In an effort to encourage senior citizens to continue with their education, schools and organizations offer grants to help with the financial burden of graduate school. While traditional scholarships may be geared toward younger students, these financial awards are created especially for older students and senior citizens, and range from covering partial to full tuition.
Silver Scholars
The Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act established the Silver Scholars program. In this program, men and women aged 55 and older receive a $1,000 education award for doing 350 hours of service, which can include being a foster grandparent or senior companion. If the older recipients do not need the grants, the Silver Scholars program allows the recipients to transfer their educational awards to a child or grandchild.
Tuition-free Programs
Certain schools are now implementing free tuition programs and scholarships for senior citizens. The University of Delaware offers the Over-60 Tuition-free Degree Program to adult students over the age of 60 who are part-time or full-time students. The program covers both undergraduate and graduate tuition. Senior citizens applying to a graduate program do not need to pay the admission fee but must submit GRE scores, academic credentials and references.
Northern Michigan Universtiy provides a full tuition scholarship for on-campus classes to students over the age of 62. Senior citizens must submit an application to the College of Graduate Studies to become eligible for this scholarship.
University of Delaware Division of Professional and Continuing Studies John M. Clayton Hall Newark, DE 19716 1-866-820-0238 pcs.udel.edu
Northern Michigan University 1401 Presque Isle Avenue Marquette, MI 49855 1-800-628-9797 nmu.edu
Scholarships for Older Women
Each year, author Linda Lael Miller awards scholarships to women 25 years and older who wish to improve their life through education. These scholarships cover not only tuition and books, but also childcare, transportation and other education-related costs that are not usually covered by traditional scholarships. Lael Miller understands that older women are considered non-traditional students who may have difficulty qualifying for other scholarships.
