USA Scholarships
December Deadline Scholarships
December Deadline Scholarships
Scholarships and fellowships with application deadlines in December. Plan ahead and submit your applications before the year-end rush.
Harvard Free Online Courses 2027 - Audit 129 Courses
Harvard free online courses are gathered on one page of Harvard's Professional and Lifelong Learning site, where the free filter currently returns 129 online courses priced at $0. They come from across the university, with 48 from the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, 24 from the T.H. Chan School of Public Health and 22 from the engineering school, and they span 11 subject areas from Humanities to Data Science. There is no application, no committee and no closing date, because 125 of the 129 are open to start any day. The teaching is what costs nothing. On most of them a verified certificate is a paid extra, sampled between $149 and $299, and CS50 is the notable exception that hands out a free certificate of its own.
IBM Free Online Courses 2027 - IBM SkillsBuild
IBM free online courses 2027 run on IBM SkillsBuild, the education programme IBM funds itself. IBM describes it as 100% free learning, and that holds all the way through: over 1,000 courses in AI, cybersecurity, data analysis, cloud computing and workplace skills, in 22 languages, with IBM-branded digital credentials issued through Credly at no cost when you finish one. There is no application, no selection round and no deadline. High school learners aged 13 to 18 sign up through the high school programme, adult learners aged 18 and over through the adult route, and university students through the university route. You can sample seven courses as a guest before you register at all.
Google Cybersecurity Course 2027 - Certificate Guide
The Google Cybersecurity Course 2027 is the Google Cybersecurity Certificate, an eight-course professional programme built by Google security teams and taught on Coursera. It takes most people about six months at seven hours a week, assumes no degree and no prior experience, and ends with a shareable certificate plus preparation for the CompTIA Security+ exam. It is not free: Coursera charges $49 per month in the US and Canada after a 7-day free trial, so finishing inside six months costs most learners under $300. Financial aid is available on the page for anyone who cannot pay. Enrolment is open every day of the year with no application, no deadline and no selection round.
University of California Mastercard Scholarship 2027
The University of California Mastercard Scholarship is the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at UC Berkeley, run out of the Center for African Studies. It pays the full cost of a master's degree for citizens of African countries: travel, tuition, Berkeley student fees, visa and SEVIS fees, housing, food, living costs and a leadership and entrepreneurship programme alongside the degree. There is no separate scholarship form to hunt for. You apply to an eligible UC Berkeley master's programme first, the degree programme nominates you, and the Scholars Program then invites you to a supplemental application in February, an interview in March and a decision in late March or early April. Doctoral and undergraduate students are not eligible, and Berkeley will keep recruiting Scholars through the fall of 2028.
NYU CERA PhD Scholarship 2027 - Fully Funded at Tandon
The NYU CERA PhD Scholarship 2027 is funded doctoral study in the Climate, Energy and Risk Analytics Lab at NYU Tandon School of Engineering, led by Assistant Professor Yuki Miura. The lab's own recruitment notice promises full tuition coverage, a PhD stipend, health insurance and research and conference support. You start by filling in the CERA interest form, then apply formally to the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering PhD and name Yuki Miura as your intended advisor. Tandon reviews all PhD applications for Fall entry by 1 December, and the lab reads interest forms on a rolling basis, so early is better.
Alabama Presidential Scholarship 2027 - $28,000/Year
The Alabama Presidential Scholarship is the second-highest automatic merit award at The University of Alabama, and you never fill in a separate form for it. Out-of-state and international freshmen entering in 2027 get $28,000 per year on a 3.50 GPA with a 32 to 36 ACT or a 1420 to 1600 SAT. Alabama residents qualify a tier lower, from a 30 ACT or a 1360 SAT, and their award is the value of tuition rather than a fixed sum. The UA Undergraduate App doubles as the scholarship application, and the priority deadline for Summer and Fall 2027 entry is 4 December 2026.
Eastern Michigan Presidential Scholarship 2027 - Full Ride
The Eastern Michigan Presidential Scholarship is the most prestigious award Eastern Michigan University gives an incoming first-year student. It covers full tuition plus room and board for four years, which EMU values at roughly $100,000, and every Presidential Scholar joins The Honors College. Applications for the class entering Fall 2027 close on 15 December 2026, and EMU says no exceptions will be made. You qualify on a 3.85 high school GPA with no test score, or on a 3.5 to 3.84 GPA paired with a 25 composite ACT or a 1200 SAT. A campus visit during the 2026 calendar year is part of the application, and a virtual honors session counts.
SMART Scholarship 2027 - Full Tuition, $30k-$46k
The SMART Scholarship is the Department of War Scholarship-for-Service Program for STEM students in the USA. It pays full tuition with no monetary cap, an annual stipend of $30,000 to $46,000 depending on degree level, a health insurance allowance up to $2,500 a year and a miscellaneous allowance up to $1,000 a year, then places you in a civilian job at the sponsoring facility that picked you. Every funded year carries one year of service in return. The cycle closing at 5 p.m. EST on 4 December 2026 funds study from Fall 2027, and it is open to citizens of the United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
Miami University Presidential Fellows Scholarship 2027
The Presidential Fellows Scholarship is Miami University's top merit award, and it is a genuine full ride: tuition, mandatory fees, housing and food for four years, plus a one-time academic enrichment fund of up to $5,000. Miami publishes the cohort size as fifteen students a year, all of them inside the Honors College, though the most recent incoming class came in at 22. There is no separate scholarship form. You indicate your interest on the Miami admission application, and your complete file has to be in by the firm 1 December 2026 deadline for Fall 2027 entry. One thing changed this cycle: self-reported ACT or SAT scores are now required for Presidential Fellows consideration, even though Miami stays test optional for everyone else. International applicants are eligible, and the Class of 2030 cohort includes a student from Mongolia.
University of Rochester Chemistry PhD Scholarship 2027
Every PhD student in the University of Rochester Department of Chemistry gets the same package: a full tuition scholarship, health insurance and a living stipend set at $35,520 for the 2026-2027 academic year. The GRE is not required, applications close on 1 December for fall entry only, and the $70 application fee is waived automatically for anyone with a 3.5 GPA or better. Teaching is part of the deal at six units across the degree, usually three semesters in the first two years, and departmental fellowships such as Sherman-Clarke, Ewart and Weissberger add a bonus on top of the base stipend later on.
Undergraduate International Merit Scholarship 2027
The Undergraduate International Merit Scholarship is the University of Memphis merit award for newly admitted international students on an F-1 or J-1 visa who are starting a bachelor's degree on campus. It is an admissions-based award, so the UofM admission application is the scholarship application and there is no separate form. The Scholarship Office sets 1 December as the priority date for scholarship consideration, and advises applying before 1 November of the year before you enrol. The university does not publish a dollar figure for this award, so the amount is confirmed with your admission decision. Dual citizens, permanent residents, continuing students and anyone already holding an assistantship or other UofM funding are not eligible.
Simmons Distinguished Scholar Award 2027
The Simmons Distinguished Scholar Award is the largest merit award Simmons University offers its incoming first-year class, and the only one that asks for a separate application. It covers full tuition, mandatory fees other than health insurance, and housing and meals for four years, and it replaces any other merit scholarship Simmons has already offered you. Simmons publishes no dollar figure for the award, but measured against its own published 2026-2027 rates the package is worth about $68,600 a year for a non-nursing resident student. You apply by sending a 300 to 500 word essay on your leadership style alongside your admission application by 1 December 2026, for entry in Fall 2027. First-year applicants entering in the fall are eligible, international students included, and transfer, Dix Scholar and spring applicants are not.