Scholarship, Leadership, Citizenship
Thanks to the generous support of our friends and alumni, the Department of Political Science is able to award several scholarships recognizing the top undergraduate students enrolled as political science majors at OSU Stillwater and OSU Tulsa. The amount and availability of each scholarship may vary by year, so please contact scholarships.polsci@okstate.edu for the most up-to-date information.
How to Apply
Students interested in applying should personally email the following documents to scholarships.polsci@okstate.edu:
A completed application form (download here). For an example mock-up application, click here.
A current transcript (an unofficial one is acceptable). Click here to request a transcript from the Registrar's Office.
Appliants should also select two recommenders to submit a letter of recommendation on their behalf. Recommendations returned by students will NOT be accepted. All recommenders must email their letters directly to scholarships.polsci@okstate.edu. To help your recommenders complete their part of the application process, we suggest that students copy and paste the following in an email to your recommenders:
Thank you for agreeing to provide a recommendation on my behalf to the Department of Political Science Scholarship Committee. While each scholarship has their own eligibility requirements, these scholarships are awarded to students that excel in scholarship, leadership, and service, so I would appreciate if you speak to that as much as you are able. When you complete your letter of recommendation, please email it directly to scholarships.polsci@okstate.edu. Please include my first and last name in the subject line of the email.
All material must be received by the committee no later than February 1 at 5pm. We encourage students to follow up with their recommendation requests to make sure that all letters are submitted before the deadline.
* Given that the deadline falls close to the beginning of the Spring semester, we strongly encourage students to begin their applications and contact their letter writers before the winter break.
All scholarship award winners must attend the College of Arts and Sciences' A&S Scholarship Appreciation Week. During this event, scholarship recipients learn more about their scholarship, write letters to the scholarship donors, and get a photo taken with the donor. Scholarship recipients will receive more details about the A&S Scholarship Appreciation Week in their award letters.
Who should recommend you?
The scholarship committee requires that both your recommenders be a faculty member, and at least one MUST be a member of the OSU Department of Political Science. Given the expectations of the scholarships, we suggest that you select a slate of recommenders who, together, can speak to your performance on all of the qualifications described below.
Selection Guidelines
The Scholarship Selection Committee is composed of faculty members from the Department of Political Science representing a variety of fields of study. In order to be competitive, students must demonstrate to the committee that they excel in one or more of the areas listed below:
Scholarship: academic record including, GPA, awards (e.g., honor roll), previous or current scholarship awards, scholarly research, honors college involvement, or other tangible signs of academic achievement.
Leadership and Service: experience helping run or contributing to campus organizations (offices, committees, contributions to the growth or excellence of student organizations) or living groups involvement (office, honors, or service), or any activities that benefit members of the campus, the community, or society in general.
Special Merit: activities that bring distinction to the University (national offices, honors including athletic involvement, other designations that call positive attention to Oklahoma State University), or personal growth and determination (obstacles overcome in pursuit of degree, extenuating circumstances, etc.)