Scholarships and Education Grants for Single Mothers in North Dakota

Where to start

The North Dakota help page can also guide you to food, housing, health, and family assistance while you study.

Quick aid table

Know what each type of aid means

For more scholarship search steps, use ASMOM’s national scholarship guide. Do not pay a company that promises guaranteed grants or secret scholarship lists.

FAFSA, Pell Grants, FSEOG, and work-study

The FAFSA is the main application for federal student aid. Schools also use it for many state and campus awards. Complete a new FAFSA each school year.

Federal Pell Grant

The Pell Grant page lists a maximum award of $7,395 for the 2026–27 award year. Pell is mainly for undergraduate students with financial need who have not earned a bachelor’s, graduate, or professional degree, with limited exceptions.

Your award can be lower. It depends on your Student Aid Index, school cost, credit load, and other federal rules. Ask how changing from full-time to part-time study would affect the award.

FSEOG and work-study

The FSEOG program gives campus-based grants to undergraduate students with high financial need. Each school has limited money, so ask whether funds remain.

Federal work-study provides part-time jobs through participating schools. The award is not a lump-sum payment. You earn wages for the hours you work, and you still need to find an available job.

North Dakota state grants and scholarships

The NDUS aid page lists the main state-funded programs. Awards cannot be more than the school’s cost of attendance after other grants and scholarships are counted.

North Dakota State Grant

The State Grant is a need-based award for eligible North Dakota residents who are first-time undergraduate students at qualifying North Dakota schools. Students must be enrolled at least quarter-time.

The maximum is $1,375 per semester or $917 per quarter, based on enrollment. Students apply each year by completing FAFSA. Funding is limited, so early filing matters.

Reality check: A parent returning to college after earlier undergraduate study may not meet the “first-time undergraduate” rule. Ask NDUS or the school to review your history instead of assuming you qualify.

Supplemental State Grant

NDUS also lists a Supplemental State Grant for students who already receive the State Grant. The FAFSA family income must be $80,000 or less, and the student must take at least three credits, meet satisfactory academic progress, and complete any required verification.

The school places the award on the aid package when the student qualifies. The amount considers regular undergraduate tuition, Pell, and the State Grant. Ask your financial aid office whether you were reviewed.

North Dakota Scholarship

The North Dakota Scholarship is for students who complete required high school work. New awards began with the 2025 graduating class. The total value is $6,000, with payments generally limited to $750 per semester or $500 per quarter, clock-hour term, or apprenticeship term.

Recipients normally must study full-time, keep at least a 2.75 GPA, and meet progress rules. This is not a general scholarship for every adult student. A recent high school graduate must apply through the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction process.

Native American Scholarship

The Native American Scholarship may provide up to $2,000 a year to eligible North Dakota residents who are enrolled members of federally recognized tribes and attend qualifying North Dakota programs. A minimum 2.0 GPA is required.

Applications are annual through ND SAMS. Need-based applicants must complete the 2026–27 FAFSA. The July 15 priority date has passed for this school year, but the page calls it a priority date rather than a final closing date. Submit the full application and ask whether funding remains.

Dual-credit scholarship

The dual-credit scholarship is a one-time award for eligible North Dakota students who completed dual-credit classes in high school and later completed at least one college term. Awards are $250 for one class, $500 for two, or $750 for three or more.

Reality check: This will not fit most older returning students. It may help a young parent who recently finished North Dakota high school with dual-credit classes.

North Dakota Career Builders

The Career Builders program supports qualifying certificate, associate, and some bachelor’s programs tied to high-need jobs. The state matches a qualifying donor’s contribution dollar for dollar, up to $8,500 in state funds and $17,000 total per recipient.

Students generally need full-time enrollment, at least a 2.50 GPA, an approved program, and confirmed matching funds. A campus usually helps start the scholarship process.

The award has a serious work rule. Scholarship recipients must live in North Dakota and work in a high-need occupation in the state for at least three years after finishing. Leaving the program or failing the work and residency terms can require repayment of both state and matching funds.

Reality check: Career Builders is not an automatic $17,000 grant. A matching donor must participate, the program must qualify, and the student must sign a binding agreement.

Campus scholarships to check

Every school has its own deadlines. Even after a main deadline passes, ask about late awards, unused funds, emergency grants, department scholarships, and awards for current students.

Bismarck State College

The current BSC scholarship page says applications can be submitted through September 30. Incoming, returning, transfer, part-time, and full-time students may apply through one general application and be matched with possible awards.

Reality check: Applying does not guarantee an award. Upload the requested transcript and ask which school year the current application covers.

University of North Dakota

The UND scholarship page directs students to Scholarship Central. The main 2026–27 deadlines have passed. UND normally opens its next Scholarship Central cycle on October 1, so returning students should prepare transcripts and application material before the next cycle.

North Dakota State University

The NDSU scholarship page lists 2026 deadlines of February 1 for incoming freshmen, March 1 for current students, and April 1 for transfer students. Those dates have passed. Ask when the 2027 cycle opens and whether any department or emergency awards remain.

Use College Navigator and the College Scorecard to compare school costs, programs, completion rates, and student debt before enrolling.

Job training help for faster career paths

A certificate or two-year program may fit better than a four-year degree when you need a faster path to work. Ask whether the program leads to a state license, recognized credential, or jobs that are actually open in your area.

Job Service North Dakota

The Job Service training page says its programs may pay approved tuition, books, fees, and supplies. Eligibility, the training provider, the job goal, and available funds all matter.

Contact a nearby Workforce Center before enrolling. Ask whether WIOA or another program can approve your training and support costs.

ASMOM’s job training guide explains other workforce paths. If travel is the barrier, check the transportation help guide.

Job Corps for younger parents

Job Corps serves eligible young people ages 16 through 24 with career training and other support. The Burdick center is in Minot.

Reality check: Age, income, safety, conduct, and program rules apply. Parents should ask directly about child care, housing, and whether the center can meet their family needs before applying.

Child care while you attend school

The Child Care Assistance Program may pay part of child care costs for eligible families who work or attend school or training. Apply online through the Self-Service Portal or through a Human Service Zone office.

Current rules matter. New applicants may be placed on a waitlist. Families receiving TANF and families in the Crossroads program are not subject to the waitlist. Priority is given to families experiencing homelessness and households with income at or below 30% of state median income.

Since April 1, 2026, a child generally must attend care for at least 40 hours in the service month for a CCAP payment. Payments are available through the month a child turns 12 under the listed state-licensed-provider rule. CCAP does not backdate payments for time spent on the waitlist.

Apply early, keep your phone and address current, and respond quickly when HHS contacts you. Families moved from the waitlist have 10 days to respond. Some families may still owe a balance when the provider charges more than the state maximum.

ASMOM’s North Dakota child care guide covers more application details. The North Dakota SNAP guide and North Dakota TANF guide may help with other family costs.

Documents and details to gather

Use ASMOM’s documents checklist to keep IDs, notices, transcripts, and application records together.

Phone scripts

Related North Dakota help

Education aid works better when the rest of the household is stable. ASMOM’s North Dakota grants guide covers food, health, housing, utility, and local assistance that is separate from student aid.