The Department of Political Science awards a variety of scholarships to undergraduates students. Find more individual scholarship criteria below. Apply for our department scholarships and other university awards at the Centralized Academic Scholarship Hub (CASH). Using your OU 4x4 login, there are two links to choose from: one for political science scholarships and one just for the Robert Dean Bass Endowed Scholarship. The department link includes these scholarships: Benson, Leek, Saxe Award, Sullivan, Peters, Youngwirth, and Ramirez/Massa. You can choose to apply for only political science scholarships, only the Bass Scholarship, or all scholarships. Be sure to check your eligibility using the criteria below to ensure you qualify for the awards you're applying for. The scholarship and award deadline is February 1. If you would like more information about any of our undergraduate scholarships or paper awards, please call the department office at (405) 325-2061.
| Scholarship | Criteria | Faculty Nominated Only |
|---|---|---|
| June and Oliver Benson Endowed Scholarship | The Benson scholarship is a merit-based scholarship for Political Science, Public Affairs and Administration majors. To be eligible, students must have at least 12 hours in political science major credit at OU and a 3.0 cumulative GPA. | No |
| Christopher A. de Jong Memorial Scholarship | The student must have at least a 3.00 overall grade point average. Selection criteria shall include a demonstrated extraordinary love of learning, either (1) by efforts to pursue an education that rises far above the efforts made by typical students, or (2) by overcoming obstacles and challenges that make it more difficult for the student to achieve his or her educational goals. Students can only be nominated by OU Political Science faculty. | Yes |
| John Halvor Leek Memorial Scholarship | The Leek scholarship is a merit-based scholarship for Political Science majors. To be eligible, students must be a full-time, regularly enrolled undergraduate or graduate student. Undergraduate students must have completed 9-12 credit hours in their major field. | No |
| Les J. Martin Memorial Endowed Scholarship | The Martin scholarship is a merit-based scholarship for Political Science majors. To be eligible, students must be a full-time, regularly enrolled undergraduate or graduate student, with a 3.0 cumulative GPA. Priority consideration will be given to students shown to have good character, who show professionalism and have financial need. | No |
| Teresa Ramirez and Richard W. Massa Scholarship | The Ramirez/Massa Scholarship is a merit and need-based scholarship for Political Science majors. To be eligible, students must have sophomore, junior or senior standing, and a minimum 2.25 cumulative GPA. Students must have demonstrated financial need, and priority consideration will be given to minority, female, or non-traditional students (age 24 or older) who are first generation college students. | No |
| Edmond and Joyce Peters Scholarship | The Peters scholarship is a merit-based scholarship for students in the department's Public Administration programs. To be eligible, students must be a full-time undergraduate or graduate student who are Oklahoma residents with a 3.0 cumulative GPA. Preference is given to students who graduated from either Blackwell High School or Edmond High School. | No |
| Ronald L. Platt Memorial Endowed Scholarship Fund in Political Science | The Platt scholarship is a merit and need-based scholarship for students seeking a degree offered by the Department of Political Science, with priority consideration given to students from Ada, Oklahoma. To be eligible, students must be in academic good standing with the degree program, making progress toward graduation, and have a demonstrable financial need. | No |
| Allan A. Saxe Political Science Endowed Scholarship | The Saxe scholarship is a merit-based scholarship for Political Science majors. To be eligible, students must be a full-time, regularly enrolled undergraduate or graduate student, with a 3.0 cumulative GPA, and demonstrated financial need. | No |
| Kelly Sullivan Endowed Memorial Scholarship | The Kelly Sullivan scholarship is a merit-based scholarship for Political Science, Public Affairs and Administration majors. To be eligible, students must have at least twelve hours in political science major credit at OU and a 3.0 cumulative GPA. | No |
| Mike Youngwirth Public Administration Endowed Scholarship | To be eligible for the Youngwirth Scholarship, students must be majoring in Public Administration and must be a full-time regularly enrolled junior or senior with a minimum 3.0 GPA. Students must also be involved in at least one recognized student organization and must submit a letter from the sponsor of the organization indicating their level of involvement. | No |
| Paper Awards | Criteria | Faculty Nominated Only |
|---|---|---|
| June and Oliver Benson Endowed Paper Award | Each year, the Benson Award honors the best research paper done by an undergraduate Political Science or Public Affairs and Administration major or minor. Students can only be nominated by OU Political Science faculty. | Yes |
| Joseph Crim Pray Endowed Paper Award | The Pray Award honors the best sophomore-level paper written by an undergraduate Political Science or Public Affairs and Administration major or minor for a 2000-level "gateway" course. Students can only be nominated by OU Political Science faculty. | Yes |
| John W. Wood Endowed Award | The Wood award is for the best graduate or undergraduate paper, thesis or dissertation paper and is faculty nominated. Students must be a regularly enrolled student in the department, must have written a paper, thesis or dissertation in the field of American political theory, political leadership or the presidency. Undergraduate work may include either a single paper or a series of papers amounting to ten to twenty pages. A more lengthy paper is expected for a graduate thesis or dissertation. Students must not receive a like award for the same research. Students can only be nominated by OU Political Science faculty. | Yes |
