IBM Scholarships
An IBM scholarship program comes in a few different forms, focusing on IT development and computer science. While there are some programs available on broad scale many of the programs are limited to specific colleges or through the company’s employee programs. Students who are interested in IT should certainly consider these programs as viable options when applying for financial assistance, especially if there is an applicable IBM scholarship program available through their local institution. All students should be very careful when looking through potential scholarships as there is a plethora of IBM scholarships which have been previously available through various organizations but are no longer applicable. Doing a simple search for IBM scholarships will result in a lot of these programs which may still have active application portals but are no longer available for students to get funding from. As a result students will need to check out the application details very carefully and, if necessary, contact the administrator of a particular IBM scholarship just to double-check on whether or not it is still available.
Despite the confusing amount of old scholarships which are still available around the web, discerning students will be able to save time by looking only for those scholarships which are available in their academic year. As a brief example, students who are looking to apply for scholarships in the 2012 academic year should look for IBM scholarships 2012.
Offered for several years the Herman Goldstein fellowship IBM scholarship is generally available in every academic year. Only two different awards will be given out but the fellowship provides at max a $115,000 stipend and allows post-graduate students to continue their studies in an official capacity through IBM. Students around the world are able to apply for this program and must provide a full resume of their studies, an abstract of their dissertation, a three page research statement and three letters of recommendation. No central eligibility requirements stand for this program. Applications for this IBM scholarship open on October 26 and all material must be received no later than January 6 of the following year.
Another useful IBM scholarship focuses on women in the IT field who are undergraduates considering graduate education through the American Physical Society. This program is designed to offer an internship for women students at an IBM research facility of their choice. Applicants must be a female at either the sophomore or junior levels of their education, be majoring in science or a computer engineering oriented field, and have at least a 3.0 grade point average in order to be eligible for the IBM scholarship program. The deadline for this program is February 1.
The Thomas J. Watson Fellowship is an IBM scholarship designed to support post-graduate students in the pursuit of further academic studies. All applicants must be a member of a member school, be a graduating senior and be nominated by their academic institution. This IBM Watson scholarship awards $25,000 for single applicants or up to $35,000 for those fellows who also must support a family. The yearly deadline for this program is November 3.
IBM scholarships are relatively limited in who they provide funding for. Many of their programs come in the form of fellowships for advanced students looking to continue their education and research in a formal business setting. Students who are interested in an IBM scholarship should have sincere research goals and be willing to work within the organization. In many instances winners of these programs will be working at IBM or interning in an IBM facility for a limited amount of time. The benefit of these programs is that they will give students hands on experience in the field and help buff up a resume for future employment. Because IBM scholarships are relatively rare but generally provide an immense amount of funding, students would be wise to prepare their applications very carefully. It will be important to ensure that applications offer a clear direction and clearly explain exactly what a student is interested in getting out of the experience.