About Our Scholarships
-
- We have a range of scholarships available for our undergraduate, postgraduate, and fellowship applicants. Each scholarship aims to support recipients in achieving their goals throughout their academic pursuits.
-
- The 2026/2027 Elouise Cobell Dissertation Writing-Year Fellowship application is now open through January 10, 2026.
-
- The 2026 Cobell Graduate Summer Research Fellowship application is now open through January 10, 2026.
-
- The initial AY 2025/2026 Undergraduate and Graduate Cobell Scholarship offers have been conducted. Check email or OASIS for more information.
-
- The Cobell Vocational Scholarship is now open.
Undergraduate
Scholarship
Undergraduate Scholarship – application available
December 15 to March 31 each year.
- The Undergraduate Cobell Scholarship is designed to support:
- Enrolled members of U.S. Federally-recognized American Indian Tribes and Alaska Native Corporations. A dropdown list of these Tribes and Corporations is provided in the system; and,
- Pursuing a bachelor’s (BA or BS) degree (also known as a 4-year degree) while attending a nonprofit public or private *institution; or,
- Pursuing an associate of arts (AA) degree (also known as a 2-year degree) while attending a nonprofit public or private *institution.
- Applicants should review all instructions and embedded videos throughout OASIS to ensure a full understanding of each step.
- Applicants will complete a multistep process once in the OASIS portal:
- Profile – collects demographic information used to communicate with applicants and scholars.
- Carefully read the Acknowledgements and Authorizations before initialing
- This information can be updated as needed by the user; then,
- Eligibility – collects educational information needed to match applicants with the appropriate application(s); then,
- Undergraduate Scholarship – for individuals who
- recently completed high school; or,
- high school equivalency programs; or,
- have completed some college but have *not yet earned a bachelor’s (4-year) degree.
- Profile – collects demographic information used to communicate with applicants and scholars.
- A reference is required.
- We are seeking highly engaged leaders who exhibit strength in academics.
- Review all Frequently Asked Questions regarding selection and awarding.
- Direct all application questions to scholarships@cobellscholar.org
Graduate & Professional
Scholarship
December 15 to March 31 each year.
- The Graduate Cobell Scholarship is designed to support:
- Enrolled members of U.S. Federally-recognized American Indian Tribes and Alaska Native Corporations. A dropdown list of these Tribes and Corporations is provided in the system; and,
- Pursuing a master’s (MA, MS), Doctoral (PhD, EdD, etc.), or professional (MD, JD, etc.) degree while attending a nonprofit public or private *institution; or,
- Post-baccalaureate degree as designated by the *institution of choice; or,
- Professional certification coursework.
- Applicants should review all instructions and embedded videos throughout OASIS to ensure a full understanding of each step.
- Applicants will complete a multistep process once in the OASIS portal:
- Profile – collects demographic information used to communicate with applicants and scholars.
- Carefully read the Acknowledgements and Authorizations before initialing
- This information can be updated as needed by the user; then,
- Eligibility – collects educational information needed to match applicants with the appropriate application(s); then,
- Graduate Scholarship – for individuals who
- recently completed a bachelor’s degree; or,
- recently completed a master’s degree; or,
- are in need of additional professional certification to advance a career; or,
- have completed some graduate coursework but have *not yet earned a degree.
- Profile – collects demographic information used to communicate with applicants and scholars.
- A letter of reference is required.
- We are seeking highly engaged leaders who exhibit strength in academics.
- Review all Frequently Asked Questions regarding selection and awarding.
- Direct all application questions to scholarships@cobellscholar.org
Vocational & Trade School
Scholarship
Vocational Scholarship – application available
June 1 to May 15 year-round each year until funds are exhausted.
- The Vocational Cobell Scholarship is designed to support:
- Enrolled members of U.S. Federally-recognized American Indian Tribes and Alaska Native Corporations. A dropdown list of these Tribes and Corporations is provided in the system; and,
- Pursuing a diploma, certificate, or (Associate of Applied Science) AAS degree (or equivalent) while attending a nonprofit public or private *institution; or,
- Pursuing an associate of arts (AA) degree (also known as a 2-year degree) leading to certification in a trade (not ‘general’ studies) while attending a nonprofit public or private *institution.
- Applicants should review all instructions and embedded videos throughout OASIS to ensure a full understanding of each step.
- Applicants will complete a multistep process once in the OASIS portal:
- Profile – collects demographic information used to communicate with applicants and scholars.
- Carefully read the Acknowledgements and Authorizations before initialing
- This information can be updated as needed by the user; then,
- Eligibility – collects educational information needed to match applicants with the appropriate application(s); then,
- Vocational Scholarship – for individuals who
- recently completed high school; or,
- high school equivalency programs; and,
- have interest in a vocation or trade *not yet earned a similar certification, diploma, or degree level.
- Profile – collects demographic information used to communicate with applicants and scholars.
- We are seeking highly engaged leaders who exhibit strength in academics.
- Review all Frequently Asked Questions regarding selection and awarding.
- Direct all application questions to scholarships@cobellscholar.org
Summer
Scholarship
Summer Scholarship – application available
February 15 to May 4 each year.
- The Summer Cobell Scholarship is designed to support:
- Enrolled members of U.S. Federally-recognized American Indian Tribes and Alaska Native Corporations. A dropdown list of these Tribes and Corporations is provided in the system; and,
- Pursuing any degree while attending a nonprofit public or private *institution; or,
- Applicants should review all instructions and embedded videos throughout OASIS to ensure a full understanding of each step.
- Applicants will complete a multistep process once in the OASIS portal:
- Profile – collects demographic information used to communicate with applicants and scholars.
- Carefully read the Acknowledgements and Authorizations before initialing
- This information can be updated as needed by the user; then,
- Eligibility – collects educational information needed to match applicants with the appropriate application(s); then,
- Summer Scholarship – prioritized (in this order) for individuals who
- will graduate at the end of the Summer academic term; or,
- will graduate at the end of the following Fall academic term; or,
- are enrolled in a cohort program requiring Summer academic term attendance; or,
- will graduate at the end of the following Spring academic term; or,
- would like to enroll in Summer courses to stay on track to graduate in a timely manner.
- Profile – collects demographic information used to communicate with applicants and scholars.
- No reference is needed for the Summer Cobell Scholarship
- We are seeking highly engaged leaders who exhibit strength in academics.
- Review all Frequently Asked Questions regarding selection and awarding.
- Direct all application questions to scholarships@cobellscholar.org
Graduate Summer
Research Fellowship
September 1 to January 10 each year.
- The Graduate Summer Research Fellowship is designed to support:
- Enrolled members of U.S. Federally-recognized American Indian Tribes and Alaska Native Corporations. A dropdown list of these Tribes and Corporations is provided in the system; and,
- Conducting research during the Summer months; and,
- Conducting research while attending a nonprofit public or private *institution; or,
- Applicants should review all instructions and embedded videos throughout OASIS to ensure a full understanding of each step.
- Applicants will complete a multistep process once in the OASIS portal:
- Profile – collects demographic information used to communicate with applicants and scholars.
- Carefully read the Acknowledgements and Authorizations before initialing
- This information can be updated as needed by the user; then,
- Eligibility – collects educational information needed to match applicants with the appropriate application(s); then,
- Graduate Summer Research Fellowship for individuals who
- Are conducting degree-relevant, graduate level research (e.g. Master’s Thesis or Doctoral Dissertation) during the summer months
- Profile – collects demographic information used to communicate with applicants and scholars.
- An academic reference is required.
- We are seeking highly engaged leaders who exhibit strength in academics.
- Review all Frequently Asked Questions regarding selection and awarding.
Elouise Cobell Doctoral
Dissertation Writing-Year Fellowship
Elouise Cobell Dissertation Writing-Year Fellowship –
application available September 1 to January 10 each year.
- The ECDWY Fellowship is designed to support:
- Enrolled members of U.S. Federally-recognized American Indian Tribes and Alaska Native Corporations. A dropdown list of these Tribes and Corporations is provided in the system; and,
- Engaged in the doctoral dissertation writing process between June and May of each upcoming academic year; and,
- Scholars who are within 12 months of completing their dissertation; and,
- scholars attending a nonprofit public or private *institution.
- Applicants should review all instructions and embedded videos throughout OASIS to ensure a full understanding of each step.
- Applicants will complete a multistep process once in the OASIS portal:
- Profile – collects demographic information used to communicate with applicants and scholars.
- Carefully read the Acknowledgements and Authorizations before initialing
- This information can be updated as needed by the user; then,
- Eligibility – collects educational information needed to match applicants with the appropriate application(s); then,
- ECDWY Fellowship for individuals who
- Are engaged in the writing and completion of their doctoral dissertation during the months of June through May, each year
- Profile – collects demographic information used to communicate with applicants and scholars.
- An academic reference is required.
- We are seeking highly engaged leaders who exhibit strength in academics.
- Review all Frequently Asked Questions regarding selection and awarding.
This program is a legacy scholarship in the name of Elouise “Yellow Bird Woman” Cobell. All applicants should read the documents linked in “Our History” and “Elouise Cobell” in order to best respond to all question prompts in the application. Cobell Scholarship offers are merit-based following a lengthy application and referral process; and, Cobell Scholarship awards are disbursed according to US Federal Student Aid standards and the policies of the individual colleges and universities which determine scholars’ need. The Cobell Scholarship is annual, non-renewable to any post-secondary (after high school) student who is an enrolled member of a US Federally-recognized Tribe or Alaska Native Corporation, enrolled in or plans to enroll in full-time study and is degree-seeking while attending any nationally, regionally, and industry accredited non-profit public or private institution.
We know there are many AI tools available to students (like ChatGPT). While we believe that artificial intelligence (AI) tools help brainstorm ideas, outline, or edit, the final responses must be the applicant’s own work. While the Cobell Scholarship does not prohibit the use of AI technologies for the purpose of revision and proofreading, applicants should use their own thoughts for idea generation and response writing.
We expect that an applicant will personally write all responses submitted for review in the application. The responses that reviewers love to read, and that are most helpful in making a decision tell them something new and unique about the applicant and (most importantly) are in the applicant’s authentic voice. The reviewers should hear the applicant’s voice and perspective when reading all the application materials. The quality of the writing is not as important as the personalized message or story that is being shared. We read applications to get a better understanding of an applicant and to hear an authentic voice.
You will tell your own story better than AI can.
For the Undergraduate, Graduate, and Fellowship opportunities, Indigenous Education, Inc. engages several highly qualified Native education specialists to review all fully completed applications submitted by the stated deadline(s). Following this review, merit-based offers are made to hundreds of carefully screened and selected applicants who then move to FINALIST status in early May each year. During this stage, several things happen simultaneously:
- Finalists will accept (or decline) the offer, then submit completed recent transcripts and proof of course enrollment for the next term for which funding will be made available. This can be very early in the process or later depending on individual institutional policies. We also like to see and promote scholars so an optional photo can be uploaded. For this reason and to relieve stress on the Finalist, the post-acceptance period usually remains open throughout the summer. It is important to understand that during this time, scholarship offers will not be lost; and,
- Staff work with tribal enrollment offices* to verify citizenship; and,
- Staff work with financial aid offices* to verify university attendance and financial aid eligibility.
*In some rare instances, we need the Finalist’s assistance in reaching out to these offices, but for most, IEI tries to do the heavy-lifting for Finalists. At any point in the verification process should a Finalist choose to attend a different school or their contact information changes, they can simply login to make changes or contact our offices for assistance. Disbursement of funds is conducted on a first-completed, first-funded basis, each Friday throughout each academic term. **Each year a waitlist is established. Individuals on the waitlist can see the status in OASIS. Offers to individuals on the waitlist can be made at any time during the academic year; therefore, it is important that applicants keep their information updated in OASIS and respond to all email or text communications.
Access Your Accounts Here
Contact Us At Your Convenience
The Cobell Scholarship Team is available to address any questions or concerns regarding the scholarship process or other related inquiries. Simply complete and submit the form below.
The Cobell Scholarship
2155 Louisiana Blvd NE Suite 10100
Albuquerque NM 87110