If you are a woman planning to study science, technology, engineering, or math, you should know that there is real money set aside specifically for you. These scholarships exist because the numbers still tell a clear story: according to the National Science Foundation, women earn only about 35% of bachelor's degrees in STEM fields. In computer science and engineering, that share drops even lower. Organizations, companies, and professional groups have created scholarship programs to help close that gap, and many of them are generous enough to make a meaningful dent in your college costs.
This guide walks you through the biggest women-in-STEM scholarship programs for the 2025-26 academic year, breaks them down by field and sponsor type, and gives you a clear plan for finding and winning them.
Why These Scholarships Exist
The gender gap in STEM is real. Research from the National Science Foundation shows that women make up roughly half of the overall college population but remain underrepresented in most STEM disciplines. In 2022, women earned just 22% of bachelor's degrees in engineering and 21% in computer science, while making up stronger shares in biology (61%) and chemistry (49%).
Companies and professional organizations fund scholarships because they want more women entering, staying in, and leading these fields. For you, that translates into funding you would not have access to in non-STEM majors. Many of these awards range from $1,000 to $15,000 per year, and some are renewable. When you stack them with institutional merit aid and need-based grants, they can dramatically reduce what your family pays out of pocket.
Major Scholarship Programs You Should Know
Society of Women Engineers (SWE) Scholarships
The Society of Women Engineers runs one of the largest scholarship programs for women in engineering and technology. SWE awards over 200 scholarships each year to undergraduate and graduate students, with individual awards ranging from $1,000 to $15,000. In the 2024-25 cycle, SWE distributed more than $1.4 million in total scholarship funding.
You need to be identified as female, enrolled in or accepted to an ABET-accredited engineering or computer science program (or a related STEM field), and maintain at least a 3.0 GPA. SWE uses a single application to match you with every scholarship you qualify for, so you are automatically considered for multiple awards.
Deadline: Applications typically open in December and close in mid-March. Mark your calendar early.
AAUW Fellowships and Grants
The American Association of University Women (AAUW) offers several fellowship and grant programs for women in higher education. While not limited to STEM, many of their awards target women in science and technical fields:
- Selected Professions Fellowships provide $5,000 to $20,000 for women in fields where they remain underrepresented, including engineering, computer science, and mathematics. These are available to U.S. citizens and permanent residents in their final year of a master's degree.
- American Fellowships support women doctoral candidates and postdoctoral researchers with awards of $6,000 to $30,000.
- International Fellowships are available to non-U.S. women pursuing full-time graduate or postdoctoral study in the United States.
AAUW has distributed more than $115 million in fellowships and grants since 1888. The application window generally runs from August through November, depending on the specific fellowship.
Palantir Women in Technology Scholarship
Palantir awards its Women in Technology Scholarship to undergraduate women who are active in STEM. Each recipient receives a $10,000 scholarship, and winners are invited to Palantir's offices for a development workshop with company engineers.
You need to be enrolled in an undergraduate program at a U.S. or Canadian university, majoring in engineering, computer science, math, or a related STEM field. The application asks for a short essay about a technical project and how you plan to use technology to make an impact.
Deadline: Typically in the spring, around April. Check the Palantir careers page for exact dates each cycle.
Google Women Techmakers Scholars Program
The Google Women Techmakers Scholars Program (formerly the Anita Borg Memorial Scholarship) awards $10,000 to women pursuing degrees in computer science, computer engineering, or a closely related technical field. Recipients also receive a retreat at a Google campus where they connect with Google engineers and fellow scholars.
You need to be enrolled in a bachelor's, master's, or PhD program at an accredited university, identify as a woman, and demonstrate academic performance and leadership. Google looks for students who are active in expanding the role of women in technology.
Deadline: Applications usually open in late fall and close in December. The program runs cycles for North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
Microsoft Scholarships
Microsoft offers several scholarship programs targeting underrepresented groups in technology, including women. Their Tuition Scholarship provides up to $12,000 per year for students pursuing undergraduate degrees in computer science, computer engineering, or select STEM fields at four-year universities in the United States, Canada, or Mexico.
Eligibility requires enrollment in a qualifying STEM degree program and a minimum 3.0 GPA. Highlight how you contribute to the tech community around you.
Deadline: Applications generally close in late January or early February.
BHW Group STEM Scholarship
The BHW Group offers a $3,000 scholarship to women pursuing undergraduate or graduate degrees in a STEM discipline. This is a smaller award but also less competitive than corporate-backed programs, making it a practical addition to your list.
Applicants must identify as female, be enrolled or enrolling in a STEM degree program, and submit a short essay on the topic assigned for that year.
Deadline: Typically April 15 each year.
Company-Sponsored Programs Worth Exploring
Beyond the major programs listed above, several technology and engineering companies fund scholarships for women in STEM. These change from year to year, so verify current availability before you apply:
- Intel and Qualcomm sponsor scholarships through SWE, so applying through SWE gives you access to these corporate awards automatically.
- Lockheed Martin funds a STEM Scholarship Program supporting women and underrepresented students in engineering and computer science, typically $5,000 to $10,000.
- Raytheon (RTX) sponsors scholarships through SWE and other engineering societies, some specifically for women.
- Bloomberg offers a Women in Technology Scholarship for undergraduate women in computer science or engineering, with a potential internship opportunity.
Many of these programs come with mentorship or internship pipelines -- benefits that can be just as valuable as the money.
Professional Organization Scholarships by Field
Different STEM fields have their own professional organizations, and many of them offer targeted scholarships for women. Here is a breakdown by discipline:
Engineering
- Society of Women Engineers (SWE): Already covered above -- this is the biggest single source.
- American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE): The ASCE Foundation offers multiple scholarships, and several are designated for women and underrepresented students in civil engineering. Awards range from $2,000 to $10,000.
- Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE International): SAE funds engineering scholarships that include women-specific awards, particularly in partnership with sponsors targeting diversity in mobility and aerospace.
Computer Science
- Association for Computing Machinery (ACM): The ACM-W program provides scholarships for women to attend major computing conferences -- typically $600 to $1,500 for travel and registration.
- National Center for Women and Information Technology (NCWIT): The NCWIT Collegiate Award recognizes undergraduate women for computing accomplishments with cash prizes up to $10,000.
- Computing Research Association (CRA): The CRA-WP program provides mentorship and research funding for women in graduate-level computing.
Math and Statistics
- Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM): AWM offers travel grants, essay contests with prizes, and mentorship programs for women in mathematics.
- American Statistical Association (ASA): The Gertrude M. Cox Scholarship provides up to $2,000 for women pursuing graduate degrees in statistics.
Biology and Life Sciences
- P.E.O. International: The P.E.O. Scholar Awards provide $20,000 for women pursuing doctoral-level research, including in biological sciences.
- AAUW: Their Selected Professions Fellowships mentioned earlier also cover life sciences at the graduate level.
Application Tips and Timeline
Winning these scholarships takes more than just meeting the minimum qualifications. Here is what strong applicants do:
Start early and stay organized. Create a spreadsheet with every scholarship you plan to apply for, its deadline, essay prompt, and required materials. Most deadlines fall between November and April.
Tailor every essay. If the SWE prompt asks about your engineering goals and the Palantir prompt asks about a technical project, do not recycle the same response. Reviewers can tell.
Show involvement, not just grades. Nearly every women-in-STEM scholarship values community engagement. Tutoring younger students, leading a robotics team, running a coding club, or volunteering at a science museum all belong in your application.
Get strong recommendation letters. Ask STEM teachers or professors who know your work well. Give them at least three weeks and a brief summary of the scholarship so they can customize their letter.
Apply broadly. Do not limit yourself to one or two big-name programs. Apply to five, ten, or fifteen scholarships. The smaller awards add up.
Sample Timeline for the 2025-26 Cycle
- August-September 2025: AAUW fellowship applications open. Research school-specific women-in-STEM awards.
- October-November 2025: Google Women Techmakers and AAUW deadlines approach. Draft and refine essays.
- December 2025-January 2026: SWE applications open. Microsoft deadline approaches. Request recommendation letters.
- February-March 2026: SWE deadline hits. Finalize remaining applications.
- April 2026: Palantir and BHW Group deadlines. Submit any last applications.
How to Find School-Specific Women-in-STEM Awards
Many colleges and universities have their own women-in-STEM scholarships that never show up on the big scholarship search engines. Here is how to uncover them:
Check your school's financial aid office. Ask specifically about scholarships for women in STEM. Many schools have endowed funds donated by alumni that only go to students who ask.
Visit your department's website. Engineering, computer science, and natural science departments often maintain their own scholarship lists with smaller applicant pools.
Contact campus organizations. If your school has a chapter of SWE or Women in Computer Science (WiCS), their officers often know about local scholarships and can share tips from past winners.
Search state-level programs. For example, SWE has regional sections across the country that award additional scholarships separate from the national program.
Look at community foundations. Local community foundations may offer STEM scholarships earmarked for women from your county or region. These are often $500 to $2,500 but face far less competition.
Combining Women-in-STEM Scholarships with Institutional Aid
Women-in-STEM scholarships are outside scholarships, meaning they come from sources other than your college. Most schools allow you to stack them on top of institutional merit aid, but the rules vary:
- Some schools reduce your need-based aid dollar for dollar when you bring in outside scholarships.
- Other schools apply outside scholarships to your loan or work-study portion first. This is the best scenario because the scholarship replaces money you would have borrowed or earned, keeping your grants intact.
- A few schools let outside scholarships reduce your family's expected contribution. This is less common but does happen at schools that meet full demonstrated need.
Ask your financial aid office directly: "If I win a $5,000 outside scholarship, how will it change my existing aid package?" Get the answer in writing.
When you combine a strong institutional merit award with two or three outside women-in-STEM scholarships, you can close a meaningful gap. A student who earns a $10,000 merit scholarship from her university, a $5,000 SWE award, and a $3,000 BHW Group scholarship has covered $18,000 -- a real reduction at almost any school.
Roadblocks to Watch
Eligibility restrictions you might miss. Some scholarships require ABET-accredited programs, specific majors, or minimum GPAs. Read every eligibility line carefully before you invest time in an application.
Scholarship displacement. Some schools reduce your need-based aid when you report outside scholarships. The scholarship might replace loans instead of grants -- but you need to understand the math.
Renewal requirements. Several of these scholarships are one-time awards. Others are renewable if you maintain a certain GPA and remain in your STEM major. Know the terms before you count on the money for all four years.
Essay fatigue. When you are applying to ten or more scholarships on top of coursework, your later essays can slip in quality. Build in time to revise, especially for higher-value awards.
Scams. If a scholarship charges an application fee, guarantees you will win, or asks for your bank account information, walk away. Legitimate women-in-STEM scholarships are always free to apply for.
The Bottom Line
Between SWE, AAUW, Palantir, Google, Microsoft, and dozens of professional organization and company-sponsored programs, there are hundreds of awards available each year specifically for women pursuing STEM degrees. You do not need to be a perfect student to win them. You need solid grades, genuine involvement in STEM, thoughtful essays, and the discipline to apply broadly.
Start building your scholarship list now, keep your deadlines organized, and treat each application as seriously as you treated your college applications. The money is there. Your job is to go get it.
Build your college financial plan at CollegeLens to see how women-in-STEM scholarships fit alongside your institutional aid, and create a clear picture of what your family will actually pay.
— Sravani at CollegeLens