Art school is expensive and financial prospects for those who receive art degrees are not always certain.  For budding artists at any level of education, art scholarships can make a huge difference, as can gaining exposure for your works of art.

This week’s Scholarship of the Week, the MyArtSpace Art Scholarship Competition, gives art school students at both the undergraduate and graduate level the chance to earn up to $5,000 in scholarship money.  Students compile an online portfolio, complete with artist’s statement and CV, and post it to MyArtSpace for judging.  Winning entries will exhibit artistic excellence in a visual arts medium, contemporary or traditional, including photography and video.

Prize:

Undergraduate and graduate entries will be judged separately, with the following awards for each:

• First prize: $5,000
• Second prize: $2,000
• Third prize: $1,000

Eligibility:

Current or prospective undergraduate or graduate students pursuing a BFA, MFA, or other approved degree program in an accredited art school.  Applicants can enter either the undergraduate or graduate category of judging, but not both.

Deadline:

December 16, 2009

Required Material:

Completed online registration and high-resolution samples of work.  To enter, artsists create a free portfolio on MyArtSpace.com or NYAXE.com and upload up to 20 images.  Including an artist statement and a CV or résumé is also encouraged.

Further details about the application process can be found by conducting a free college scholarship search on Scholarships.com. Once the search is completed, students eligible for this scholarship award will find it in their search results.

Posted: under Scholarship of the Week, Scholarships.
Tags: art scholarship, graduate student scholarships, Scholarship of the Week, Scholarships, undergraduate scholarships

Comments (0) Nov 09 2009

Photography is a fun hobby, but can be a difficult profession to break into.  Whether you’re going for studio photography or professional photojournalism, much of your success depends on building a portfolio and gaining exposure for your work.

Amateur photographers who are interested in receiving not only a college scholarship, but also industry recognition and professional internship experience, should be sure to check out this week’s Scholarship of the Week, the College Photographer of the Year contest.

In addition to scholarship money, the student with the best portfolio will also receive the opportunity to intern with National Geographic, a potentially career-launching award.  Winners in individual categories are also awarded equipment and educational opportunities from Nikon, the Poynter Institute, and the Missouri Photo Workshop.  With sponsors including National Geographic, Nikon, and the National Press Photographers Foundation, entering the College Photographer of the Year competition will help you gain exposure in the photography and photojournalism industries, and you may get some cash out of the deal, as well.

Prize:

First prize: $1,000

Second prize: $500

Eligibility:

Posted: under Graduate School, Scholarship of the Week, Scholarships.
Tags: art scholarship, college scholarships, graduate student scholarships, photography scholarship, Scholarship of the Week, Scholarship Search, Scholarships, undergraduate scholarships

Comments (0) Aug 24 2009

This weekend is San Diego Comic-Con, the biggest event of the year for fans of comic books, graphic novels, online comics, and virtually anything else related to comics or the surrounding culture.  While no one in the Scholarships.com office is making the trek to Comic-Con this year, we are looking at ways to help students who love comics pay for school.  If you’re looking for something to do while all your favorite webcomics are on hiatus, consider applying for some of these scholarship awards.

If you’re interested in reading comics, you may also be interested in writing or drawing them, and creative writing and art scholarships are both widely available.  Even if you’re less interested in art and more interested in science fiction (comic conventions are nerd meccas, after all), there are scholarship opportunities for you.  We encourage you to take a few moments to do a free college scholarship search and check out our information page on unusual scholarships, which features some interesting awards that may work for you.  To give you an idea of some of the scholarship opportunities available for comics enthusiasts, here are a few examples.

The Scholastic Art and Writing Awards

Aspiring artists and writers are asked to submit portfolios of three to eight pieces in this annual scholarship contest.  Winners receive up to $10,000 in college scholarships.

L. Ron Hubbard Writers and Illustrators of the Future Contests

Amateur illustrators and writers participating in the quarterly L. Ron Hubbard Writers and Illustrators of the Future Contest can receive awards of up to $5,000 for creating an original illustration or short story with a science fiction theme.

Starfleet Academy Scholarships

Any active member of Starfleet, the official Star Trek fan club, is eligible for a Starfleet Scholarship. Members can be attending community colleges, four-year colleges, most technical schools, junior colleges and universities or graduate school.

Scholarships.com College Art Scholarship

Planning to pursue a career in art?  Write an essay discussion your influences for a chance to win $1,000.

Posted: under Just for Fun, Scholarships.
Tags: Area of Study Scholarships, art scholarship, high school student scholarships, Scholarship Search, Scholarships, undergraduate scholarships, writing scholarship

Comments (0) Jul 23 2009

Are you an graphic designer and t-shirt aficionado?  Do you dream of one day having people across the world wearing something you created?  Maybe you just really liked the screenprinting unit in high school art class.  If you’ve ever seen someone wearing a cool t-shirt and thought to yourself, “I could make something like that,” this week’s Scholarship of the Week is for you.

The Threadless Scholarship gives college students a chance to not only see their t-shirt designs printed and distributed internationally, but to also win a $3,000 design scholarship.  The best part?  Winners are chosen weekly, so you have multiple chances at winning scholarships.

Prize:

A $3,000 college scholarship plus a $500 Threadless gift certificate (or $200 in cash) and the chance to compete for other cash awards of up to $20,000.

Eligibility:

Any undergraduate or graduate student currently enrolled at least part-time or pending enrollment in a college or university.  This scholarship contest is open to students in the United States and other countries, regardless of major, GPA, or test scores.

Posted: under Graduate School, Scholarship of the Week, Scholarships.
Tags: art scholarship, college scholarships, Corporate Scholarships, design scholarship, graduate student scholarships, Scholarship of the Week, Scholarships, undergraduate scholarships

Comments (0) Jul 20 2009

When Michael Jackson died, the world lost not only a talented pop musician, but also a notable philanthropist.  Over the course of his career, Michael Jackson donated over $300 million to at least 39 charitable organizations and also made generous financial contributions to numerous individuals, especially children and their families.  While many of his charitable acts focused on helping sick or injured children around the globe, he also made substantial contributions to education.

One of the charities Michael Jackson supported most generously and publicly was the United Negro College Fund, which helps support African American students in their college goals.  He first began supporting the UNCF in 1984 and participated in several fundraisers for the organization.  One of his donations established the Michael Jackson Scholarship, which has existed as an endowed scholarship since 1986, supporting students attending college with the goal of pursuing careers in the performing arts.  His generous contributions have allowed the UNCF to extend scholarship opportunities to hundreds of African American students over the last 25 years.

To learn more about the Michael Jackson Scholarship, you can visit the UNCF website. You may also want to do a scholarship search on Scholarships.com to find more scholarship awards for African American students and students interested in the arts.  All Michael Jackson, a Michael Jackson fan website, has more information about Jackson’s many charitable contributions.

Posted: under College News, Scholarships.
Tags: African American scholarships, art scholarship, college news, college scholarships, scholarship information, Scholarships

Comments (0) Jul 01 2009

Painting, sculpture, music, photography, theater and film all come to mind when the word “art” is mentioned, a fact reflected in the criteria for many art scholarships.  In today’s world, students who major in commercial arts, graphic design and photojournalism are all considered artists in their respective fields. To recognize and support artists working in diverse media, Scholarships.com has created this week’s Scholarship of the Week.

Students who apply for the Scholarships.com College Art Scholarship will have the chance to earn $1,000 towards their college education—and it couldn’t be easier. Just respond to the following question in a 250 to 350 word essay (entries that fall outside of this word range will be disqualified):

“What has influenced your decision to pursue a career in art?”

Prize:

$1,000

Eligibility:

Applicants must be U.S citizens and registered users of Scholarships.com.  To apply, users must be undergraduate students or high school students planning to major in one of the following areas of study at an accredited two-year or four-year college or university in the fall of 2009:

• Art
• Art History
• Commercial Arts
• Cosmetology
• Dance
• Design
• Fashion
• Film Studies
• Fine Arts
• Graphic Design
• Interior Design
• Music
• New Media
• Photographic Studies
• Theatre
• TV News
• Photojournalism
• Voice
• Web Design

Posted: under Scholarship of the Week, Scholarships.
Tags: Area of Study Scholarships, art scholarship, college scholarships, high school students, Scholarship of the Week, Scholarships, undergraduate scholarships

Comments (0) Mar 02 2009