Undergraduate Fellowships, Prizes, and Awards
- Prizes
The History Department offers up to 10 undergraduate essay prizes designed to reward a broad range of undergraduate writing – from Senior Theses to term papers to specialized essays in German-Jewish history. Deadline for submissions is typically in the early Spring semester, except for Theses which should be submitted for the Harrington Prize by the end of the Spring semester. We offer prizes both for history majors and non-majors.
The prizes listed below are made possible thanks to the tremendous generosity of our alumni and former members of our faculty. The History Department expresses its gratitude for their support in recognizing the achievements of our undergraduates.
Paul J. Schrag Prize ($200) for best undergraduate essay in German-Jewish history.
Baensch Prize ($500) for best essay on Wisconsin history. Projects considered need not deal with Wisconsin exclusively, but the subject must clearly center on the history of the territory and/or state.
William F. Allen Prize ($200) for historical essays of term-paper size and scope, no more than one of which may be by an undergraduate non-major.
Curti Prize ($200) for the best historical essay of term-paper size and scope, written by an undergraduate non-major.
Andrew Bergman Prize (One $1000 award and up to two $500 awards) for the best undergraduate paper written for a history course, based on quality of research and writing, with special attention to clarity and accessibility of writing.
Fred Harvey Harrington Prize ($500) for the best undergraduate thesis by a history major.
Short-term Research and Conference Grants
The Department of History offers small grants to undergraduate students who need funding to defray research costs, travel to archives and libraries, or attend history conferences. Deadlines for submissions are typically in the early Fall and Spring semesters. Grant Application Form (pdf)
Research Fellowships and Scholarships
The University offers funding to enable undergraduates to undertake cutting edge research under the supervision of a faculty member. These are terrific opportunities and you should take advantage of them. Careful advance planning (up to one year ahead of time) is essential. Students in their third year (in exceptional cases in their second year) are urged to contact potential faculty sponsors early in the fall semester to begin crafting a project. Application deadlines tend to be in the early spring and if your application is successful you will receive funding for the summer or for your senior year. Don’t be bashful! Faculty enjoy working with motivated undergraduates on exciting research projects.
Davis / Gerstein Undergraduate Research Award
Thanks to generous funding provided by Susan E. Davis and Miles J. Gerstein, the Department offers undergraduate awards to students who propose to undertake an in-depth research project under the close supervision of a History Department faculty member. Successful applicants will receive $2,500 to help defray the cost of travel, research expenses and supplies. Davis / Gerstein Research Award Application (pdf)
Kaplan Family Fellowships
Thanks to the generosity of our alumnus Harold Kaplan, the Department of History is proud to offer the Kaplan Family Fellowship in History.(pdf)
The Kaplan Family Fellowships provides support for undergraduate students who wish to undertake a research project (a senior thesis, for example) in close collaboration with a faculty supervisor. Scholarships are also available for students and faculty who propose a “research internship” that helps students acquire critical research skills. Successful applicants will receive $3,000 in support that they can use for travel, research expenses and supplies.
Mosse Distinguished Research and Service Fellowship
Thanks to the financial support of the Mosse Program, the Department of History is pleased to offer the Mosse Distinguished Research and Service Fellowship.
The Mosse Fellowship ($2,000) is designed to reward majors who have demonstrated excellence in historical research and undertaken significant community service at the campus, local, national or international level. The award funds students who need financial support to undertake significant community service oriented learning. Mosse Distinguished Research and Service Fellowship (pdf); Example of Completed Mosse Application Form (pdf)
Russian History Scholarships
The Department offers the Alice D. Mortenson Undergraduate Scholarship in Russian History.(pdf) We are grateful to our alumnus, Alice Mortenson, for her generous support. The Mortenson scholarships ($3,000) will be awarded to up to three students interested in Russian history, and at least one of the scholarships will be reserved for a student majoring in a discipline other than history.
Margaret E. Smith Esther-Butt History Scholarship
The Department awards one Margaret E. Smith-Esther Butt History Scholarship annually. The award is designed for outstanding History majors. Scholarship Application Form (pdf)
The Orson S. Morse History Scholarship
The Orson S. Morse History Scholarship is given annually to an outstanding History major. Mr. Morse received his degree in History from the College of Letters & Science in 1932 and established this bequest to support undergraduate history education. Scholarship Application Form (pdf)
The Willard L. Huson Scholarship
The Willard L. Huson Scholarship is awarded annually to a deserving student majoring in History at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Scholarship Application Form (pdf)
History Department Scholarship
University Research Scholarships and Prizes
We also urge our students to apply for the Wisconsin Hilldale Undergraduate/Faculty Research Awards that offer up to $4,000 of support for the student and $1,000 for the faculty sponsor. The deadline for applications is usually early in the spring semester. http://www.provost.wisc.edu/uaa/awards/hilldale.html
The college also offers other awards and prizes that can be used for research in history http://www.provost.wisc.edu/uaa/campuswide.html
Finally, the honors program also offers research and travel grants as well as prizes for honors students. http://www.honors.ls.wisc.edu/
Other Prizes and Awards
- The Wisconsin Labor History Society offers the Frank Zeidler Academic Award ($500) for the best undergraduate research paper about Wisconsin labor and working class history. For details and deadlines see http://www.wisconsinlaborhistory.org/zeidlercall2006.pdf and http://www.wisconsinlaborhistory.org
- The Gilder Lehrman History Scholars Program, based in New York City, is a competitive summer scholarship program for college sophomores and juniors. For details and deadlines please see: http://www.gilderlehrman.org/teachers/student2.html
- The Hirsch Family Award provides an incentive to explore the campus' academic and social environment, and take note of areas previously unnoticed. It supports imaginative projects wherein undergraduates and faculty/instructional staff collaborate on a project which showcases and sheds a positive light on a UW-Madison initiative, department or division.
http://history.wisc.edu/undergraduate/hirsch_award.pdf- The annual Iwanter Prize provides an unrestricted $2,000 award to one graduating senior who, through a senior thesis and general academic distinction, demonstrates outstanding humanities-based scholarship of a broad and interdisciplinary nature. The award is made possible by a gift to the UW Foundation by Sidney E. Iwanter, an alumnus of the College of Letters & Science (BA History, 1971). Applications must be received by the Center for the Humanities by 5:00 pm on Monday, April 14, 2008. For more information and eligibility requirements, please see the Center for Humanities Website: http://www.humanities.wisc.edu/Iwanter-Prize.html.
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