Best Coding Bootcamp Scholarships Of 2024 (2024)

Bootcamps are less time-consuming, more affordable alternatives to bachelor’s degrees at traditional colleges and universities. Often provided in high-income, fast-growing tech fields, these accelerated experiences allow students to master multiple programming languages or delve into a topic such as data analysis or engineering.

In general, since bootcamps cannot receive institutional accreditation, their students are ineligible for federal student aid. For learners who need help paying for a coding bootcamp, scholarships are often the best bet.

There are a variety of coding bootcamp scholarships available, but it can be difficult to parse which opportunities are the best. We’ve done our homework to put together a list of high-quality bootcamp scholarships.

In compiling this list, we prioritized scholarship opportunities that made coding bootcamps more accessible to underrepresented groups, including women and gender-diverse learners, LGBTQ+ students, BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of color) students, and military veterans and their spouses.

Read on to learn more about five coding bootcamp scholarships.

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• Key Takeaways
• Who Can Qualify for Coding Bootcamp Scholarships?
• How Much Do Coding Bootcamps Cost?
• Where Can You Find Scholarships for Coding Bootcamps?
• Coding Bootcamp Scholarship Options
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Online Coding Bootcamp Scholarships

Broadly speaking, bootcamp providers offer scholarships in three categories: need-based, merit-based and identity-based.

• Need-based scholarships: Providers generally offer need-based scholarships on the basis of demonstrated economic need. You may need to provide specific documentation, such as a tax return, when applying for this type of scholarship. Need-based scholarships are generally the least prevalent scholarship type among bootcamp providers.
• Merit-based scholarships: Merit-based scholarships are reserved for students who show outstanding potential to excel in a bootcamp and the tech industry. Applying for a merit-based scholarship may involve an assessment, an interview and a strong academic or professional history.
• Identity-based scholarships: Identity-based scholarships are allocated for students who are underrepresented in the tech industry. These scholarships might be available to women, LQBTQ+ students, nonbinary students and students from racial and ethnic minority backgrounds. Veterans are also often underrepresented in the tech field, so some providers offer scholarships for military students.

According to our data, the median total cost of a coding bootcamp as of November 2023 was $9,500. The median total cost for all tech bootcamps, which encompass fields such as data engineering, data analytics and machine learning, was $8,300.

The bootcamp space is much less regulated than higher education, as bootcamp providers do not receive institutional accreditation. Along with the tech industry as a whole, the bootcamp space can also prove volatile, with providers popping up and disappearing seemingly overnight.

Given the lack of accreditation, federal financial aid—with the exception of the GI Bill—cannot be applied to bootcamps. As such, it’s important to seek out alternative funding sources, with scholarships being the best option. Income sharing agreements usually come with strings attached, and loans should be your last resort, so pursue scholarship opportunities first and foremost if at all possible.

Bootcamp scholarships are generally offered by bootcamp providers themselves. Some companies require students to submit scholarship applications, while others automatically enter prospective students into consideration for scholarships when they submit their applications.

You may be able to find certain nonprofit organizations that provide bootcamp scholarships, but the overwhelming majority of these opportunities are offered by providers.

Coding Bootcamp Scholarship Options

Several bootcamp providers offer institutional scholarships. Below, we focus on five companies that award scholarships to students who come from underrepresented groups in the tech industry.