Planning a degree as an adult usually means fitting it around a job, monthly bills, and other responsibilities, so cost is often one of the first things to figure out. If you’re a working adult, a first-generation student, or changing careers, you may also wonder how many scholarships exist for adults returning to college, or whether most awards go to people starting right after high school.
Part of the answer lies in where each type of aid comes from, since grants and scholarships follow different rules and can be paired with funding you may already have through work or military service. Unity Environmental University’s guidance on ways to save on tuition, for instance, places scholarships alongside federal aid, employer tuition reimbursement, and military benefits.
Knowing how scholarships and grants for adults returning to school work, and the order to use them, can help you pay for more of your degree with money you won’t have to repay.
What’s the Difference Between Grants and Scholarships?
Grants and scholarships are both gift aid, meaning money for school that you generally don’t have to repay, according to USAGov. Where they differ is in who provides the money and what it rewards, and that difference shapes how you apply for each one:
| Grants | Scholarships | |
| Main sources | Federal and state governments, plus some schools | Nonprofits, private organizations, employers, professional associations, and schools |
| What they’re based on | Usually financial need | Merit, talent, financial need, or a particular area of study |
| How you apply | The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) covers federal grants and many state grants | Each scholarship has its own application, criteria, and deadline |
For adults, the grant side has one detail worth knowing early. If you’re 24 or older, the U.S. Department of Education’s Federal Student Aid (FSA) office generally considers you an independent student, so the FAFSA looks at your own income, plus your spouse’s if you’re married, instead of your parents’. Scholarships work differently, since many weigh your background, goals, or field of study alongside financial need.
Because one application opens the door to most grants, the FAFSA is the natural place to start. The same form also determines your eligibility for federal student loans, and many schools use it to award their own aid. Filing it first gives you a clear picture of what you’ll receive, so you know how much you still need to cover before you start applying for scholarships.
Can Adults Get Grants to Go Back to School?
Yes. Federal grants are based on financial need and enrollment, not age, so adults qualify on the same terms as any other undergraduate. Most grants for adults going back to school come through the same federal and state programs available to every student, and the main requirements are financial need, enrollment in an eligible degree or certificate program, and a completed FAFSA. Each program has its own rules about who qualifies and how much it pays:
Federal Pell Grant
According to FSA, the Federal Pell Grant usually goes to undergraduates with exceptional financial need, and it’s often the foundation of an adult student’s aid. Pell eligibility comes from the information in your FAFSA, so there’s no separate application to complete.
Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG)
Some schools also award the FSEOG to undergraduates with exceptional financial need, prioritizing Pell Grant recipients. Not every school participates, and funds are limited, so ask a school’s financial aid office whether it offers the FSEOG and how it’s awarded.
State Grants
Many states fund grants for their residents, with eligibility based on where you live, your income, and your FAFSA. Your state’s higher education agency lists the programs available to you, along with state deadlines that can differ from federal ones.
Grants for Part-Time Students
Working adults often enroll part-time, and that doesn’t rule out a grant. Pell Grant amounts are adjusted to your enrollment, so a lighter course load typically means a smaller award rather than none at all. For many adults, that makes financial aid a realistic part of the plan, even while working full time.
Your grant eligibility is set one year at a time, so you’ll file a new FAFSA for each year you’re enrolled. If you’ve never completed one, a step-by-step guide to applying for financial aid can walk you through it. Grants may not cover your full cost, though, and that’s where scholarships come in.
Where Adult Learners Can Find Scholarships
Scholarships aren’t reserved for students heading to school right after high school. Many are open to learners of any age, and some are created specifically for adult learners, career changers, and students returning after time away. Searching by what makes your situation distinct tends to work best, since awards with narrower criteria often draw fewer applicants.
- Adult and nontraditional student scholarships: Awards for nontraditional students, older students, and working adults often weigh work and life experience alongside grades, which plays to the strengths of someone with years in the workforce.
- First-generation scholarships: These recognize students whose parents didn’t earn a bachelor’s degree, and many are open to adults as well as recent high school graduates.
- Employer and professional association awards: Associations in your field often fund scholarships for members and career changers entering the profession, and some employers offer scholarships separate from their tuition assistance programs.
- Local scholarships: Foundations, businesses, banks, and civic groups near you often fund smaller awards that attract fewer applicants.
- School-based scholarships: Many schools award scholarships of their own, so ask the financial aid office what’s available to adult and part-time students.
To search many of these in one place, the U.S. Department of Labor’s CareerOneStop Scholarship Finder lists more than 8,000 scholarships, grants, and other awards, with filters for level of study and award type. Legitimate scholarship sources don’t charge you for information about their awards, so skip any service that asks for a fee.
Adding your intended major as a search keyword narrows the results even further, which is especially useful in environmental fields, where many awards come from organizations tied to the work itself.
Scholarships for Environmental Science and Conservation Fields
If you’re planning a degree in an environmental field, the organizations that employ, train, and support professionals in that work are often the same ones funding scholarships. These are common places to look for scholarships for environmental science majors and related fields:
| If You’re Studying | Where Field-Specific Awards Often Come From |
| Environmental science or environmental studies | Environmental professional associations, sustainability-focused nonprofits, and local foundations |
| Marine biology | Marine science societies and ocean research or conservation nonprofits |
| Wildlife and conservation | Wildlife and fisheries professional societies, conservation districts, and land trusts |
| Sustainability | Sustainability-focused nonprofits and employers in energy, agriculture, or resource management |
Many environmental science, conservation, and marine biology scholarships ask for a short essay about your career goals in the field, which gives you room to connect your work history to the degree you’re pursuing.
Professional societies in these fields often offer student memberships as well, and joining one can put new awards and deadlines in front of you throughout the year. Even a few field-specific awards can add up, and they go further when you pair them with other funding you don’t have to repay.
Other Ways to Pay for Your Degree Without Loans
Some of the most useful funding for adults doesn’t require a scholarship search at all because it comes through your job, military service, or education you’ve already completed. Before you borrow, check whether any of these apply to you:
- Employer tuition assistance: Under Section 127 of the tax code, employers can provide up to $5,250 a year in tax-free educational assistance, according to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Your HR department can tell you whether your employer offers a program and which degrees it covers.
- Military education benefits: If you’re a service member, veteran, or military dependent, you may qualify for education benefits through military service, including VA education benefits and Active Duty Tuition Assistance.
- Credit you’ve already earned: Transfer credit and credit for prior learning can lower the number of courses you pay for in the first place.
- Tuition payment plans: Many schools let you split each term’s balance into smaller payments, so you can cover what’s left from your regular income instead of taking out a loan.
Together with grants and scholarships, these options can help you pay for college without loans, or at least borrow far less than the full cost. Each follows its own rules and timing, so the order you use them in matters.
How to Combine Grants, Scholarships, and Other Aid
Your total financial aid can’t exceed your school’s cost of attendance, the estimated total cost of a year of study, including tuition, fees, and other expenses. That means each new award can change the rest of your aid package, and working in this order helps you get the most from every source:
- Review your aid offer. After you file the FAFSA, your school sends a financial aid offer listing the grants, loans, and other aid you qualify for. Treat it as your baseline, since every other award will be measured against it.
- Add scholarships as you win them. Scholarship deadlines run throughout the year, so keep a running list with each award’s requirements and due date.
- Report each award to your school. Your financial aid office will update your aid package, which may lower your loans or other need-based aid.
- Plan around benefit timing. Some military benefits go directly to your school, while employer reimbursement often arrives after you finish a course, so a payment plan can help cover costs in the meantime.
- Borrow only what’s left. You can usually accept less than the full loan amount you’re offered, so use loans only to fill the remaining gap.
Repeating these steps each year keeps your plan current as your income, enrollment, or awards change. It also shows you exactly how much you need to borrow, if anything at all.
Plan Your Funding With Unity Environmental University
Scholarships and grants can cover a meaningful share of your degree’s cost, especially when you pair them with benefits you already have through work or service. It helps to choose a school where costs are clear from the start, so you can see how each award fits.
At Unity Environmental University, Distance Education tuition is $470 per credit hour for undergraduates and $550 for graduate students, and it’s locked through 2030. Unity doesn’t offer merit-based discounts and instead keeps per-credit costs low for every Distance Education student, which makes it easier to estimate how far your grants and scholarships will go.
You can combine federal aid with outside scholarships, employer tuition reimbursement, and military benefits, and adjust your federal loan amounts each term as other funding comes in. When you receive a scholarship, your New Student Navigator or Advisor shows you how it applies to your bill. Unity’s Smart Ways to Save page outlines each of these options in more detail, and with eight start dates a year, you can begin as soon as your aid is in place.
File your FAFSA to see which grants you qualify for, and bring your scholarship list to your first conversation with an advisor. Start your enrollment with Unity now.
Adult Learner Scholarships and Grants FAQs
Can You Get a Grant if You Already Have a Bachelor’s Degree?
Usually not from the federal government. According to the U.S. Department of Education’s Federal Student Aid (FSA) office, Pell Grants generally go only to undergraduates who haven’t earned a bachelor’s degree. Career changers can still use scholarships, employer tuition assistance, and federal student loans.
What Is Merit Aid?
Merit aid is funding based on achievement, such as grades, test scores, or talent, rather than financial need. Schools often award it as a tuition discount when a student first enrolls, while need-based aid like federal grants depends on the information in your FAFSA. Scholarships from outside organizations can be merit-based, need-based, or a mix of both.
Are Scholarships Taxable?
Usually not, if you’re working toward a degree and use the money for required costs. According to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), scholarships and grants are tax-free when you’re a degree candidate and use the funds for tuition and required fees, books, supplies, and equipment. Amounts used for other expenses, such as room and board, may be taxable.
