2027 Best College Degrees With Scholarship Options
Co-Founder and Chief Data Scientist
Choosing a degree is hard enough without assuming that a scholarship available to one student will fund the credential you need. This guide compares ten fields - primarily at the master's level - by career purpose, funding possibilities, and requirements that can change the value of an award. The stakes are real: the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports median annual pay of $133,080 for software developers in 2024, but that occupation-wide figure is not a promised return on a computer science master's. Use the comparisons to identify a suitable field, then check whether its scholarships cover your actual program and costs.
Key Things You Should Know
- A nursing or social work master's may support a defined practice pathway, while business and technology degrees can serve broader roles; admission and licensing rules differ.
- The maximum federal Pell Grant was $7,395 for the 2025-26 award year, but Pell Grants generally support eligible undergraduates, not master's students.
- Ask each school which awards apply to your program, whether they renew, and what tuition, fees, placements, and living expenses remain after funding.
Top 10 Best College Degrees With Scholarship Options
Business Programs
An MBA emphasizes management and decision-making; specialized master's degrees in accounting, finance, or analytics offer a narrower technical focus. Departmental scholarships, employer tuition assistance, and some professional-association awards may help, but eligibility varies by concentration and enrollment status.
Compare the award with the full program price, not just tuition. An MBA may suit experienced professionals seeking broader responsibility; someone targeting accounting licensure should instead check state coursework rules before selecting a degree.
Healthcare Programs
Master's options in public health, health administration, and allied health serve different goals. An MPH may emphasize population health research or practice, while health administration focuses on operations.
Schools may offer departmental awards or assistantships; some service-based scholarships apply only to specified clinical professions. Check the award's eligible degree list before applying. A general healthcare master's does not qualify its holder for clinical licensure, and practicums or fieldwork can affect schedules and costs.
Information Technology Programs
Information technology master's degrees often cover networks, cybersecurity, cloud systems, and IT management. They can suit professionals who want to design or lead technology operations, though a focused certification may be a less costly choice for a specific technical skill.
Look for employer support, departmental awards, and scholarships tied to computing or cybersecurity. Ask whether an award covers part-time or online enrollment, and whether experience or foundational coursework is expected for admission.
Computer Science Programs
A computer science master's typically develops deeper skills in algorithms, software, systems, or artificial intelligence. Research-oriented programs may offer assistantships, whereas professional coursework-based programs may have different funding.
Confirm whether a computing background, prerequisite courses, or a thesis is required. The degree can support specialization, but it is not a universal entry requirement for software development; applicants changing fields should compare prerequisite costs with less extensive alternatives.
Nursing Programs
Master of Science in Nursing programs may prepare registered nurses for advanced practice, education, or leadership. Admission commonly depends on nursing preparation and an active RN license; clinical tracks have additional placement and state-specific requirements.
Nursing scholarships, employer assistance, and some service-based federal awards may be available, often with strict eligibility or work commitments. Before accepting funding, verify the track's accreditation, clinical-placement arrangements, and whether it meets the requirements for your intended certification and state license.
Psychology Programs
A psychology master's may focus on research, applied psychology, or preparation for further study. It is not interchangeable with a counseling degree or a clinical psychology doctorate. Departmental funding and research assistantships vary considerably, so ask whether support is guaranteed, competitive, or limited to particular tracks.
If your goal is independent clinical practice, check your state's licensing rules first: a psychology master's alone generally does not establish eligibility to practice as a licensed psychologist.
Education Programs
Master's degrees in education can support curriculum work, instructional leadership, or teacher preparation, depending on the program. Some institutional scholarships and employer benefits serve working educators.
A federal TEACH Grant may apply to an eligible program, but its teaching-service conditions matter: failure to meet them can turn the grant into a loan. Do not assume an online education master's leads to initial licensure; confirm state approval, student-teaching requirements, and the program's intended audience.
Criminal Justice Programs
A criminal justice master's may examine policy, administration, research, or public safety. Scholarships can come from a university department, employer, or professional organization, but availability is often narrower than broad field labels suggest.
This degree may fit an experienced practitioner seeking policy or leadership preparation; it does not automatically qualify someone for a law-enforcement appointment, legal practice, or promotion. Compare required research or capstone work with the skills your target role actually calls for.
Engineering Programs
Engineering master's programs offer research and professional pathways in specialties such as electrical, mechanical, and civil engineering. Research assistantships and department awards may help fund thesis-based study; professional programs may offer different support.
Verify prerequisite engineering coursework, laboratory access, and whether an award requires research or teaching duties. A graduate degree does not replace state professional-engineer licensing requirements where a role requires that license.
Social Work Programs
A Master of Social Work (MSW) prepares students for social work practice, with field education as a central requirement. Scholarships may come from schools, foundations, or service-focused programs; an award may not offset reduced work hours during placements.
Graduates seeking clinical licensure usually need additional supervised experience and a state examination. Applicants with an eligible social work bachelor's should ask about advanced standing, which has separate eligibility rules and can change remaining coursework and cost.
What Are the Best College Degrees With Scholarship Opportunities?
There is no single best scholarship-friendly degree. The strongest choice is a field that matches your intended work and has funding you can actually use at your education level. A generous award for the wrong credential is less useful than a smaller renewable award for a program that meets your career requirements.
If you are still exploring broad academic options, a list of easy degrees to get online should not substitute for checking career fit and scholarship eligibility.
This comparison identifies the main funding question and career trade-off for each field. It is a starting point for evaluating programs, not a ranking of individual schools.
| Degree field | Funding worth investigating | Deciding career question |
| Business | Employer support and department awards | Do you need broad management study or a specialized credential? |
| Healthcare | Department awards and eligible service programs | Is the goal administration, population health, or licensed practice? |
| IT and computer science | Employer support, research assistantships, and computing awards | Would a degree add value beyond experience or a focused certification? |
| Nursing and social work | Professional, school, and eligible service-based awards | Will the program satisfy clinical and state requirements? |
| Psychology and education | Department funding and qualifying education grants | Does the degree lead to the specific credential you want? |
| Criminal justice and engineering | Employer support, department awards, and research funding | Does the curriculum match the intended role or specialty? |
Which Scholarships Help Pay for College Degree Programs?
Start with scholarships offered by the program itself: departments can tell you which awards accept master's students, whether applicants are considered automatically, and whether funding continues after the first term. Research or teaching assistantships may provide compensation or tuition support, but they involve work and are not the same as no-obligation scholarships.
Professional associations, employers, foundations, and government programs may also fund eligible students. For example, the HRSA Nurse Corps Scholarship Program serves qualifying nursing students in exchange for a service commitment, while the federal TEACH Grant carries teaching-service conditions.
Read each award's degree, citizenship, enrollment, academic-progress, and postgraduation rules. Complete the FAFSA when seeking federal aid and any school funding that uses it; a graduate student should not assume undergraduate grant eligibility.
How Do You Choose an Accredited Degree Program?
Check institutional accreditation first, then any programmatic approval relevant to your occupation. Search the U.S. Department of Education's accreditation database and confirm details with the accreditor or licensing board. For nursing, social work, teacher preparation, and other regulated paths, ask whether the specific program - not merely the university - meets the requirements in the state where you intend to work.
Next, compare the published curriculum, admission prerequisites, required placements, completion format, and total estimated cost. A school's appearance on a top 10 online colleges list is a prompt for further research, not proof that your chosen graduate program has the approval or scholarship you need. Get answers from the program and financial aid office in writing before committing.
Which Degree Programs Offer the Strongest Career Outcomes?
Career outcomes are strongest when the degree has a clear connection to the work you want to do. An MSW is a defined educational step toward many social work roles, and an appropriate nursing graduate track can support a particular advanced-practice pathway.
Both require attention to licensing and supervised or clinical requirements. Engineering and computer science master's degrees can develop specialized skills, but relevant experience and the employer's requirements still matter.
For a fair comparison, ask programs for outcomes for your specific degree and delivery format: completion, placement, licensure-exam results where applicable, and the share of students receiving funding. Check what the figures measure and whether they include part-time students. Do not treat a field's occupational median wage as evidence of what that program's graduates earn.
Are Online Degrees Eligible for Scholarships and Financial Aid?
An eligible online degree at an eligible institution can qualify for federal financial aid, and many scholarships permit online students. Eligibility is award-specific: some scholarships exclude part-time enrollment or require campus participation, research duties, or a particular clinical track. Confirm that the school participates in federal aid programs and that your enrollment meets the award's conditions.
Online also does not mean entirely remote or self-paced. Nursing clinicals, MSW field placements, education student teaching, laboratories, and scheduled live classes can affect where and when you study.
If you need frequent entry points, compare online colleges with flexible start dates, then verify the start dates and placement schedule for the exact degree. A convenient start date will not make an incompatible field requirement disappear.
What Do Students Learn in High-Demand Degree Programs?
High-demand programs combine field-specific knowledge with work that demonstrates its application. Computer science students may study algorithms and systems and complete a software project; IT students may focus on infrastructure or security.
Nursing and social work programs connect advanced coursework with supervised practice, while public health may emphasize epidemiology and population-level analysis.
Look beyond course titles to the required capstone, thesis, laboratory, practicum, or portfolio. An AI-focused elective, for example, may be useful to a computing student, but it should not outweigh weak preparation in fundamentals or an unaffordable program. Ask to see the current degree plan and determine which courses are required rather than merely offered.
How Much Do College Degrees Cost and How Long Do They Take?
Costs and timelines vary too much across these fields for one master's-degree price or completion estimate to be useful. Add tuition for all remaining required credits, mandatory and program fees, books and equipment, travel or placement expenses, and living costs.
Then subtract only funding you are eligible to receive. Compare that remaining amount across programs, including any income you may give up to complete clinical or field hours.
Completion time depends on full- or part-time enrollment, prerequisites, course sequencing, and experiential requirements. A thesis or placement may extend a timeline even when coursework is online.
Ask for a term-by-term plan based on your prior education; previous credits or professional experience do not automatically reduce graduate requirements. An award that expires before the expected final term may also leave a funding gap.
What Salaries Can Graduates Expect From Top Degree Fields?
BLS occupational wages offer context, not a forecast for an individual graduate. For example, the 2024 median annual wage for registered nurses was $93,600. That figure includes nurses with different credentials and experience; it does not show what an MSN graduate will earn or whether a master's is necessary for a particular RN job.
Use the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook to compare the actual occupation you are considering, including its typical entry education, duties, and outlook. Then weigh the program's remaining cost against your current earnings, likely time away from work, and any additional licensing steps. Salaries also vary by location, employer, specialty, and experience.
Which Degrees Require Licensure or Professional Certification?
Degrees and licenses answer different questions. Registered nurses need state licensure; advanced nursing roles may require graduate preparation, certification, and additional state authorization.
Clinical social workers generally need an MSW followed by supervised experience and state licensing requirements. Public-school teaching and professional engineering roles may likewise require state credentials beyond the degree. Requirements vary by jurisdiction and role.
Psychology is an especially important distinction: a psychology master's does not ordinarily qualify someone for independent practice as a licensed psychologist.
If that is your goal, investigate the required doctoral and supervised-practice pathway before choosing a master's; a guide to a cheap doctorate degree online is only a cost-comparison starting point, not evidence that a particular doctorate meets psychology licensing rules. Confirm eligibility directly with the relevant state board.
Other Things You Should Know About
Yes. Universities, professional organizations, employers, and some government programs offer graduate funding. Check the exact degree, enrollment, renewal, and service requirements; an undergraduate-only award will not fund a master's.
There is no reliable universal winner. Funding depends on the school, specialization, applicant, and type of award. Compare the amount you can actually receive with the full cost of programs that meet your career goal.
Sometimes. Federal aid can apply to eligible online programs, but individual scholarships may specify a delivery format, enrollment load, or campus duties. Ask the financial aid office about the exact award.
Not on salary alone. Occupational medians are not graduate earnings guarantees. Check whether the job requires that degree, what additional credentials it takes, and how much of the program's cost scholarships will cover.
References
- Funding Sources of Academic R&D - NCSES - NSF https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsb202326/funding-sources-of-academic-r-d
- Packaging Aid | 2025-2026 Federal Student Aid Handbook https://fsapartners.ed.gov/knowledge-center/fsa-handbook/2025-2026/vol3/ch3-packaging-aid
- Federal Pell Grants | studentaid.gov https://studentaid.gov/understand-aid/types/grants/pell
- Go Grant | Louisiana Office of Student Financial Assistance | LOSFA https://mylosfa.la.gov/paying-for-college/scholarships-grants/go-grant/
- Employer-offered educational assistance programs can help pay for college | Internal Revenue Service https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/employer-offered-educational-assistance-programs-can-help-pay-for-college
- College Scorecard - Department of Education https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/
- What Financial Aid Offers Don't Tell You About the Cost of College | U.S. GAO https://www.gao.gov/blog/what-financial-aid-offers-dont-tell-you-about-cost-college
- Scholarships and Grants | Kansas Board of Regents https://kansasregents.gov/scholarships_and_grants
