Scholarships are a crucial part of the student journey for many individuals, helping them to not only transform their lives by pursuing higher education in their chosen fields, but also reducing their student debt in the process, affording them the opportunity to focus fully on their education.
In the last decade, there has been a 45% increase in number of scholarships awarded in the United States, with more than $100 billion awarded annually (including government funding sources). Private scholarships and fellowships award an additional $7.4 billion, per the National Scholarship Providers Association.
At the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), we are proud to honor our scholarship recipients, who are on a mission to fuel the future of engineering. Join us this month, along with thousands who support SWE’s mission, to celebrate these bright minds and continue to help those passionate about a career in engineering realize their dreams.
As of 2024, SWE has awarded more than $10 million to more than 5,000 recipients. More than $1 million in scholarships are offered to collegians every year. For the 2024-2025 academic year alone, SWE has awarded 328 scholarships, worth $1.5 million in total, to those pursuing engineering degrees at the undergraduate and graduate level.
This year holds special significance as SWE celebrates 65 years since its scholarship fund was first established in 1956 with an initial investment of just $300.
Help our aspiring women engineers realize their dreams by donating to SWE scholarships. Your donation, big or small, goes directly toward supporting students in need.
Consider a corporate sponsorship or partnership if your organization can join SWE in creating scholarship opportunities and creating industry connections that last a lifetime.
Learn how endowed scholarships leave a legacy for generations of women engineers on SWE Diverse Podcast Episode 269: Building Legacies, Changing Lives: Donor Perspectives on SWE’s Endowed Scholarship Program.
You can also get involved with SWE by volunteering as a scholarship reviewer or being part of the scholarship committee. Your time and expertise can make a lasting impression on the next generation of engineers.
And if you know someone that can benefit academically or professionally from a SWE scholarship, please encourage them to apply. Today’s passionate engineering students are tomorrow’s promising workforce!
There are fantastic resources available in the SWE Scholarships Knowledge Base for those interested in scholarships to learn how to apply and move one step closer to achieving their career goals.
On our All Together blog, read more about the impact of the ARDC Foundation’s scholarships for women in engineering and check out this list of helpful resources for navigating the scholarship application process. You can also learn the recipe to writing an impactful cover letter in the Advance Learning Center.
Here are just a few of SWE’s recent scholarship recipients sharing how they benefitted from SWE scholarships and the impact it had on their careers:
As a BS/MS student pursuing a degree in chemical engineering, it was difficult to receive financial aid after completing my bachelor’s requirements and no longer being eligible to apply for undergraduate aid. Being involved in SWE and advocating for women in higher education has always been a fundamental goal of mine, and receiving this scholarship enabled me to keep my graduate enrollment and continue my advocacy for students of graduate standing by serving as the GradSWE President at Ohio State.
– Rachel Varughese, 2024 GE Vernova Women’s Network Scholarship Recipient
The SWE scholarship program has been a helpful financial boost for me during graduate school. It gave me the opportunity to network with an employee matched to me at GE Vernova who attended my school for a Ph.D. program. He provided advice on how his career aspirations evolved during and after his doctoral program. This was an important perspective I wouldn’t have gotten otherwise, and I made a good connection and a friend!
– Devin Golla, 2023 Women’s Network Scholarship Recipient.
Receiving the scholarship greatly supported my current career as a physician-scientist in training. Since switching into healthcare/academia, SWE inspired me to find similar organizations in the field. In the past five years, I have grown in the organization and am now the current chair of the National Association of Women Surgeons Medical Students Committee and an early career member of the American Heart Association Women’s Leadership Committee.
– Gopika SenthilKumar, 2016 Meredith Thoms Memorial Scholarship Recipient.
The SWE scholarship program had a tremendous impact on my academic journey! This scholarship gave me the peace of mind that I need to be able to focus on my studies. Thanks to this scholarship, I was able to not worry about my student fees and could save to buy a new computer that could handle all my numerical simulations. Now, I also have the tranquility that I can conclude my data collection on time, as my laptop is appropriately running my simulations without issues.
– Juliana Pereira, 2021 Ada I. Pressman Memorial Scholarship Recipient.
I’ve been the grateful recipient of SWE scholarships for my undergraduate and graduate education. After graduating, I began working for Carollo Engineering and was invited to be on the Board of Directors for the Susan E. Stutz McDonald Scholarship Foundation, which funded the SWE scholarship I received. I’m also on the SWE scholarship committee because I want to give back and help other people benefit from the scholarship opportunities that SWE provides.
– Coral Taylor, 2016 Susan E. Stutz-McDonald Scholarship Foundation Recipient.
In 2020, I was awarded the Jill S. Tietjen, P.E., Scholarship. Being able to talk to the donor of my scholarship has been a significant part of my scholarship experience. We formed an amazing connection that has carried forward to this day. We meet virtually for mentoring chats regularly, covering topics that range from engineering and SWE to leadership and life’s many challenges as an early career engineer.
– Elizabeth Moroz, 2020 Jill S. Tietjen, P.E. Scholarship Recipient.
