What does scholarship mean?
Scholarship has two closely related meanings. Most commonly, it refers to financial support for education, such as a grant that pays tuition, provides living expenses, or recognizes academic achievement. It can also mean the learning, knowledge, and research associated with serious academic study; in this sense, scholars discuss a subject's history or “the scholarship on” a particular topic. The word is used in universities and educational institutions in both British and American English, though the criteria and organization of awards differ between countries. Its connotations are broadly positive, suggesting achievement, intellectual work, and opportunity. In a financial-aid context, a scholarship may be awarded for merit, financial need, or both. In an academic context, it refers less to a single qualification than to the wider body of critical study produced within a discipline. The word therefore links practical educational support with the larger enterprise of learning and research.
nounScholarship is financial support awarded to a student, usually based on academic merit, need, or a combination of both. More broadly, it refers to academic achievement, knowledge, or the body of research and writing produced by scholars.
- Financial support, such as a grant or bursary, awarded to help a student pursue education.
- Academic achievement, knowledge, or the collective body of research and writing associated with a field.
"She received a scholarship that enabled her to pursue a doctorate without financial worries."
"The university offered her a four-year scholarship covering tuition and living expenses."
"Her scholarship on medieval history has challenged several long-held assumptions."
The plural is used for multiple awards or for the range of awards available from an institution or organization.
"The foundation awards scholarships to students from underrepresented communities."
Scholarship began as a description of learning, tracing back to “school” and “scholar” before it came to mean money that helps scholars study.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of scholarship
The word derives through Medieval Latin from Latin scholasticus, itself associated with Greek scholastikos, “of schools” or “of learning.” Its ultimate root is Greek scholē, meaning “school,” which connects it with words such as scholar and scholastic. English developed both the educational-award sense and the broader academic-study sense from this learned Latin and Greek foundation.
How scholarship is actually used
The term is common in formal and academic contexts in both British and American English. In financial contexts, it usually suggests support awarded on the basis of academic merit or financial need, though the precise eligibility conditions vary.
Easily confused with scholarship
A scholar is a person engaged in study or research, whereas a scholarship is an award, a body of academic work, or a qualification for pursuing study.