majoring in Special Education
- 3.0 or higher GPA required
Bronwen Hatton Scholarship
- To provide financial support for students majoring in special education, with a GPA of 3.0 or higher, and who have completed a minimum of seven hours of special education course work at CWU.
- 3.0 or higher GPA required
- Essay requirement - A one page essay explaining why you want to become a special education teacher including information if you have a family member with special needs.
Betty Worley Bryant Endowed Scholarship
- To provide support for students majoring in Special Education.
- 2.5 or higher GPA required
Deborah Butler Special Education Scholarship
- To provide support for CWU Special Education majors.
- Complete a FAFSA or WAFSA with demonstrated financial need
- 3.0 or higher GPA required
Friends for Youth Scholarship
- To provide support for Education, Development, Teaching, and Learning (EDTL) majors.
Early Childhood Scholarships
Apply for these scholarships through Scholarship Central.

Norine Gann Scholarship
- To provide financial support for students with financial need that are pursuing a degree in early childhood education.
- Complete a FAFSA or WAFSA with demonstrated financial need
- 3.5 or higher GPA required
- Essay required: Why do you want to become a teacher? 250 word max
- Three letters of recommendation required
Ferne Daniel Scholarship
- To provide financial support for students majoring in Elementary Education or Early Childhood Education.
Friends for Youth Scholarship
- To provide support for Education, Development, Teaching, and Learning (EDTL) majors.
Master's Degree Scholarships
Apply for these scholarships through Scholarship Central.

Marit Thomas Rhoads Graduate Fellowship
- To provide financial support for graduate students in education.
Dyveke Maurer Memorial Graduate Fellowship in Education
- To provide financial support for CWU graduate students pursuing a Masters in Education.
- Students must have at least a 3.25 GPA on the last 90 credit hours prior to admissions and must maintain a minimum of 3.00 GPA during the period of the fellowship.
- Award may be applied to tuition, fees or the costs of learning/teaching materials as determined by the graduate school.
Masters in Education Scholarship
- To provide financial support for students enrolled in the Masters om Education program.
- One letter of recommendation required
Secondary Education Scholarships
Apply for this scholarships through Scholarship Central. Also check with your content department for scholarships for different areas in secondary education.

Berg-Albrecht Scholarship
- To provide financial support for students pursuing a degree in secondary education.
Library Education Scholarships
Apply for this scholarship through Scholarship Central.

Roy and Isabel Tullis Library Education Scholarship
- To provide financial support for students majoring in education with career plans as school librarians.
- 3.0 or higher GPA required
- Essay required - Describe why you are interested in becoming a school librarian.

Aid from Washington State

The Washington State Educator Workforce Program (EWP) provides financial aid to attract and retain teachers to work in subjects or locations of high need known as shortage areas. This aid ranges from $3000 - $8000 per year, and offers scholarships for shortage areas, paraeducators, alternative routes/MAT, and in-service teachers adding endorsements. Information and criteria can be found at teachers. Questions? Contact: teachers@wsac.wa.gov(888.535.0746, option 6) or scholarships@cwu.edu.

Washington Teacher Shortage Conditional Scholarship (WSAC)

The Teacher Shortage Coniditonal Scholarship is designed to provide financial support to encourage persons to become teachers and to retain these tesachers in shortage areas. The program provides funding of up to 8,000 per year for up to 4 years

Aid from the Federal Government

The TEACH Grant/Loan is a federal source of funds that provides up to $4,000 per year for students who plan to become teachers in certain subject areas and who plan to teach in low-income schools after graduation. CWU often works with students who apply for the TEACH grant. Review the TEACH Grant on CWU's website and reach out to FinancialAid@cwu.edu or 509-963-1611 with questions.

Do you still have loans and work as a teacher? If so, you may be able to get your loans forgiven through the Teacher Loan Forgivness program.Contact Federal Student Aid to see if you qualify.

The Martinez Fellowship

The Martinez Fellowship provides a holistic two-year support program for teacher candidates who identify as Black, Indigenous, or a Person Of Color (BIPOC) in their last year of their program and first year of teaching. This program provides early career coaching, ongoing professional development, and networking opportunities. All of which are grounded in racial identity development to support Fellows as they navigate the transition from a teacher preparation program to their own classroom. Visit their website for details.

Martinez Fellows from CWU will also receive a partial scholarship for the first year that they are a Fellow.

The Martinez Fellowship program does an information session for CWU students each winter. Applications for the fellowship are due in spring, and the Fellowship starts the following fall. Contact soe@cwu.edu for more information about this great opportunity.