Since 2017, we’ve awarded over 100 scholarships to students who demonstrate an interest in drone technology and its commercial applications.

As drones get cheaper and their usage expands across a multitude of industries, we are at the forefront of supporting young people who are trying to break into the drone industry, whether they want to do aerial videography, drone mapping and modeling, real estate drone photography, home inspections with drones, or any of the other exciting things that drones offer.

We offer two different scholarships:

• • For high school students: High School STEM Scholarship for Aspiring Commercial Drone Pilots. This scholarship supports students who are interested in passing the FAA’s Part 107 exam in order to become a certified commercial drone pilot. Scholarship recipients receive free access to our industry-leading online test prep study program. We would also reimburse the $175 FAA exam fee. Our 2024 scholarship submission deadlines are January 1st – February 28th and again August 1st – September 30th, 2024.  Scholarship recipients will be notified the second week of March for Semester 2 and the second week of October for Semester 1.

• • For current or rising college students: Drone Technology College Scholarship. This scholarship awards students who are pursuing undergraduate degrees and who demonstrate an interest in pushing the drone industry forward. Two scholarship recipients each receive a one-time $1,000 cash award. Our 2024 scholarship submission deadline is May 31st, 2024 at 11:59p CT.

High School STEM Scholarship for Aspiring Commercial Drone Pilots

Number of Scholarships: 100 students per semester
Amount: $450+ value
Application Window: Applications accepted January 1st – February 28th, 2024 and again August 1st – September 20th, 2024

Who Should Apply: This scholarship is for high school students who are interested in becoming an FAA-certified drone pilot or who want to learn the concepts that enable safe and responsible drone flight. If you’re a high school educator who’s passionate about STEM education and want to inspire your students to get more involved in sUAS (small unmanned aerial system), tell them about this scholarship and check out this case study!

Our scholarship program is designed to provide financial assistance to eligible high school students and should not be considered as a substitute for the standard pricing of our educational services. If you are interested in our full range of services and programs, including those that are fee-based, please visit our Academic page for more detailed information.

 

What Recipients Get: The Drone Pilot Ground School scholarship provides free access to our industry-leading online Part 107 test prep course ($299 value). This course helps students study for the FAA’s Part 107 Aeronautical Knowledge Test to gain an FAA Remote Pilot Certificate. Our full curriculum is available here.

Scholarship Eligibility

• • Student must be at least 16 years old

• • Student must be currently enrolled in high school

• • Student must live in the U.S.

How to Apply

Complete this application form. Prepare your answers and obtain a letter of recommendation from a school sponsor before you start filling out the form. You cannot save your progress in the application form and return to it later.

The application form has three sections:

1. Applicant Details

Pretty self-explanatory! If you have a personal (non-school) email address, please use that because school emails sometimes present firewall issues.

2. Essay Questions

Question 1: (100-200 words) Tell us your drone story. How did you first learn about drones? What captivates you about small unmanned aerial systems?

Question 2: (100-200 words) Tell us about your involvement in drones to date. What models have you flown? What would you like to fly? Are you a member of any school clubs, classes, or organizations that have helped to push your interest forward?This question is required.

Question 3: (100-200 words) How do you plan to use your FAA Remote Pilot Certificate? What are your professional aspirations in the drone industry?

3. Letter of Recommendation from a School Sponsor

Students must upload a letter of recommendation on school letterhead from an educator in their school that explains why the student is a good candidate for this specific scholarship. This could be a professor, advisor, coach, or some other kind of academic mentor.

Assessment Criteria

Successful applicants will demonstrate serious intent to study for and to pass the FAA Part 107 exam by providing thorough, thoughtful answers to the three questions asked, as well as by securing a strong letter of recommendation. Answers that only contain a few sentences and appear hastily written / have spelling and grammar errors will likely not result in a successful outcome.  Please note, we do screen for the use of AI and will eliminate those who use it from consideration.

Applications are reviewed after the submission deadline, with recipients notified the second week of March (for Semester 2) and the second week of October (for Semester 1).

This scholarship is for students who are actively interested in pursuing FAA certification to be a commercial drone pilot. Any student whose account goes dormant for 6 months, without the coursework having been completed, may have his or her access to Drone Pilot Ground School revoked.

Drone Technology College Scholarship

Number of Scholarships: Two
Amount: $1,000 cash each
Application Window: Applications accepted April 1st — May 31st, 2024

Meet our 2022 Winners ($1,000 each):

• • Gabriela C., attending Cal Poly Pomona

• • John D., attending Mississippi State University

Who Should Apply: The Drone Pilot Ground School’s Drone Technology College Scholarship is for current or rising college students who demonstrate an interest in pushing the drone industry forward. High school seniors are eligible to apply.

Scholarship Eligibility

• • Applicants must be enrolled as an undergraduate in a U.S. college or university at the time of receiving the award, but may apply before being enrolled (i.e., high school seniors are eligible to apply).

How to Apply

Complete this application form. Prepare your answers and obtain a letter of recommendation from a school sponsor before you start filling out the form. You cannot save your progress in the application form and return to it later.

The application form has three sections:

1. Applicant Details

Pretty self-explanatory! If you have a personal (non-school) email address, please use that because school emails sometimes present firewall issues.

2. Essay Questions

• • Question 1: An essay in English of 750-1,000 words on one of the following topics:*
    

     

    • • How Drones Can Be Used to Do Good
    • • How Drones Will Change Our World Over the Next Ten Years
    • • How Drones Can Be Used for STEM Education

• • Question 2: One to two paragraphs telling us about yourself, including where you’re from, your education, expected college graduation date, what you’re studying, your career plans, your interest in drones, and any other relevant information.

• • Question 3: One paragraph explaining what you would do with the scholarship money.

*The essay categories are intentionally broad to allow applicants to choose specific themes or topics that interest them. That being said, successful essays will focus on one topic within a given category and be as detailed and specific as possible. For example, an essay on “How Drones Can Be Used for Good” will not simply be a list of examples, but will look closely at one or two scenarios in which drones can create positive change, and how exactly this will happen.

3. Letter of Recommendation from a School Sponsor

Students must upload a letter of recommendation on school letterhead from an educator in their school that explains why the student is a good candidate for this specific scholarship. This could be a professor, advisor, coach, or some other kind of academic mentor.

Assessment Criteria

Successful applicants will write thorough, thoughtful essays with no spelling or grammar errors that dive deeply into the topic; will have a strong letter of recommendation; and will have a strong interest in working or being involved in the drone industry (hobbyists welcome!). Please note, we do screen for the use of AI and will eliminate those who use it from consideration.

We reserve the right to extend the deadline to ensure a sufficient applicant pool and will inform applicants via email if we make an extension.

Winning essays will be published on the Drone Pilot Ground School website after winners have been selected. By applying for the Drone Technology College Scholarship, you provide UAV Coach (Drone Pilot Ground School’s parent company) permission to publish any submitted materials on either dronepilotgroundschool.com or uavcoach.com.

Questions?

Send us an email at Send us an email at [email protected].