Scholarships

In order to assist students who have the ability and ambition to attend the University, and to recognize the accomplishments of its students, the College of Health and Human Development (HHD) awards scholarships on the basis of academic achievement, financial need, school/community activities, leadership positions, and work experience. Students must be enrolled in the College of Health and Human Development to receive scholarship support and some scholarships and awards require enrollment in a specific major.

No application required for most scholarships

All currently enrolled HHD students, currently enrolled Penn State students intending to transfer to the College, and incoming freshmen and students transferring from a college outside of the Penn State system will be automatically considered for all scholarships and awards for which they are eligible. For questions or additional information please contact Dennis Shea at dgs4@psu.edu.

A few select scholarships in academic units require additional information for consideration as noted in the description. Any additional information will be collected as part of an application. These applications are typically announced in our weekly student newsletter, sent to all HHD students, and then archived and shared on the Web.

In addition, students who are within 30 credits of graduation may want to consider an application for "Complete Penn State". The Complete Penn State program is run by the Student Success Center and provides resources for students who are in their final two semesters of completing their first associate's or bachelor's degree. Complete Penn State supports students who experience a situation that negatively impacts their ability to complete their degree.

Financial Need

Many scholarships and awards consider financial need. In order to be eligible students must complete a FAFSA application by Penn State's recommended filing date of December 1 for prospective first-year students and April 15 for continuing students. Visit www.fafsa.ed.gov to complete the application and see https://studentaid.psu.edu/apply for more information regarding Penn State student aid.

Notification

Scholarship awarding is an ongoing process. Efforts are made to award scholarships prior to July 1 for the upcoming academic year, but awards may be made throughout the year. Only those students who are selected to receive an award will be contacted.  Scholarship awardees will be notified by email to their Penn State email address. 

Disbursement Requirements

In order to disburse a scholarship/award students must be enrolled in the College of Health and Human Development and be in good standing with the University. In most cases, students will receive half of their award in the fall semester and the other half in the spring semester. All funds are directly disbursed to an individual student’s account in the Office of the University Bursar.

Other Scholarship and Financial Aid Information

If you would like information about other sources of funding please contact the following:

• Office of Student Aid
• Undergraduate Fellowship and Research Mentoring Office
• The Graduate School Funding for Prospective Students
• The Graduate School Funding for Current Students
• Bursars Office

Private Free Scholarship Searches

• FastWeb
• collegeboard.com