Graduate Awards & Scholarships
Graduate students may be eligible to receive funding opportunities from the Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WGSS) Program, as well as other available awards and scholarships.
WGSS Program Funding Opportunities
WGSS Endowment Award
The endowment provides an annual award to one graduate student in the WGSS Program. Applications open in March.
The Nicole Paul Endowed Prize in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
This award is generously funded through an endowment made by the parents of Nicole Paul, a master’s student in the program before her death in 1994. The awardee is selected by a committee of faculty and students. Applicants should be matriculated students in the MA in WGSS program with demonstrated commitment to feminist scholarship and activism. Applications for the award, which amounts to $900, open in March.
Graduate Feminist Scholarship Award
The Graduate Feminist Scholarship Award, which amounts to $100, is open to WGSS master’s students and acknowledges outstanding scholarship. Applications open in March and are due mid-April. Students must turn in an academic paper that meets requirements:
- Papers must be concerned with feminist scholarship.
- Papers should be approximately 20 pages in length, double-spaced, in 12-point typeface and include a bibliography.
- Submissions should be accompanied by an abstract that describes the work in no more than two paragraphs and explains how the work originated (e.g., as part of a thesis or a course paper).
Service to the Community of Women Award
The Service to the Community of Women Award acknowledges the activism of a graduate student in the WGSS Program. Applications for the award, which amounts to $100, open in March.
Making a Difference Award
The Making a Difference Award encourages graduates to conduct original research, think critically and shape ongoing debates on one (or several related) topics concerning women. This prize is open to all WGSS graduate students taking a course in the WGSS Program during the current year. Applications open in March.
Applicants must submit a paper that covers the purpose, implementation, outcomes and impacts of legislation, policies and programs that include or directly affect women on subjects such as aging, health, violence against women, wage equity, child care, safety-net issues and human rights.
Submission Requirements:
- No more than 20 pages
- Original work explaining the purpose, implementation, outcomes and impacts of legislation, policies and programs that include or are aimed specifically at women on subjects such as aging, health, violence against women, wage equity, child care, safety net issues and human rights
- Paper has been initiated as part of a WGSS class
Papers are reviewed by a committee of faculty from the program and related areas, representatives from policy-oriented organizations and a GW alum. The committee may, if it feels necessary, call upon other experts to assist in its deliberation.
This award is made possible by the generous support of Clara Schiffer.
Other University Assistance
The Columbian College of Arts and Sciences and GW offer additional funding opportunities to qualified graduate candidates. Visit the Graduate Student Funding web page to learn more about opportunities for dean's scholarships, fellowships, assistantships, loan assistance and student employment. In addition, the Columbian Women Scholarships, which are funded by a group of GW alumnae, offer scholarships to eligible GW undergraduate and graduate students each year.
Cost and Application Deadlines
External Funding Sources
The Scholarships for Women website maintains a list of organizations and corporate foundations that offer grants and scholarships specifically for women at the graduate level.
Visit the Scholarships for Women Site