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2023 GENDER, WOMEN’S & SEXUALITY STUDIES (GWSS/SJUS) SCHOLARSHIPS

For all awards send completed application and supporting materials electronically to laura-kastens@uiowa.edu by January 30, 2023.

Awards will be presented at the Annual Celebration of Excellence and Achievement Among Women to be held in April 2023.

Tips for Applicants

FOR UNDERGRADUATE OR GRADUATE STUDENTS

STEPHEN LYNN SMITH MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE

Stephen Lynn Smith (1944-2009) was born in Cedar Rapids and raised in nearby Marion. A 1963 graduate of Marion High School, he enrolled in the ROTC program at the State University of Iowa (the original name for the University of Iowa) that summer, majoring in engineering. Perhaps influenced by the 1963 March on Washington that August, Steve embraced the Civil Rights Movement. He soon joined the local chapter of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee and in 1964 participated in Freedom Summer, an effort to register African Americans in Mississippi to vote. He was one of over 800 volunteers from across the country.

Two awards of $4000 each will be given to students demonstrating a commitment to the principles of social justice and progress. This award is open to undergraduate and graduate students.

Applications must include:

  • Application Form
  • A one-page statement describing your academic or career goals, and some ways in which these reflect a concern for social justice.
  • Two letters of recommendation.
  • Unofficial transcripts of UI coursework

FOR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS

      KRISTIN K. LIPPKE MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP

      Kris Lippke was a University of Iowa undergraduate student one month away from graduating with a minor in Women’s Studies when a serious car accident changed the course of her life. In her memory the Lippke family has endowed a scholarship to be awarded to undergraduate students majoring in Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies (GWSS) or Social Justice (SJUS).

      The 2023-2024 Kristin K. Lippke Scholarship will make two awards in the amount of $4000 each to GWSS or SJUS majors on the basis of academic record and financial need.

      Please note – this award will be dispersed during the next academic year (2023-24); recipients must be registered as either a part- or full-time GWSS or SJUS major during both semesters.

      Applications must include:

      • Application form
      • A one-page statement describing your academic or career goals, and some ways in which these reflect a concern for women's lives
      • Two letters of recommendation
      • unofficial transcript(s) of undergraduate work

      FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS

        ADAH JOHNSON/OTILIA MARIA FERNANDEZ SCHOLARSHIP

        This scholarship honors Adah Johnson, one of the first black women students to graduate from The University of Iowa (1912) and Otilia Maria Fernandez, one of the first Hispanic woman graduates (1924).

        The 2022-23 Johnson/Fernandez Scholarship will be awarded to a graduate woman student of color who has taken courses in the Gender, Women’s & Sexuality Studies Department or whose academic interests include some aspect of women’s culture or experience. One award of $1000 will be given.

        Applications must include:

        • Application form
        • A one-page statement describing your academic or career goals, and some ways in which these reflect a concern for women's lives
        • Two letters of recommendation
        • unofficial transcript(s) of graduate work

        JANE A. WEISS MEMORIAL DISSERTATION SCHOLARSHIP

        A $4000 scholarship will be awarded to a University of Iowa Ph.D. candidate whose dissertation focuses on issues pertaining to women. Graduate students from all disciplines are encouraged to apply.

        CRITERIA FOR SELECTION:

        • Applicant must be a currently registered Ph.D. Candidate;
        • Dissertation proposal must be accepted by the candidate’s department by January 30, 2023.
        • Applicant must have a demonstrated commitment to women’s issues through activities in the University or larger community; and
        • Dissertation promises to make contributions to understanding of women’s issues and to feminist scholarship.

        APPLICATION MATERIALS:

        • Application Form
        • An application letter specifically addressing the selection criteria listed above. Provide information explaining the activist or community-based work you have done, including information about activist groups or organizations with which you have worked.
        • A four- to five-page (double-spaced) summary of your dissertation in terms intelligible to readers not in your discipline.
        • Two letters of reference. One letter must be from a faculty member acquainted with your dissertation. The second letter should be from a person acquainted with your activism on behalf of women’s issues.
        • Transcripts of graduate work
        • Curriculum vita

        For all awards send completed application and supporting materials electronically to laura-kastens@uiowa.edu by January 30, 2023.