Scholarships

Higher education is a substantial financial investment for many students and tuition only covers 71% of the cost of a Clarkson education. Given the gap, 98% of our undergraduates rely on financial aid to start and continue their uncommon journey. One of the most personal and lasting ways to make an impact on the lives of Clarkson students is with a gift of scholarship support. 

Share Clarkson Direct Scholarship

For generations, alumni, parents, and friends have shared their enthusiasm for Clarkson and its superior education. Now is the time to share something more — the University itself and the opportunities and experiences it provides. Our Share Clarkson Direct Scholarship is the most direct way to benefit talented, aspiring students who wish to attend Clarkson today. By committing to an annual gift of $2,500 per year for four-years, you could be the difference maker in a student choosing Clarkson over another institution. The Share Clarkson is your chance to make a big, immediate impact while also creating a powerful personal legacy of learning and opportunity. Here’s how it works:

  • You commit to $2,500 annually for four years.
  • As a donor you may specify criteria, such as an academic discipline or geographic region, for choosing a recipient.
  • Clarkson will select an appropriate applicant.
  • You choose how much personal contact — if any — you have with the recipient.
  • Your scholarship may carry your name or the name of someone you designate.
  • Your contribution to Share Clarkson counts as an annual gift to the Clarkson Fund.
  • Your student recipient is able to enroll at his or her school of choice: Clarkson.

Lewis Income Share Agreement Program (LISA)

A Clarkson education + LISA interest-free financing = future financial freedom + accelerated career success

An ISA is a contract in which students receive up-front education funding. In exchange, they agree to pay a percentage of their income over a defined number of months. There is no principal balance or interest rate. The amount they pay in any given month automatically adjusts based on their earned income for that month, so they always have a predictable payment burden. Depending on their earning level, their required payments may be more or less than the amount of their initial credit, or they may not be required to pay anything at all. If they don’t make money, we don’t make money. 

At Clarkson, we refer to our ISA as the Lewis Income Share Agreement, or LISA, in honor of Earl ’66 and Barbara Lewis, who provided the generous seed funding to make this program available to students.

Clarkson Ignite Fellowship

More than ever, today’s innovation occurs at the intersection of business, engineering, science and technology – an intersection at which Clarkson Ignite educates students. Implemented through both a major capital project that will transform the heart of campus and curricular and extracurricular innovation programming that will impact every student, Clarkson Ignite is Clarkson’s plan for producing graduates who can make connections across disciplines to create extraordinary economic and social value. 

The Clarkson Ignite Research Fellowship program provides funding to recruit and support highly talented PhD students for up to five years in interdisciplinary faculty research projects that can potentially impact society at the national and international levels. 

Endowed Scholarship

If you would like to create a fund that will provide scholarships to students for years to come, an endowed scholarship can be a great option. When you give an endowed fund, the university doesn’t use your actual money to award students with scholarships. Instead, your money is invested. The interest earned from your invested money is used to fund scholarships. The minimum amount needed to begin awarding your scholarship is $25,000. Gifts of any amount may be made at any time to existing endowed scholarships. When an endowed scholarship is created, guidelines are drafted to determine how the income may be used. As a donor you may specify criteria, such as an academic discipline or geographic region, for choosing a recipient.