Dod Smart Scholarship Requirements

[Leanne Wittlin]

TheScience, Mathematics And Research for Transformation (SMART) Scholarship for Service Program is an opportunity for students pursuing an undergraduate or graduate degree in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines to receive a full scholarship and be gainfully employed upon degree completion.

The SMART Program aims to increase the number of scientists and engineers in the DoD. The program is particularly interested in supporting individuals that demonstrate an aptitude and interest in conducting theoretical and applied research. As such, the program primarily targets "hand-on-the-bench" researchers and engineers. Individuals applying to the program should have a strong interest in working for the DoD as a civilian research scientist or engineer. Applicants must be pursuing an undergraduate or graduate degree in one of the disciplines listed on the About SMART page.

SMART scholarships are awarded for a specific time based on the anticipated degree completion and conferral dates on the SMART Service Agreement. SMART scholarships range from a minimum of 1 year to a maximum of 5 years per award, depending on degree requirements.

Undergraduate applicants must be currently enrolled in a regionally accredited U.S. college or university and have a high school diploma/GED. Current high school students are not eligible to apply.

Graduate applicants can be either currently enrolled in a regionally accredited U.S. college or university or awaiting notification of admission to such. If awaiting admission, you must be accepted for entrance in the fall term.

All applicants are required to submit applications online by the deadline. All supporting materials including references and test scores must be received by the deadline. Notifications of awards are traditionally made in the spring. Application materials are not returned to applicants. Applicants must click the "Submit Application" button to submit the application.

Graduate applicants must have taken the GRE General Test and scores must be reportable by Educational Testing Service (ETS). Subject tests are not required. It is advised that graduate applicants take the GRE General Test by November to ensure that scores reach ASEE by the December application deadline. GMAT/MCAT/LSAT test scores cannot be substituted for GRE test scores.

The DoD SMART scholarship changed my life. Prior to winning it, I was flipping cars just to pay my way through college. The scholarship paid my full tuition. On top of that, I received $25k/year, paid out in monthly checks of $2,083. It also guaranteed a job for me at the Department of Defense (DoD) after I graduated.

The benefits of this program are simply phenomenal and it definitely accelerated my path toward financial freedom. A lot of people view the mandatory work at a DoD facility (hundreds of facilities across the country) as a negative point, but I always saw it as a positive requirement. While my classmates were all concerned about finding jobs, I had no worries because I knew exactly where I would be working after graduation.

I really like your post. It sounds like you have really excelled through SMART. Does the DOD always start paying off the Federal loans, or is that only for certain employees and their fields of expertise? Your publication is very interesting. I commend you for your service for our country.

Thanks Dee, I really feel blessed to like my job and at the same time support our great country.

The loan payback scholarship is specific to the Army side of the DoD. I think anyone who works at Picatinny is eligible for that one.

More details can be found here: -development/programs/student-loan-repayment-program/

I am the parent of a high school senior who is interested in this program. How would you recommend going about selecting your site of interest? He is interested in computer science, engineering, and cyber security. We are unfamiliar with the inner workings of the DOD.

Those fields seem quite broad and would probably be needed at any military installation, so I would probably just pick the one closest to you; SMART has a list of all their sponsoring facilities on their website, so you can search by location or fields offered. -now.com/smart?id=kb_article&sys_id=5bf2b0f3dbb54300b67330ca7c9619b6

Hey there,

I am in high school thinking about this scholarship for the future. I think it would be very nice to not worry about getting a job right after college, not to mention getting paid to go to college! My question is: What grade did you start out at as a mechanical engineering graduate? And how do you move up grades? There is not a whole lot of information on this, and I want to weigh the balance of whether it would be worth it. Thanks!

P.S.: Awesome story- I also love the fact that you say not to waste your money on cars and such. Saving money is the best option.

Hey Peter. In the Federal Government an Enginner typically starts at a GS-7, a year later they automatically get promoted to a 9. In another year they go to an 11. Then one more year to a Gs-12. At 12 the automatic grade increases stop. And you have to competitively apply for GS-13 spots.

No they only pay for tuition going forward from the scholarship. I had like $20k of student loans from my Freshmen and Sophomore year that I accrued. But the government does have Student Loan Repayment Programs that you can take advantage of once you start working full time. That is what I did.

Find out if there is one near you, and try to apply for a scholarship opportunity. I think this also starts the clock for your start of government service, so you get a lot of the perks quicker if you eventually become full-time.

Hi Sunny,

Thank you for sharung all the great information. I received a call last week from my top choice SF, they are flying next week to visit the site and meet with their personal. I hope this will work well. I am stressed though.

I wish everyone the best!

Definitely increasing your GPA, if you can get an internship at a DOD facility, or start helping the DoD in some way and get a reference letter from someone in the miliatry/DoD I think that would be huge.

I had a question about the applying process. I was wondering if I would have to apply each academic year? Or do I apply right now as a sophomore and if I get accepted does that mean I have that scholarship for the remaining years?

I want to thank you because exactly a year ago, I was reading this article, and all the comment and I went and watched your youtube video about the SMART Scholarship. you gave enough info and the confidence to app[y and last month I was one of the 2021 recipients so thank you so much. Hope one Day I will meet you in person to thank you.

There is exciting news for undergraduate science and mathematics majors! If you have a passion for science or math and want to share that passion by teaching high school, then there is a new scholarship opportunity available for you at Georgia Southern University. It is called the SMART Scholarship and it is available to senior science and math majors interested in teaching in the high school setting and willing to continue on to earn the Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) degree through the College of Education.

Successful applicants for a SMART Scholarship will be required to sign a contract committing them to teaching in a high need public secondary school, most likely in the southeast region of Georgia. A SMART Scholarship winner who is supported for two years by the program must teach for four continuous years. As such, the SMART Scholarship program seeks only applications from students with a decided commitment to teaching in high school.

The SMART Scholarship is a competitive program, so completion of the pre-requisite activities and criteria described here does not guarantee an award. The purpose of the requirements listed here is to insure that students receiving the SMART Scholarship are the most qualified and dedicated to the high school teaching career. Because successful scholarship awardees will be required to sign a legal contract committing to four continuous years teaching in a high need public secondary school (most likely in the southeast region of Georgia), the SMART Scholarship seeks to fund only high-ability students capable of qualifying for the MAT graduate degree and most likely to enjoy a career teaching in the high school setting.

*If you anticipate graduating this academic year and also plan a career in secondary teaching, you may still be eligible for one year of scholarship support (with a two year teaching commitment) toward the MAT graduate degree and should result in a teaching appointment after one year of MAT program study. You may contact a SMART Scholarship Committee member to inquire.

To be truly competitive for this scholarship, a student seriously desiring a career teaching high school math or science should get involved and take advantage of educational-related opportunities early on. A number of such possible opportunities are listed below. Those required for the SMART scholarship are listed in bold (note: doing the minimum-required will not result in an award of a SMART Scholarship. The program is competitive for a limited number of awards each year).

To learn more about the SMART Scholarship-for-Service Program and the participating DoD sponsoring facilities, visit www.smartscholarship.org. The application period for the 2023 SMART scholar cohort began August 1, 2022, and ends December 1, 2022. More information can be found on the website.

Applying for college is hard enough without having to worry about paying for it too - we're here to make sure that when you get that offer from your dream college, you've already got the financials covered.

That's how long we've spent, so far, finding and processing scholarships. Our team spends thousand of hours going through each and every scholarship we can find, pulling out every important detail: award amount, deadline, eligibility and academic requirements, and anything else you need to know. This means no more reading through endless applications only to be tripped up by that last, obscure requirement - we tell you what each scholarship demands with none of the waffle.

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