Going to school to earn a graduate degree in business can be an extremely worthwhile investment, offering job security, more marketability, a higher salary and more responsibility and respect within your field. But what if you can’t scrape together the funds for tuition? Some companies offer tuition reimbursement options for their employees who want to go back to school, covering a fraction or even all of the cost of an MBA program. Online programs can give professionals a more cost-effective alternative to commuting and paying a lot of money for study materials that can be found on the Internet. Scholarships, however, remain one of the most popular and most effective ways for offsetting MBA tuition costs, even those for online programs. Below you will find lists of websites that help you search for MBA and distance learning scholarships, as well as links to specific scholarship information for MBA candidates.

Scholarship Searches

• FastWeb.com: Search over 1 million scholarships on this website. You can submit your personal information, major and tuition expectations to get tailored search results.
• Career Dynamo: Find scholarships for MBA candidates on this page, including assistance from the Hispanic Scholarship Fund and Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund.
• CGS Fellowships and Financial Aid: The Council of Graduate Studies lists numerous professional and academic organizations that offer financial aid to graduate students, including the American Association of University Women Career Development Grants,
• Federal Student Aid: Visit this official government site for information on FAFSA and other types of U.S. government tuition assistance and grants for graduate students.
• Military.com MBA Scholarships: Veterans of the U.S. military and even active personnel can apply for these MBA scholarships.

Specific Scholarships

• MIC Scholarships: The Management Institute of Canada offers scholarships to its online MBA students, BBA students and MPA students from Eastern Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.
• The Consorium for Graduate Study in Management: This organization awards full scholarships to qualified students who are enrolled in business programs in member schools like University of Texas at Austin, Carnegie Mellon University, Dartmouth College, Emory University, Yale University, the University of Virginia, and others.
• National Black MBA Association, Inc.: Each year, this organization offers over $500,000 to undergraduates and graduate students in business. The MBA Scholarship Program recognizes 25 MBA students who write the best essays and have the best GPAs and all-around resumes.
• AFCEA Distance Learning/Online Scholarship: This scholarship awards $1,500 to full-time students enrolled in a Bachelor of Science or Master of Science online program at an accredited four-year U.S. college. Business students interested in information systems or engineering management programs may find this degree useful.
• The University of Edinburgh Online Distance Learning Master’s Scholarships: Students who are interested in Master’s degrees in Information Technology and the Law or Health Information Governance and who are from countries like Afghanistan, Kenya, Ghana, Nepal and Vietnam should consider this scholarship.

In addition to this listing of MBA and distance learning scholarships, students should also look into scholarships offered through their specific school or program. There may be less competition for these scholarships, as only those who are enrolled in the program are eligible for consideration. School websites also offer information for students looking for regional scholarships or for scholarships that are likely to be given to students enrolling at their college or university programs, including online programs.