Education - Scholarships and Financial Aid for Deaf Students

Is there any financial aid or scholarships available specifically for deaf/hard of hearing students or hearing students studying fields such as interpreting or deaf education? Yes, there are many available, from sources that include national organizations of the deaf/hoh, state governments, the colleges themselves, nonprofit organizations, and small associations, often parent associations. (I remember going door to door to sell candy as a deaf child, to raise funds for a scholarship given by the Rockland County Association of the Hearing Impaired, Inc., a parent organization.)

College/University Scholarships and Grants

Gallaudet University
Gallaudet University, a liberal arts university for the deaf, automatically matches financial aid applicants with available scholarship funds. Gallaudet University, a liberal arts university for the deaf, has a database of scholarships. (The Gallaudet University Development Office website has a database of funds for donors to choose to support, including a fund for international students.)

Gallaudet also holds an annual essay contest with scholarship prizes, for teens. More information and past award winners are on the World Around You essay contest site. To read the actual essays, past issues of World Around You can be downloaded.

National Technical Institute for the Deaf
The Rochester Institute of Technology Office of Development has information on scholarships for freshman NTID students. At the time this article was written, NTID was offering dean and vice presidential scholarships (not need-based), and performing arts scholarships. As with Gallaudet, scholarships are applied for through the admissions process.

Other Colleges
Some colleges, particularly those with programs for deaf students, offer specialized scholarships. In Canada, the George Brown College in Toronto, Ontario gives scholarships to deaf and hard of hearing students studying at George Brown (one is the Paula Montgomery Harding scholarship), and to deafblind students and students planning to work with deafblind people.

State Government Assistance

It appears that the state of Texas offers a "tuition/fee exemption" for deaf students attending public colleges in Texas. More information is on the Window on State Government site. Wisconsin's Higher Educational Aids Board has a "Hearing & Visually Handicapped Student Grant" for hearing impaired students attending Wisconsin public colleges.

Also, check with your state's Vocational Rehabilitation agency. Vocational Rehabilitation will often pay for college tuition for deaf students. In addition, see about social security benefits if you are of legal age. My own education was paid for through a combination of Vocational Rehabiliation and Social Security Income (SSI).

Deaf/HOH Organization Scholarships and Grants

United States
The National Fraternal Society of the Deaf (a life insurance organization) offers scholarships only to its members. The Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf has given scholarships for years. The Ear Foundation has the Minnie Pearl scholarship for mainstreamed deaf students. Children of Deaf Adults offers a scholarship for a child of a deaf adult. Cochlear Corporation has the Graeme Clark Scholarship for recipients of Cochlear's implants.

Canada
In Canada, the Wallace Anderson Memorial Scholarship fund is administered by Saint John Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services Inc of St. John, New Brunswick.

Interpreting and Deaf Education/Deaf Studies Scholarships

The Stokoe scholarship, awarded by the National Association of the Deaf, is for deaf graduate students studying sign language or the deaf community. The Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf has service awards and training awards and scholarships for interpreters.

Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas offers scholarships to students in the Communication Disorders and Deaf Education department. Another college, Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, offers full scholarships to students in the Master of Education of the Deaf program.

In Canada, the Arlene Burris scholarship to encourage study of deaf education (or for a deaf/hoh college student) is administered by the Atlantic Provinces Special Education Authority in Nova Scotia, whose Interprovincial School Development Association also administers other awards.

Nonprofit Organizations

Quota International's Quota Clubs provide scholarships to deaf and hard of hearing students, and hearing students majoring in deaf education.

Other Disability Organizations

Canada's Alliance for Equality of Blind Canadians offers scholarships that deaf-blind students can qualify for.

Additional Resources for Financial Aid

Gallaudet University's Info to Go has a fact sheet, "Sources of Financial Assistance For Students Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing" that in addition to listing some of the same aforementioned resources, also lists others and includes a bibliography of useful reference books.