Athletic-training scholarships support preparation for the athletic-training profession. They are not the same as scholarships awarded to athletes for competing on a college team.
Start with the professional education stage you will enter, your program, and association membership. Then read the scholarship’s rules rather than assuming experience playing sports establishes eligibility.
Compare selected athletic-training funding
Checked October 14, 2026. Full program criteria apply.
| Opportunity | Stage or audience | Published award/status | Next action |
|---|---|---|---|
| NATA Foundation Pre-AT Scholarship | Eligible pre-athletic-training applicants | $20,000 over two years; 2027 cycle deadline January 15, 2027 | Read full category rules and recommender instructions |
| NATA Foundation Professional-Level Scholarship | Eligible professional-program students | $2,300; same 2027 deadline | Coordinate the nominating certified athletic trainer form |
| NATA Foundation Post-Professional Scholarship | Eligible post-professional applicants | $2,300; category-specific rules | Check your degree stage before selecting this category |
| MAATA District III Edward Block Scholarship | Eligible first-year District III CAATE-accredited professional-program students with at least one semester completed | Annual first/second awards $2,000/$1,500; current page lists March 15 without a new cycle year | Confirm next actual deadline and regional eligibility |
NATA’s current FAQ requires membership by January 15, 2027. It allows awards at different educational levels over a student’s career, but only one at each level. NATA scholarship FAQ.
The nomination is part of the application
NATA’s professional and post-professional routes require a nominating BOC-certified athletic trainer who is a NATA member in good standing. All requested materials, including that form, must arrive by the deadline. Late submissions are not accepted. NATA nomination and timing.
Ask a qualified person who has observed your work. Provide the exact criteria, deadline, and factual context they need. Do not assume a faculty recommendation automatically satisfies a different required form.
Track your own submission and the recommender’s completion separately. A finished personal statement is not a complete application if another required component is missing.
Regional awards have regional and stage restrictions
MAATA’s page distinguishes Edward Block’s first-year route from the A.C. Whitey Gwynne award for later professional-program students and the William Prentice post-professional route. Its current page shows 2026 winners; a recurring March date is not proof of a new open cycle. Regional scholarship categories.
Ask the organization about your institution, district, program stage, and upcoming deadline. Do not generalize one district’s awards to all athletic-training students nationally.
The page also offers membership incentives and a leadership opportunity. Those benefits are different from a tuition scholarship and should be labeled separately when building a budget.
Describe clinical and academic work accurately
Choose a supervised learning example, academic project, or leadership responsibility that matches the prompt. State what you did and what you learned. Do not imply independent clinical authority from a student placement.
A hypothetical applicant could explain how they improved an authorized documentation process or responded to feedback in a supervised setting. Avoid identifying patients, athletes, or confidential cases.
For research, distinguish the question, method, your contribution, and evidence. Do not present an entire team’s work as your own or invent outcomes.
Compare education support with other professional opportunities
PFATS describes scholarships, internships, and research grants. Use its site to discover actual programs, then read their current individual criteria. An internship or research grant is not automatically general tuition funding. PFATS opportunities.
For each actual offer, record amount, payment recipient, eligible expenses, funded term, and renewal. Ask your school’s aid office about how an outside award affects your individual package.
Next step
Confirm your professional stage and membership, read the appropriate category, and contact a qualified nominator early. Keep recruitment scholarships for playing a sport on a separate search list.
