Humphrey Alumni Scholarship

The Humphrey Alumni Scholarship (HAS) provides tuition and fee support to second-year and continuing Humphrey School students. The Humphrey School Alumni Society administers the scholarships, all of which are supported by donations from Humphrey School alumni and friends. Each year, one HAS awardee interested in women and public policy may be designated as the Gayle Zoffer recipient and one recipient who has demonstrated outstanding volunteer or community service may be designated as the Jonas Schwartz recipient.

Goals of the Humphrey Alumni Scholarship

To reward academic performance and professional promise
To encourage and enable second-year and continuing students to graduate in a timely fashion and begin their careers as public affairs professionals
To recognize students who participate in meaningful volunteer or community service (including military and other national service and relevant internships)
To aid those students with special financial need
To provide financial support to Humphrey School students representing various interests and backgrounds

Eligibility

To be eligible for a Humphrey Alumni Scholarship, a Humphrey School student must meet the following requirements:

Has completed enough graduate semester credits required for a degree by May of the following year. This is demonstrated on the program requirements worksheet and, in general, should be at least 40% of the total credits required.
Demonstrate a clear plan to complete his/her degree during the academic year in which the award is given.
Was not a recipient of a two-year financial aid package from the Humphrey School or Graduate School when entering the program.
Has registered for courses at some time during the last 12 months.
Does not have a grade of Incomplete on a course prior to the beginning of fall semester of the application year. If there currently is an Incomplete on record, the student must state clearly how she/he expects to complete the course prior to the beginning of next fall semester.
Be registered for the coming academic year. Since joint degree students are expected to complete all or most of their Humphrey School coursework in one year, they generally are not eligible during the time they are primarily or solely completing non-Humphrey School coursework.
Minnesota residents, non-residents, and international students may apply.

If you have questions concerning eligibility, please contact hhhalum@umn.edu, or call Courtney Barrette (612) 625-2099 or Graduate Student Services (612) 624-3800.

Selection Criteria

Each of these criteria should be fully addressed in the application materials:

Academic achievement
Professional promise
Volunteer and/or community service (including military and other national service, and relevant internships)
Financial need (U.S. students must complete a FAFSA; international students must submit a statement documenting special financial need.

Application Materials

To be considered for the Humphrey Alumni Scholarship, applicants must submit the following items:

1. An unofficial graduate transcript (can be accessed and printed via the web at: http://onestop.umn.edu/onestop/grades.html).

2. A brief essay that clearly articulates the student’s career goals (one page double-spaced).

3. A brief essay that describes the student’s volunteer/community service, including military and other national service, and relevant internships (one page double-spaced). In this essay, reflect upon how your service has made a difference in the lives of others and how this service informs your professional goals.

4. A copy of the Program Planning Worksheet (PPW) (forms available at http://www.hhh.umn.edu/students/forms/library.html) to demonstrate plans for degree completion.

A draft plan may be submitted, but sufficient course options must be listed to meet degree requirements.
The student’s current idea/plan for a capstone workshop, professional paper topic, or Plan B or A should be briefly discussed.
Secured or potential internships should be noted.
While the Program Planning Worksheet (PPW) does NOT need to be signed by the student’s advisor, do not otherwise leave any blanks on the PPW.

5. A completed federal financial aid application (FAFSA), no later than April 15, 2013. International students who apply should submit a brief statement clearly documenting financial need.

6. A current copy of the student’s resume. Related to the volunteer/community service experiences described in the required essay, the resume should include a brief description of the student’s roles/responsibilities and achievement/s, the average number of hours worked per week or month, and the overall duration of each commitment.

Application Review + Award Process

Applications will be reviewed by a committee of Humphrey School alumni and faculty members. Scholarships will be awarded to students on the basis of the committee’s assessment of the student’s academic achievements, professional promise, financial need, and volunteer or community service.

The maximum scholarship award for 2013–2014 is $5,000. The number of scholarships awarded will depend on the amount of money the Humphrey Alumni Society is able to raise.

A student with an Incomplete on his/her record may still be selected for a provisional award. This award would be received if the course is complete by the first day of fall semester of the academic year for which the grant is awarded; otherwise the award would be forfeited and go to an alternate.

Deadline

All application materials are due by 4:30 p.m., Monday, April 15, 2013. Awards will be announced in early to mid-May. Please submit all application materials electronically to hhhalum@umn.edu or to the Humphrey Alumni Scholarship, c/o Courtney Barrette, 300 Humphrey School, 301 19th Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55455.

Note

All information provided for these applications is strictly confidential and will not be released to anyone outside of the HAS selection committee without permission of the applicant.