Fund Your Trip
SeaSmart Diversity Scholarship
SeaSmart is committed to bringing ocean conservation, marine biology and SCUBA to students who have an interest, regardless of economic means. Ocean advocates come from every walk of life, and it is important to empower and expose as many students as possible. Please stop back for future scholarship opportunities and register via our contact page to be kept up-to-date.
Outside Scholarships
A variety of organizations offer scholarships for different components of conservation and SCUBA. Check out these:
PADI Dive to Adventure Scholarship — Boy Scouts of America
If you’re in a Scouting program and interested in diving, you could be eligible to apply for one of the many SCUBA scholarships available through the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI). Recognizing that adventure is a key element in scouting, PADI offers a multilevel SCUBA scholarship program to introduce Boy Scouts, Venturers and Sea Scouts to the exciting underwater world.
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Ten SCUBA scholarships of $250 each are presented annually as part of their Level 1 scholarship program for SCUBA certification. This scholarship can be used towards any PADI Course and PADI course materials. Four SCUBA scholarships of $500 each are presented annually as part of their Level 2 Scholarship program, again with proceeds used towards any PADI Course and PADI course materials. The Level 3 scholarship provides eLearning and an ePacks for five Boy Scout troops. With these awards, an entire troop up to 16 individuals receives the training materials valued at $240 per person.
Beneath the Sea
Beneath the Sea is a nonprofit, volunteer, membership organization dedicated to providing continuing education to the recreational diver community, educating the public with regards to protection of the ocean environment, as well as supporting ocean and environment related projects and charities. Each year in March, the Beneath the Sea Exhibition is hosted in the New Jersey/New York area and is billed as the largest consumer SCUBA and dive travel show in the country.
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Beneath the Sea offers a spectrum of scholarships - many those interested in marine careers. While most require applicants to complete an application, others require an essay to be written and submitted for consideration. Many are targeted at college-aged applicants but others are targeted at high-school aged individuals with a budding interest in SCUBA diving. Various SCUBA scholarships are available for beginner, advanced and specialty training.
Women Divers Hall of Fame
The Women Divers Hall of Fame (WDHOF) is an international nonprofit professional honor society founded in 1999 dedicated to honoring and raising the awareness of the contributions of its members in areas including the arts, science, deep sea exploration, underwater archaeology, medicine, free diving, equipment technology, cave diving, wreck diving, military diving, commercial diving, media, training, education and business. Its member’s roster includes such notable figures in diving as Zale Parry, star of “Sea Hunt,” Dr. Eugenie Clark, also known as the “Shark Lady,” famed underwater explorer and marine biologist Dr. Sylvia Earle and our own esteemed Dive Training editors, Cathryn Castle Garcia (executive editor) and Betty Orr (managing editor).
To celebrate the Women Divers Hall of Fame 20th Anniversary, we are excited to announce that we will award 20 training grants for open water dive training. These grants are open to any and all women of any age, from anywhere in the world, who want to learn how to dive. Each award is $1000. The funds can be spent entirely on training, or a combination of training and dive equipment (up to $500 for dive equipment). Funds will be paid directly to the dive training facility, and not to the awardee. Awardees will have 18 months to use the grant. Once training has been completed, a written report (with photos) detailing how you used the grant is required.
Girls That Scuba
Girls that Scuba is a community of inspiring women who are passionate about SCUBA diving. They range from the SCUBA instructor, the beginner, the never-put-on-a-scuba-mask, to the full-time ocean activist, and everyone in between. They have gathered worldwide scholarship opportunities to offer opportunities to more divers. They keep their page arranged with the soonest closing dates at the top. New opportunities will be added as they open.
Live Like JayG3 Scholarship
The Live Like JayG3 Scholarship, in honor of Jay Garcia, is a non-profit organization based out of San Antonio, Texas. Their mission is to give the opportunity to young adults in and around the San Antonio area a chance to work and/or learn through travel outside of the San Antonio area. They offer small travel stipends for this purpose. Contact Sarah Ann Sanchez at livelikejayg3scholarship@gmail.com for an application or for more information. Scholarship inquiries should be made each year from January to March with a letter of acceptance to the program or job the applicant wishes to attend.
If you want assistance navigating the scholarships and applications, please do not hesitate to contact us!
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Here are a few tips:
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Start early. Scholarship applications often include several requirements. Make sure you give yourself ample time to assemble your application package.
Understand the requirements. Apply for only the scholarships whose requirements you can meet. After narrowing your options, make sure your application is complete.
Nail the essay. Many scholarships require you to submit an essay, which is a key component of the selection process. Your essay should reflect your personality and should illustrate your passion for your future studies. It should also be free of typos and grammar bugs. Make sure it meets the maximum word count, too, or your entry could be disqualified.
Submit on time. Even if your application is perfect, it gets you nothing if you blow the submission deadline.
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