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Top 31 Music Scholarships in January 2023
Music is such a passion for certain students that they want to make a career out of doing what they love. While a career as a music teacher is rewarding for many, there are other options, including audio engineering, video game sound design, and music therapy. Whatever musical career path you decide upon, you can undoubtedly use a few scholarships to help fund your education.
Jump ahead to:
- Top music scholarships
- How to win music scholarships
- Resources for music students
- Need-based financial aid for music students
- Frequently asked questions about music scholarships
- Additional scholarship categories to explore
Keep on reading to learn more about our top music scholarships including eligibility, award amount, and application deadlines!
Top 31 Music Scholarships in January 2023
The Scholarships360 Research Team reviews all scholarships individually and strives to exclude any scholarship where any of the below applies:
- The scholarship requires a fee to apply
- The scholarship provider’s privacy policy allows for the misuse of student data
- The scholarship requires paid membership in an organization (with certain exceptions for reputable trade organizations and others)
- Student are required to sign up for a site or service to apply*
- The scholarship seems primarily used for lead generation** or idea harvesting purposes***
- The scholarship website has many grammatical errors and/or advertisements
- The scholarship or scholarship providing organization seem untrustworthy
- There is no evidence the scholarship was previously awarded
- The scholarship has not been awarded in the past 12 months
- There is no available contact information
If you believe a scholarship has been published in error, please reach out to [email protected] and we’ll take a look!
* There are certain exceptions to this, for example if the sponsoring organization is a major corporation or nonprofit with its own scholarship application system.
** Lead generation scholarships will require students to sign up for an app or website and require minimal (if any) application requirements.
***Idea harvesting scholarships will require students to submit blog posts or other materials that companies may use for marketing purposes.
$10,000 “No Essay” Scholarship
Scholarships360 Exclusive
Easy scholarship open to all US-based high school, college, community college and graduate students.
$2,000 Nitro College Scholarship – No Essay
Sponsored
Easy scholarship open to all high school, college, community and graduate students.
$25,000 No Essay Scholarship
Sponsored
Open to high school and college students, as well as anyone looking to attend college or graduate school in the next year.
“Follow Your Own Path” Essay Scholarship
Scholarships360 Exclusive
Open to all postsecondary students, regardless of the type of training/education they are pursuing.
“Outstanding Undergraduate” Essay Scholarship
Scholarships360 Exclusive
Open to current undergraduates at four-year universities in the U.S.
DAR Occupational/Physical Therapy Scholarship
Offered by Daughters of the American Revolution
Open to students accepted to or currently enrolled in an accredited school of occupational therapy.
FMA Solo Program
Offered by Flying Musicians Association, Inc.
High school juniors and seniors who have a passion for music and aviation. Applicants must be nominated by their music director/teacher.
Navy ROTC Scholarship
Offered by Naval Service Training Command
High school seniors applying to NROTC universities and college students at NROTC universities with less than 30 semester hours completed.
Gucci Changemakers North America Scholarship
Offered by Gucci
Open to current and incoming college students who will be studying design, marketing, art, film, communications, or other creative fields.
Dorian De Long Arts & Music Scholarship
Offered by Dorian De Long Arts & Music Scholarship
Open to Colorado high school students who plan on studying the arts at a Colorado university.
$25k “Be Bold” No-Essay Scholarship
Sponsored
Easy scholarship open to high school students, college students, community college students, and graduate students.
Classic Center Cultural Foundation Performing Arts Scholarship
Offered by Classic Center Cultural Foundation
Open to high school students in Northeast Georgia who are involved in the performing arts.
Jeanette M. Russell Jazz Scholarship Program
Offered by Gold Coast Jazz Society
Middle, high school, and college vocal/instrumental music students pursuing a music education with an emphasis in jazz studies.
CBC Spouses Performing Arts Scholarship
Offered by Congressional Black Caucus Foundation
Open to current and incoming Black/African-American postsecondary students majoring in a visual or performing arts field.
Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award
Offered by From The Top
Open to pre-collegiate musicians who need financial help to offset the costs of studying classical music at a high level in the U.S.
F. Lammot Belin Arts Scholarship
Offered by Peter Belin
Open to individuals planning to make their chosen fine art their life's work. Being from Pennsylvania is preferred, but not required.
This scholarship might not currently be accepting applications. Most scholarship programs only accept applications a few months ahead of their annual deadline. We’ve estimated this deadline based on last year’s deadline in order to help you plan out your scholarship applications.
Jan 15, 2024Jazz at the Ballroom Scholarship
Offered by Jazz at the Ballroom
Open to high school jazz instrumentalists attending a California high school.
This scholarship might not currently be accepting applications. Most scholarship programs only accept applications a few months ahead of their annual deadline. We’ve estimated this deadline based on last year’s deadline in order to help you plan out your scholarship applications.
Dec 9, 2023NAMM President’s Innovation Award
Offered by NAMM Foundation
Open to college and graduate students who are enrolled in college/university music or music business programs.
This scholarship might not currently be accepting applications. Most scholarship programs only accept applications a few months ahead of their annual deadline. We’ve estimated this deadline based on last year’s deadline in order to help you plan out your scholarship applications.
Dec 1, 2023$10,000 CollegeXpress Scholarship
Sponsored
Annual $10k scholarship from CollegeXpress open to all high school students.
Niche $2,000 “No Essay” College Scholarship
Sponsored
Easy scholarship from Niche open to all high school, college, and graduate students.
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How to win music scholarships
Like any type of scholarship, music scholarships receive a lot of applications. To stand out and win a scholarship, you’ll have to put a lot of thought into your essays and application materials. Before you begin applying, try sitting down and doing some reflection. Think about what has led you to pursue music, and how you work your background, upbringing, and culture into your work. Consider the change you hope to make in the world through your music, where you want to be in 5 years, and how you plan to get there.
Next it’s time to get your brainstorming down on paper. Don’t worry about grammar or succinctness here, just get your ideas on the page in bullet points or sentence fragments or whatever feels most natural to you. Once you begin writing your essays, these notes will come in handy often.
Writing a great essay
Writing a great scholarship essay is a unique craft that takes some time to get used to. Luckily, we can help you do it through guides on how to write a winning scholarship essay, how to start and end your essay, and how to write about yourself. We can also help you respond to common scholarship essay prompts, including “Why do you deserve this scholarship?” Finally, check out our guides to tailoring your writing to 250 or 500 word limits.
Resources for music students
Delta Omicron
Delta Omicron is an international business fraternity for music students of all gender identities. They have chapters at many colleges throughout the country and facilitate lectures, recitals, networking opportunities, and much more.
American Music Therapy Association
The AMTA is a national organization that helps support and develop the field of music therapy all across the country. Student membership is only $95 per year and comes with perks such as literature from the organization, networking opportunities, and trainings.
Need-based financial aid for music students
If you are a current or prospective music major, you may also qualify for need-based financial aid through your college or through the government. There are two major financial aid applications you should know about:
- Free Application for Federal Student Aid (or FAFSA) which is how students can access financial aid through the government. This financial aid can include federal student loans, Federal SEOG Grants, and Pell Grants.
- CSS Profile which is how some colleges and universities award institutional financial aid.
Be sure to check-in with your college to see what applications are required for need-based financial aid.
