Scholarships & Awards
WGSS Scholarship applications (and all other scholarships) are administered through the WSU General Scholarship Application, with a due date of 31 January 2025.
Awards (different from scholarships) are conferred annually to recognize exceptional scholarly achievement and engagement. Award criteria are described below, and the application process is separate from scholarships and administered through WGSS toward the end of the academic year. Please return in March 2025 for applications forms for awards.
College Scholarships
The College of Arts and Sciences awards more than $85,000 annually through more than 35 scholarship funds.
McNair Scholar Awards
Undergraduates planning to pursue a Ph.D. who a) qualify as low-income and first-generation OR b) are from a group underrepresented in graduate education may be eligible for the federally funded McNair Achievement Program.
Graduate Opportunities
For information on additional awards available to graduate students, see the Office of Grant & Research Development.
Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Scholarships
Pauline Thompson Scholarship
The Pauline E. Thompson Scholarship is available to women’s, gender, and sexuality studies majors and minors and queer studies minors on the Pullman campus. It is named for Dr. Pauline Thompson, an alumna of WSU (1927, 1930), and honors students for advancing human diversity, feminism, and the development of civil society.
Johanna Busek Scholarship
The Johanna Busek Scholarship is available to full-time certified women’s, gender, and sexuality studies majors on the Pullman campus with demonstrated need. It honors excellence in overcoming adversity and enacting solidarity. Please note that in addition to the WSU General Scholarship Application, students must complete the FAFSA and WAFSA forms to be eligible for this scholarship.
Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Awards
Celia Forrest Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Student Award
This award recognizes a women’s, gender, and sexuality studies major or minor or a queer studies minor who has:
- Demonstrated an application of feminist and/or queer theory to their life, and
- Shown excellence in course-related research.
Self-nominations are appropriate and encouraged. WGSS faculty may also nominate students.
Creative Achievement Award in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
First place • Second place • Third Place
This award honors students’ contributions to feminist studies and queer studies creative expression. Specifically, we are looking for a single piece of work or project that demonstrates exceptional achievement and artistic expression. Creativity, personal investment, and overall excellence are some of the qualities that this work should exhibit.
Any work meeting the above criteria that has been completed by a women’s, gender, and sexuality studies major or minor or a queer studies minor in a WGSS course between April 11, 2024 and April 10, 2025 is eligible for consideration.
Self-nominations are appropriate and encouraged. WGSS faculty may also nominate a student’s work.
Scholarly Achievement Award in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
First place • Second place • Third Place
This award honors students’ outstanding contributions to feminist studies and/or queer studies scholarship. Specifically, we are looking for a single piece of work that demonstrates exceptional achievement in research, application of theory, and/or writing. Originality, personal investment, and overall excellence are some of the qualities this work should exhibit.
Any work meeting the above criteria that has been completed by women’s, gender, and sexuality studies majors or minors or queer studies minors in a WGSS course between April 11, 2024 and April 10, 2025 is eligible for consideration.
Self-nominations by WGSS majors and minors are appropriate and encouraged. WGSS faculty may also make nominations.
Internship and Community Service Award in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
This award, conferred on an occasional basis, honors extraordinary community engagement, especially through dedicated service in an internship with WSU credit and taken for the women’s, gender, and sexuality studies major or minor or the queer studies minor. Exceptional internship or community service not taken for credit may also be considered. Self-nominations and faculty nominations are both accepted.
Any internship completed by WGSS majors or minors between April 11, 2024 and April 10, 2025 is eligible for consideration.
Instructional Faculty
Susan Armitage Teaching Award
Honoring the legacy of Susan Armitage, WSU professor emerita of history (1978-2008) and former director of the Women’s Studies program, is given annually to a WGSS faculty member, instructor, or teaching graduate assistant for their contributions to WGSS as recognized by the program’s majors/minors.
- Demonstrated contributions that have strengthened and enriched WGSS at WSU through exceptional teaching, mentorship, service, or scholarship.
- Leadership or scholarship that advances access, inclusion, and understanding through feminist, womanist, and/or anti-racist scholarly inquiry, fostering an environment where all students can thrive.