North Dakota student and vocational grants: State Grant, ND Scholarship and WIOA (2026-27)

The State Grant and its 2025 add-on, the Supplemental State Grant

NDUS also calls the State Grant the Student Financial Assistance Program. It pays need-based grants to North Dakota residents seeking a first undergraduate degree ⁠¹. Awards scale with credit load ⁠²:

Source: NDUS 2026-27 program chart ⁠². Two full-time semesters come to $2,750 a year. Eligibility ends after 8 semesters or 12 quarters of full-time-equivalent enrollment, or at a first bachelor’s degree, whichever comes first ⁠¹.

The Supplemental State Grant started in 2025-26 and continues in 2026-27. It goes only to students who already have a State Grant, have total family income of $80,000 or less on the FAFSA, take at least 3 credits, meet satisfactory academic progress and have finished verification if selected ⁠¹. The award cannot exceed regular undergraduate tuition. NDUS sets a base tuition figure and subtracts your Pell Grant and State Grant to reach the amount ⁠². NDUS does not publish that base tuition figure on its program pages. Your college adds the supplement to your aid package automatically and pays it after the State Grant disburses each term ⁠¹.

Neither grant publishes a Student Aid Index (SAI) cutoff. Because the formula subtracts federal aid, a student with a large Pell Grant at a low-cost college can still get a smaller State Grant than you might expect. No state grant or scholarship can push your total grants and scholarships above the cost of attendance. If outside, tribal or institutional awards reach that ceiling, the college must cut or cancel the state aid for that term ⁠¹.

Who counts as a North Dakota resident for the State Grant

NDUS ties State Grant residency mainly to where you finished high school. You qualify if you ⁠¹:

• graduated from a North Dakota high school (make sure the school’s name, city and state are on your FAFSA);
• graduated from a high school in a bordering state under N.D.C.C. chapter 15.1-29, or from a nonpublic school in a bordering state while living with a custodial parent in North Dakota (contact NDUS to confirm);
• finished supervised home education under N.D.C.C. chapter 15.1-23 and send NDUS your final transcript and Statement of Intent to Homeschool; or
• earned a GED from the North Dakota Superintendent of Public Instruction and send NDUS the certificate.

The grant works at accredited public, tribal and private colleges in North Dakota that offer programs of at least two years ⁠¹. A student with a medically certifiable disability who needs services not offered in the state may ask NDUS about using it out of state ⁠¹. If you live in North Dakota and attend a Minnesota public campus, ND-MN Reciprocity gets you the Minnesota resident tuition rate, but only with a valid reciprocity application filed online before the term ends ⁠².

Students who cannot file the FAFSA

North Dakota has no state alternative to the FAFSA. NDUS calculates the State Grant from FAFSA data, and the Supplemental State Grant requires a State Grant first ⁠¹⁠². A student who cannot file the FAFSA has two partial options. The North Dakota Scholarship is awarded through a Department of Public Instruction application, not the FAFSA ⁠⁴. The Native American Scholarship’s merit track depends on a 3.50 GPA rather than need, though NDUS still asks for the FAFSA for need-based awards ⁠⁶.

Career schools, apprenticeships and the $6,000 North Dakota Scholarship

Starting with the class of 2025, new awards are made under the North Dakota Scholarship. It replaced the Academic and CTE Scholarships, and earlier winners are paid their remaining eligibility under those programs ⁠³. Its total value is $6,000. It pays $750 per semester or $500 per quarter, clock-hour term or apprenticeship term at accredited public, private and tribal colleges, accredited career and technical schools with a physical presence in North Dakota, and registered apprenticeship programs in the state ⁠³. You have six years after high school to use it ⁠³.

You qualify in high school by meeting the Department of Public Instruction’s essential-skills requirements plus two of three readiness areas: post-secondary, workforce and military. You then apply online with DPI. The 2026 deadline was June 5, 2026 ⁠⁴. To keep getting paid you must enroll full time, keep a 2.75 cumulative GPA and hit progress checkpoints: 24 credits, 900 clock hours or 1,000 apprenticeship hours before the third payment, rising to 99 credits, 3,712.5 clock hours or 3,500 apprenticeship hours before the eighth ⁠³. Students in their final term can ask NDUS for a one-time exception to the full-time rule ⁠³.

Two other NDUS awards help students in specific situations. The Native American Scholarship pays up to $2,000 a year to North Dakota residents who are enrolled members of a federally recognized tribe and have at least a 2.0 GPA. It covers clock-hour, certificate, degree and graduate programs, and the priority date is July 15 each year ⁠⁶. The Dual-Credit Tuition Scholarship is a one-time payment of $250 to $750 toward tuition and fees for students who earned dual credit from a North Dakota college, paid after their first college term ⁠².

ND Career Builders: matched money for high-need jobs

ND Career Builders is the state’s main workforce scholarship. It pays for certificate programs, associate degrees and the final two years of a bachelor’s degree, but only in programs tied to the High-Need and Emerging Occupations List that the Workforce Development Council and Job Service North Dakota review each year ⁠⁵. The state pays only when an employer, association, city or other qualifying donor puts up money first. NDUS matches each dollar up to $8,500, so the most you can get is $17,000, and payments cannot exceed tuition, fees, books and supplies ⁠⁵. Eligibility lasts up to 4 semesters or 6 quarters, and you must keep a 2.50 GPA and enroll full time ⁠⁵.

This is not free money. You sign a binding agreement to finish the program, then live in North Dakota and work in a high-need occupation there for three years. You have six months after finishing to start ⁠⁵. For new applicants since August 1, 2025, living within 50 miles of the border also counts ⁠². If you withdraw or do not meet the terms, you repay both the state share and the donor share ⁠⁵. Your campus contact can tell you whether your program qualifies and whether a donor is available. You then apply in the ND SAMS Portal ⁠⁵⁠⁷.

Job Service North Dakota training accounts under WIOA

Adults and dislocated workers apply for training money at one of Job Service North Dakota’s nine workforce centers: Bismarck, Devils Lake, Dickinson, Fargo, Grand Forks, Jamestown, Minot, Wahpeton and Williston. Ask for a WIOA Advisor ⁠⁸. Classroom training paid this way can cover tuition, books, fees and supplies ⁠⁸. The program must be on the North Dakota WIOA Eligible Training Provider List. Providers get on that list by aligning programs with the in-demand occupations list set by the Governor’s Workforce Development Council ⁠⁸.

The Workforce Development Council’s ITA Limitation Policy 2-08-01 sets the state caps ⁠⁹:

Testing fees count toward training costs but are not paid from the ITA. Training is full time unless your assessment justifies part time ⁠⁹.

You must apply for a Pell Grant and other funding where appropriate. ITAs are paid in installments and depend on satisfactory progress ⁠⁹. Federal rules limit WIOA training money to people who cannot get enough grant aid from other sources ⁠¹³. North Dakota also accepts providers on the Minnesota, Montana and South Dakota lists ⁠⁹. On September 24, 2026, the governor proposed merging Job Service North Dakota and other workforce programs into a Department of Workforce Development. That merger would start July 1, 2027 only if the Legislature approves it, so for now you still apply through Job Service ⁠¹⁵.

Pell, Workforce Pell and free tuition in North Dakota

The federal Pell Grant pays $740 to $7,395 for July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027 ⁠¹⁰. Starting with 2026-27, you lose Pell eligibility if your non-federal grants and scholarships equal or exceed your cost of attendance. In North Dakota, that matters most for students who stack the State Grant, the North Dakota Scholarship and a Career Builders award ⁠¹². Workforce Pell has paid for short programs since July 1, 2026. A program qualifies if it runs 8 to 14 weeks with 150 to 599 clock hours, has completion and job placement rates of at least 70%, is certified by the governor and is approved by the U.S. Department of Education ⁠¹¹⁠¹². Bachelor’s degree holders can receive it, and WIOA money can be combined with it ⁠¹¹. As of October 20, 2026, no North Dakota agency page we checked listed a governor-certified or federally approved Workforce Pell program, so ask your college before you count on it. North Dakota also has no state free-tuition or promise program for community college. The 2026-27 NDUS list of state programs has none ⁠².

Filing for 2027-28 aid in North Dakota, step by step

1. File the FAFSA right away

   NDUS tells students to file as soon as Federal Student Aid opens the form, generally October 1, and to refile every year. It is the only way into the State Grant and the Supplemental State Grant ⁠¹⁠¹⁴.

2. Put your high school on the FAFSA

   NDUS checks residency against the high school you list. Homeschool and GED students must send NDUS their transcript, intent form or GED certificate ⁠¹.

3. Answer verification requests immediately

   The Supplemental State Grant requires completed verification, and NDUS warns that slow replies can cost you limited grant money ⁠¹⁠¹⁴.

4. Register in ND SAMS

   Create an “Applicant” account to apply for the Native American Scholarship (by July 15) or Career Builders, finish state verifications or move your state aid to another college ⁠⁶⁠⁷.

5. Seniors: apply for the North Dakota Scholarship with DPI

   Apply by the June deadline. Students who go to college outside North Dakota must call NDUS to reinstate it before enrolling in North Dakota later ⁠⁴.

6. For short-term or career training, go to Job Service North Dakota

   Choose a program on the Eligible Training Provider List, apply for Pell at the same time, and ask whether the program also qualifies for Career Builders ⁠⁵⁠⁸⁠⁹.

7. Check the award letter against your cost of attendance

   If outside scholarships push you over the limit, the college must reduce your state aid for that term. Ask the aid office which award it will cut first ⁠¹.