Best Coding Bootcamp Scholarships Of 2024 – Forbes Advisor – Forbes

You might be using an unsupported or outdated browser. To get the best possible experience please use the latest version of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Microsoft Edge to view this website.
Reviewed
Reviewed
Updated: Jun 24, 2024, 11:46am
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.
Why You Can Trust Forbes Advisor Education
Forbes Advisor’s education editors are committed to producing unbiased rankings and informative articles covering online colleges, tech bootcamps and career paths. Our ranking methodologies use data from the National Center for Education Statistics, education providers, and reputable educational and professional organizations. An advisory board of educators and other subject matter experts reviews and verifies our content to bring you trustworthy, up-to-date information. Advertisers do not influence our rankings or editorial content.
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.
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.
Scholarships Available
Veteran and military spouse scholarships, active-duty scholarships, Black and Hispanic Scholarships, transgender veteran Scholarships, women in technology scholarships

Amount
Up to full tuition

Eligibility Criteria
Veterans, military service members and their spouses, Black students, Hispanic students, transgender students and women-identifying students

Veteran and military spouse scholarships, active-duty scholarships, Black and Hispanic Scholarships, transgender veteran Scholarships, women in technology scholarships

Up to full tuition

Veterans, military service members and their spouses, Black students, Hispanic students, transgender students and women-identifying students

Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, Code Platoon provides extensive full-stack software engineering, DevOps and cloud engineering bootcamps for military students and veterans. The organization aims to bridge the skills gap for military students starting their second careers after completing their service. Full-time programs last 15 weeks, while part-time evening and weekend programs last 28 weeks.
Scholarship Name
Military Heroes Scholarship

Amount
$1,000

Eligibility Criteria
Military veterans and current service members

Military Heroes Scholarship

$1,000

Military veterans and current service members

Located adjacent to Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, Coding Dojo focuses on meeting the needs of students with little to no tech background. The organization looks for curiosity, resilience and dedication in its applicants, qualities that many military and underrepresented students exhibit. Coding Dojo prepares graduates for tech careers with a comprehensive three-stack curriculum.
Scholarship Name
Access Scholarship

Amount
Up to $2,000

Eligibility Criteria
Students from underserved communities, including women, LQBTQ+ learners, students with disabilities, veterans and learners from underrepresented minority groups

Access Scholarship

Up to $2,000

Students from underserved communities, including women, LQBTQ+ learners, students with disabilities, veterans and learners from underrepresented minority groups

Located in New York City, Flatiron School was founded in 2012, making it one of the longest-standing providers in the bootcamp space. The school offers bootcamps in subjects such as software engineering and data science. Flatiron School has created a scholarship fund of over $1 million for underrepresented students. (Note: The company was sued in 2017 for making false claims about student outcomes from its bootcamps.)
Scholarship Name
New Beginnings Scholarship

Amount
25% off tuition for the software engineering immersive bootcamp ($4,915 value)

Eligibility Criteria
Women and nonbinary students

New Beginnings Scholarship

25% off tuition for the software engineering immersive bootcamp ($4,915 value)

Women and nonbinary students

Headquartered in Brooklyn, New York, Fullstack Academy offers live, synchronous bootcamp programs. Bootcamps focus on subject areas such as software engineering, cybersecurity and data analytics. Fullstack Academy partners with schools such as Louisiana State University and Virginia Tech.
Scholarship Name
Galvanize Scholarship

Amount
Full tuition for Hack Reactor bootcamp

Eligibility Criteria
Students from underrepresented groups in the tech industry, including BIPOC learners, formerly incarcerated persons, LQBTQ+ students, people with disabilities, people over 40, veterans and women

Galvanize Scholarship

Full tuition for Hack Reactor bootcamp

Students from underrepresented groups in the tech industry, including BIPOC learners, formerly incarcerated persons, LQBTQ+ students, people with disabilities, people over 40, veterans and women

Galvanize provides bootcamps and tech education for adults who want to change careers. The company offered its first bootcamp in San Francisco in 2012 and now provides programs in areas such as coding, corporate training and upskilling.
Yes. Many providers offer scholarships for BIPOC students, women and gender-diverse learners, LQBTQ+ community members and veterans.
Many students use scholarships and grants to fund their bootcamp programs. Providers may also offer financing options such as installment plans, loans and income share agreements.
Some employers and bootcamp providers offer apprenticeship programs that pay students while they learn to code. However, in most cases, participants still need to pay tuition.
You can get a free coding bootcamp by earning a full tuition scholarship from a provider. You can also consider a provider such as LaunchCode, which charges no money upfront and is financed through donations, grants for coding bootcamps and apprenticeship programs.
It depends on your goals and circumstances. Bootcamps often provide a high return on investment, as they lead to careers in in-demand, generally lucrative tech fields. If the initial cost is prohibitive, apply for as many scholarships as you can.
Mikeie Reiland is a writer who has written features for Oxford American, Bitter Southerner, Gravy, and SB Nation, among other publications. He received a James Beard nomination for a feature he wrote in 2023.

source