At Ball State, 80 percent of our students are eligible for financial aid. The Department of History offers several scholarships to help you pursue your bachelor’s degree. If you are selected for a scholarship, you will have the honor of being recognized in front of your peers and faculty during the annual spring Honors and Recognition Ceremony.

Scholarships that Require Applications

Please see individual scholarship applications for specific requirements.

Criteria

Applicants must:

  • be sophomores, juniors, or seniors
  • have a minimum 3.2 GPA

First preference is given to female students.

How to Apply

For additional instructions and to apply, complete the online application.

Criteria

Applicants must:

  • be sophomores, juniors, or seniors
  • have a GPA between 2.75 and 3.25 on a 4.0 scale

First preference will be given to students who are engaged in extracurricular activities such as student government and volunteer work in the community.

How to Apply

For additional instructions and to apply, complete the online application.

The Jack Walker Scholarship supports students who have an interest in the founding of the United States.

Criteria

Applicants must:

  • complete 12 credits in history, including History 201, and at least one course numbered 300 and above
  • have an overall GPA of at least a 3.0
  • submit a 500-word essay

How to Apply

For additional instructions and to apply, complete the online application

The Childress Family Foundation supports this fund to help advanced students majoring in history at Ball State. Individual awards are designed to assist students to meet a particular or unexpected situation. Funds are to be used for expenses of an academic or scholarly nature only.

Criteria

Recipients must be:

  • juniors, seniors, or master’s degree candidates
  • registered for a minimum of six credits of coursework in history during each semester for which aid is sought

Preference is given to students demonstrating sound academic ability and accomplishment.

How to Apply

Applicants need to submit at least two letters of recommendation with their completed application. One of the letters must be from a faculty member of the Department of History.

For additional instructions and to apply, complete the online application.

After Professor Hoover's distinguished service at Ball State from 1959 to 1991, a person who studied under his guidance established this award as a tribute to him. Other members of this student's family have since joined in funding this scholarship, which is administered by the Department of History.

Criteria

Ball State graduate students, or seniors who soon will become graduate students by next autumn at Ball State, are eligible for the award.

Students who show special interest in and/or potential for research in community history either in the United States or abroad are also eligible.

How to Apply

Application forms are available online or from the Department of History main office, Burkhardt Room Building, room 200.

Students must submit:

  • the completed form
  • two letters of recommendation – one of the letters must be from a member of the Department of History and generally, both letters should be.
  • a 500-word statement – this statement should explain the applicant's interest in advanced historical study with particular attention to pursuits, such as community studies or scholarly travel that is especially important to her or him.

For additional instructions and to apply, complete the online application.

Those eligible are entering freshman students, transfer students or current students who plan to major in, or are majoring in history or social studies education.

  • A GPA of 3.0 or higher is required.
  • The scholarship is renewable up to a total of four years eligibility, as long as the student continues to meet the stated criteria.

For information about applying, download here.

The Edmonds Scholarship provides $3,000 in financial assistance every odd year to a Department of History student preparing to study abroad. The award alternates between the Department of History and the Honors College. Drs. Anthony and Joanne Edmonds devoted more than 60 years to Ball State and the Honors College and championed study abroad experiences for Honors College students.

a) In alternating years, Honors College students (from any major, including history, awarded in even-numbered years) and students majoring in programs of study within the Department of History (including Honors College students, awarded in odd-numbered years). Even-numbered years include applications in the Spring of an even-numbered year; awards may be received for the subsequent summer or academic year. Odd-numbered years include applications in the Spring of an odd-numbered year; awards may be received for the subsequent summer or academic year;

b) Student shall have a GPA above 3.2 on a 4.0 scale, or equivalent;

c) Student must be preparing to study abroad.

Scholarships Without Applications

Highest GPA in Each Class

The Althea Stoeckel, N. Merrill Rippy, Lester Schmidt, Robert A. LaFollette, Lawrence Hurst and Mabel Hurst, and Lawrence Birken scholarships are presented to the students based on outstanding grade point averages for each academic class.

Women's History

The Sharon Seager Women's History Fund promotes and supports scholarly investigations into the history of the lives of women in various cultures around the world. Disbursements from the fund shall be made at the discretion of the chair of the department of history in consultation with two members of the history faculty teaching Women's and Gender Studies. 

African American History

The Carter G. Woodson Prize is presented to the student with the highest grade in the African American History course (currently History 210), so long as they are not a graduating senior.

History Majors

The Dr. Philip M. Mayfield Legacy and the Dr. William Eidson History scholarships are awarded at the discretion of the chair of the department of history to any student pursuing a degree in history. 

Graduate Students

Graduate students who apply for graduate assistantships but are not selected will become eligible for the Richard W. and Dorothy J Burkhardt Scholarship. The recipient will be chosen based on the student's academic record.

Paying for Your Education