Non-Need-Based Aid
Available Types of Non-Need-Based Aid
Non-Need-Based Aid is awarded with the goal of securing a strong and diverse class.
Full-tuition Fellowships for First-Year Students – For the 2023-2024 academic year, fellowships will be awarded based on the applicant’s admission application, portfolio, interview, and recommendation letters. Most fellowships are renewable for the second year of study provided the student’s Artist‐in‐Residence confirms that they are maintaining satisfactory progress in their program. Fellows are nominated by the department’s Artist-in-Residence based on strength of the admissions application, with priority given to students who contribute to the Academy’s goal of increasing diversity.
Scholarships for First-Year Students – Select students from each of the Academy’s 11 departments will be awarded scholarships at the time of admission; there is no separate application process. Scholarship amounts vary and are renewable for the second year of study provided the student’s Artist‐in‐Residence confirms that they are maintaining satisfactory progress in their program.
Federal Student Loans – Direct Unsubsidized and Direct Graduate PLUS loans are awarded to all applicants eligible for financial aid. Students must apply using the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, and complete all the necessary requirements. For more information, please see our instructions here.
Private Loans – Students may elect to borrow private loans. Cranbrook Academy of Art does not maintain a preferred lender list and therefore is not able to provide lender recommendations. We encourage our students who are eligible to apply for federal student aid to consider federal loans first (https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/types/loans/federal-vs-private). The school must certify private education loans, and appropriate counseling regarding federal vs. private loans will be provided when students contact the Financial Aid Office to request certification.
Non-Need-Based Aid is awarded with the goal of securing a strong and diverse class.
Full-tuition Fellowships for First-Year Students – For the 2023-2024 academic year, fellowships will be awarded based on the applicant’s admission application, portfolio, interview, and recommendation letters. Most fellowships are renewable for the second year of study provided the student’s Artist‐in‐Residence confirms that they are maintaining satisfactory progress in their program. Fellows are nominated by the department’s Artist-in-Residence based on strength of the admissions application, with priority given to students who contribute to the Academy’s goal of increasing diversity.
Scholarships for First-Year Students – Select students from each of the Academy’s 11 departments will be awarded scholarships at the time of admission; there is no separate application process. Scholarship amounts vary and are renewable for the second year of study provided the student’s Artist‐in‐Residence confirms that they are maintaining satisfactory progress in their program.
Federal Student Loans – Direct Unsubsidized and Direct Graduate PLUS loans are awarded to all applicants eligible for financial aid. Students must apply using the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, and complete all the necessary requirements. For more information, please see our instructions here.
Private Loans – Students may elect to borrow private loans. Cranbrook Academy of Art does not maintain a preferred lender list and therefore is not able to provide lender recommendations. We encourage our students who are eligible to apply for federal student aid to consider federal loans first (https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/types/loans/federal-vs-private). The school must certify private education loans, and appropriate counseling regarding federal vs. private loans will be provided when students contact the Financial Aid Office to request certification.
Requirements for Scholarship Recipients
Scholarship award recipients are required to complete a brief autobiographical survey as a condition of receiving the award.
Students who withdraw from school for any reason lose their merit scholarships/scholarships; this may result in a balance owed to the school if the student withdraws during the course of a semester.
Scholarship award recipients are required to complete a brief autobiographical survey as a condition of receiving the award.
Students who withdraw from school for any reason lose their merit scholarships/scholarships; this may result in a balance owed to the school if the student withdraws during the course of a semester.
Important Note Regarding the Availability of Funding
Cranbrook Academy of Art does not have an undergraduate program; therefore, teaching assistantships (tuition remission/stipends) are not available.
Prospective and Current Students are Encouraged to Research Outside Scholarship Opportunities.
Cranbrook Academy of Art does not have an undergraduate program; therefore, teaching assistantships (tuition remission/stipends) are not available.
Prospective and Current Students are Encouraged to Research Outside Scholarship Opportunities.
Other Scholarship Opportunities (not affiliated with Cranbrook Academy of Art)
Albert K. Murray Fine Arts Educational Fund: The Albert K. Murray Fine Arts Educational Fund offers grants 4 times each year to students who are enrolled full time in accredited and degree granting fine arts programs such as painting, sculpture, or photography. For application materials, or to ask questions, contact Dr. Marion Gilliland, (740) 796-4797, Monday through Friday, 9 am to 5 pm (EST); the office is closed on weekends and holidays.
The Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans: Prospective students who meet the criteria for New American Status may wish to apply for The Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans. This fellowship, with an annual deadline of November 1 for the following school year, provides funding for up to two years of graduate school. While the fellowship is not affiliated with Cranbrook Academy of Art, it is such an outstanding opportunity that we want our prospective and current students to be aware of it. Full details and the application are available at https://www.pdsoros.org/apply. Eligibility requirements for the most recent application cycle are posted here: https://www.pdsoros.org/apply/eligibility. The application for the 2019 Fellowship, which will be for the 2019-2020 academic year is now closed. The application for the 2020 Fellowship which would be for the 2020-2021 academic year, will be available in April of 2019.
College Art Association Professional Development Fellowships for Graduate Students: The Professional Development Fellowships program supports promising artists, designers, craftspersons, historians, curators, and critics who are enrolled in MFA, PhD, and other terminal degree programs. Fellows are honored with $10,000 unrestricted grants to help them with various aspects of their work.
One award will be presented to a practitioner—an artist, designer, and/or craftsperson—and one award will be presented to an art, architecture, and/or design historian, curator, or critic. Fellows also receive a free, one-year CAA membership and complimentary registration to the Annual Conference. Honorable mentions, given at the discretion of the jury, also earn a free one-year CAA membership and complimentary conference registration.
Eligibility: Students who are current members; will receive their MFA or PhD degree in the calendar year 2019, following the year of application (2018 for the current fellowship cycle); and have outstanding capabilities and demonstrate distinction in their contribution to art history and the visual arts. Application due November 16,2018.
Spending a few hours a week searching the internet for scholarships and fellowships is a wise investment of time. Scholarship search sites are good options, and websites devoted to the arts often list opportunities. An excellent search engine is available here: U.S. Department of Labor scholarship search engine.
LGBTQ students may find this scholarship database helpful: Human Rights Campaign LGBTQ Scholarship Database.
Scholarship opportunities for various groups (LGBTQ, minorities, students with disabilities, veterans, and women) may be found on this website: https://www.learnhowtobecome.org/. At the top of the page, click on Colleges, then Scholarships & Financial Aid.
Current students are informed of scholarship opportunities through a weekly electronic newsletter and through postings on Cranbrook Academy of Art’s Intranet.
For tips on writing scholarship essays, see 7 Steps to Writing a Winning Scholarship Essay.
Albert K. Murray Fine Arts Educational Fund: The Albert K. Murray Fine Arts Educational Fund offers grants 4 times each year to students who are enrolled full time in accredited and degree granting fine arts programs such as painting, sculpture, or photography. For application materials, or to ask questions, contact Dr. Marion Gilliland, (740) 796-4797, Monday through Friday, 9 am to 5 pm (EST); the office is closed on weekends and holidays.
The Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans: Prospective students who meet the criteria for New American Status may wish to apply for The Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans. This fellowship, with an annual deadline of November 1 for the following school year, provides funding for up to two years of graduate school. While the fellowship is not affiliated with Cranbrook Academy of Art, it is such an outstanding opportunity that we want our prospective and current students to be aware of it. Full details and the application are available at https://www.pdsoros.org/apply. Eligibility requirements for the most recent application cycle are posted here: https://www.pdsoros.org/apply/eligibility. The application for the 2019 Fellowship, which will be for the 2019-2020 academic year is now closed. The application for the 2020 Fellowship which would be for the 2020-2021 academic year, will be available in April of 2019.
College Art Association Professional Development Fellowships for Graduate Students: The Professional Development Fellowships program supports promising artists, designers, craftspersons, historians, curators, and critics who are enrolled in MFA, PhD, and other terminal degree programs. Fellows are honored with $10,000 unrestricted grants to help them with various aspects of their work.
One award will be presented to a practitioner—an artist, designer, and/or craftsperson—and one award will be presented to an art, architecture, and/or design historian, curator, or critic. Fellows also receive a free, one-year CAA membership and complimentary registration to the Annual Conference. Honorable mentions, given at the discretion of the jury, also earn a free one-year CAA membership and complimentary conference registration.
Eligibility: Students who are current members; will receive their MFA or PhD degree in the calendar year 2019, following the year of application (2018 for the current fellowship cycle); and have outstanding capabilities and demonstrate distinction in their contribution to art history and the visual arts. Application due November 16,2018.
Spending a few hours a week searching the internet for scholarships and fellowships is a wise investment of time. Scholarship search sites are good options, and websites devoted to the arts often list opportunities. An excellent search engine is available here: U.S. Department of Labor scholarship search engine.
LGBTQ students may find this scholarship database helpful: Human Rights Campaign LGBTQ Scholarship Database.
Scholarship opportunities for various groups (LGBTQ, minorities, students with disabilities, veterans, and women) may be found on this website: https://www.learnhowtobecome.org/. At the top of the page, click on Colleges, then Scholarships & Financial Aid.
Current students are informed of scholarship opportunities through a weekly electronic newsletter and through postings on Cranbrook Academy of Art’s Intranet.
For tips on writing scholarship essays, see 7 Steps to Writing a Winning Scholarship Essay.