We also recognize that affordability is a key factor to accessibility. Our proximity to major airports, college housing and food service facilities, and museum collections and laboratories ensures our program is as affordable as it is distinctive.

Scholarships

With generous support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Center for Collections Care provides scholarships, which increase access to training for those who need it most.

 

SCHOLARSHIPS HAVE BEEN AWARDED FOR 2026, BUT SCHOLARSHIPS WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR THE 2027 SEASON!

Scholarships Available for 2026 Courses

• Fourteen (14) $250 scholarship are available for spring and fall online courses
• Eleven (11) $700 scholarships are available for summer in-person courses

Scholarship Application

First, register for a course before you apply for a scholarship. Registration reserves your spot in a course.

Applicants must submit a complete Scholarship Application by March 25, 2026 to be eligible for a scholarship. Notifications will be made by April 1, 2026. 

Scholarship Criteria

Feel free to apply for a scholarship even if you do not perfectly fit the priority applicant criteria as our goal is to fund as many applicants as possible.

Priority applicants

1. Emerging museum, library, archive, or conservation professional currently enrolled full-time or part-time in a graduate program or five years or less post-graduation.
2. Employees, full- or part-time, of a small museum, library, archive, or historical society or site that provides public access to its collections. We use the AASLH definition of a small museum: a small museum typically has an annual budget of less than $250,000, operates with a small staff with multiple responsibilities, and employs volunteers to perform key staff functions.
3. Unpaid volunteer museum, library, archive, or conservation professionals.
4. Have not previously received a scholarship through C3.

Scholarship guidelines

• Only one scholarship may be received each year.
• Scholarships must be used in the year in which they are awarded.
• Scholarships may be applied to another course offered in the same year the scholarship was awarded if a course is not confirmed to run.

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Additional Funding

State and regional professional organizations are often a source of funding for professional development. For example, the Wisconsin Federation of Museums annually offers two mini-grant awards of up to $1000 to assist affiliate institutions in better preserve, exhibit, and interpret their collections and to improve the professional skills of staff.

In addition, with advanced planning, funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities Preservation Assistance Grants for Small Institutions can be used for training at the Center for Collections Care at Beloit College.