Editor’s Notebook: How to find free money for adult education

Henry DeVries

Many San Diego jobs require training for a new field. Much has been written about how high school students can find money for college. But what about continuing education students who need to retrain to transition to areas of higher employment? Here are fivesources of funds for adult learners.

1.         Private Grants

These grants offered through charities, religious organizations, community associations, fraternal orders, unions, and other organizations.

2.         Corporate Scholarships

Corporate scholarships are targeted for adults from underprivileged backgrounds, outstanding scholarship, community involvement, or enrollment in specific programs such project management. Competition can be steep, so apply early.

3.         Tuition Reimbursement

This is money that many employers provide to their employees for completing continuing education courses targeted to meet an employer’s needs. If you are employed, check with your company’s HR department.

4.         College Grants

Many colleges, universities, and technical schools provide students with grant money for tuition not funded by other sources. Many schools offer grants to students with financial need, academic promise and older students returning to school for continuing education. For example, UC San Diego Extension offers scholarships to University of California graduates  (www.extension.ucsd.edu/scholarships ).

5.         Fellowships

For example the Rady School of Management at UC San Diego has announced new fellowships created to support emerging leaders in San Diego’s life sciences or technology companies. These fellowships have been generously funded by the Rady Alumni Association, the Burnham Family Foundation, Pauline Foster and Family, the Michael and Karen Stone Family Foundation and donors to the 2009 Rady Pinnacle Awards and Alumni Gala.

The Rady School actively seeks applications directly from qualified professionals interested in fellowship opportunities, as well as nominations from employing companies and our business community partners. Information on the Rady FlexWeekend MBA program and the admissions process can be found at http://rady.ucsd.edu/mba/flex.

Fellowships will be awarded to individuals joining the Fall 2009 entering class of the Rady FlexWeekend MBA program. The Rady FlexWeekend MBA is designed for working professionals driven to make an impact in the innovation-driven economy. Students attend classes on Friday and Saturday of alternating weekends, minimizing the time away from work.

These fellowships are open to professionals currently working in the San Diego life sciences or technology sector. Individuals selected will demonstrate:

• a commitment to the region and to their industry
• significant contributions to their organizations
• the potential to make a significant impact in sustaining and enhancing San Diego’s innovation-focused business community

Fellowship applicants must show the support of their companies, as evidenced by the commitment of matching funds in support of the applicant’s enrollment in the FlexWeekend MBA program. Individuals must formally apply and be admitted to the Rady FlexWeekend MBA program. Four fellowships will be awarded to Fall 2009 entrants to the FlexWeekend MBA.

To nominate an emerging San Diego business leader for this opportunity, or for more information on the FlexWeekend MBA program and the admissions process, please contact JoAnne Starr at 858.228.4225 or jstarr@ucsd.edu.

The direct link is:  http://management.ucsd.edu/invest/fellowships/emerging/

Henry DeVries is the Jobs and Career editor for SDNN and the director of communications for UC San Diego Extension.

Tags: SDNN

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 25th, 2009 at 3:31 pm and is filed under Job & Careers . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.