Arts Students' Playbook: Easy Grants for Creatives

Arts majors—whether visual, performing, or design—deserve the same shot at scholarship money as everyone else. Too many assume that 'easy' and 'arts' don't go together. They do. You just need to know where to look and how to apply efficiently.

Awarded helps students discover scholarships and awards matched to their profile and enter quickly. No endless scrolling. You can find arts-related and general no-essay awards in one place and track what you've applied for.

Arts funding isn't limited to elite portfolio competitions. Plenty of grants and scholarships for creatives use short forms, simple prompts, or no-essay entries. Local arts councils, community foundations, and national organizations often run programs that take under 30 minutes to complete. By mixing a few high-effort portfolio applications with a steady stream of easy grants and no-essay options, you maximize your total funding without burning out. The playbook below shows you where to look and how to build a routine that fits a creative schedule.

Easy Grants and No-Essay Options for Creatives

Many grants and scholarships for arts students use short forms, quick prompts, or no-essay entries. Portfolio-heavy awards exist, but so do awards that take minutes. Mix both: a few strong portfolio applications and a steady stream of quick-apply and no-essay options. The Awarded app surfaces matches and lets you enter with minimal friction.

No-essay and short-form awards might ask for your major, a link to a portfolio or social page, or a single short answer. Some are general student awards that don't require proof of work at all—just eligibility. Enter these regularly so you build a base of possible wins. Save your best portfolio and essay energy for a handful of top awards; use the rest of your time to stack easy grants and no-essay scholarships. Over a year, that strategy often yields more total money than putting everything into one or two long applications.

Where to Find Arts Scholarships

Use one hub that aggregates opportunities instead of chasing links everywhere. Filter by category and focus on applying. Add your school's art department and local arts councils to the list. Stack national and local for the best results.

Your school's art or design department often posts department-specific and donor-funded awards. Local arts councils and community foundations run grants for students and emerging artists; deadlines and requirements are usually on their websites. National organizations and companies also offer arts and design scholarships—many with short applications. Awarded pulls together national opportunities so you can see matches in one place. Combine that with your department and local list so you're not missing hidden or regional awards. Dedicate 20–30 minutes each week to checking for new matches and entering 1–2 awards; consistency matters more than marathon sessions.

Build a Creative-Friendly Routine

Set a weekly block to find and enter new awards. Even 20–30 minutes a week adds up. Use awarded.app to see new matches and track deadlines so you don't miss easy wins.

Creatives often have irregular schedules—rehearsals, studio time, gigs. A fixed weekly block (e.g. Monday morning or Sunday night) keeps scholarship applications from falling through the cracks. In that block, open Awarded, enter 1–2 new or recurring awards, and note any upcoming deadlines. Over a semester you can easily complete 15–20 applications without adding stress. The arts students who win the most money are usually the ones who apply consistently, not the ones who cram at the last minute. Start with easy grants and no-essay options; add portfolio-based awards when you have capacity.