The Department of History has awards available for academic achievement, financial aid, and research trips.

Students are encouraged to review and apply for institutional and external scholarships using WMU's scholarship-matching tool, ScholarshipUniverse. You can find instructions on how to log into and navigate ScholarshipUniverse here.

Most scholarships open for application on December 1st. 

Department Scholarships Include:

• The Department of History Fellowship - $1,000 award to newly-admitted, a full-time freshman History major.
• Elmore C. & Ruth L. Haynor Scholarship - a financial aid scholarship for full-time History students
• History Research & Creativity Scholarship - Supports student activity outside the classroom
• The History Emeriti Grant Scholarship - Supports travel, volunteering, research or other advancement opportunities
• Dr. H. Nicholas Hamner Scholarship - Supports History students' educational expenses
• Smith Burnham Prize in History - Given to a Junior History student with the highest GPA
• Bert Nash Scholarship - Given to outstanding students pursuing a career in Social Studies education
• Marten Endowed Scholarship - Awarded to History students with outstanding academic performance
• Dale Pattison Scholarship - Grants given to History students pursuing academic experiences outside the classroom
• Multiple writing awards given for exceptional academic paper, thesis, or dissertation submissions

These awards are chosen by either the department chair or faculty nomination. Questions and applications can be sent to hist-outreach@wmich.edu.

Alumni Travel Award

This award funds undergraduate history majors and minors who engage in scholarly activities outside the classroom and/or who pursue opportunities that advance their professional goals as historians.  Grants are awarded to further research, encourage internship or volunteer experiences, defray the cost of travel to a scholarly conference, or in support of other scholarly or professional activities in history.  The amount for this award is variable. The deadline for submission is March 15. 

APPLICATION

Peter J. Schmitt Endowed Award

All members of the WMU undergraduate and graduate community are eligible to apply to the Peter J. Schmitt Endowment for Experiential Learning. To be eligible for this grant, undergraduate students must have completed at least 30 hours of course work at WMU, and have maintained a GPA of 2.50 or higher. The deadline for submission is April 1. Please send applications to the department chair.

APPLICATION

Undergraduate Emeriti Grant

The History Undergraduate Fellows Grant Program funds undergraduate history majors and minors who engage in scholarly activities outside the classroom and/or who pursue opportunities that advance their professional goals as historians. Grants ranging from $50-$500 are awarded to further research, encourage internship or volunteer experiences, defray the cost of travel to a scholarly conference, or in support of other scholarly or professional activities in history. Applicants must submit an application form, a resume, transcript, a brief statement describing the project, a proposed budget, and a statement of support from a faculty mentor. Applications are due on November 15 for projects taking place in the spring semester, and on March 15 for projects taking place in summer I and II sessions and fall semester.

APPLICATION

Department Internship Grant

The History Department Internship Scholarship supports outstanding and deserving history, public history, and secondary education students pursuing an internship in their field of study. The scholarship is designed to help defray costs and expenses in instances where students are required to temporarily relocate in order to complete an internship. Applicants must submit a resume, transcript, a brief statement describing the project, a proposed budget, and a statement of support from a faculty mentor. The deadline for submission is March 15. The amount for this scholarship is variable.

APPLICATION

Catherine J. Julien Endowment for History

The fund will be used at the discretion of the Chair of the Department of History to support undergraduate or graduate students to advance their research in history with a preference for supporting graduate students and those students whose interests are in studying Latin America history and culture broadly defined, including its archaeology and its indigenous peoples. Please contact department chair for more information on the application process.

Smith-Burnham Internship Award

The purpose of the outstanding intern award is to encourage an environment in which a future teacher is given close, expert supervision. The intern participates in a variety of authentic teaching experiences with at least one, and often several, outstanding teachers at Portage Central High School. WMU's College of Education's Office of Field Placements works with the History Department in this placement. The intern teacher also receives letters of recommendation from his/her supervising teachers at PCHS, members of WMU's History Department, and the PCHS principal following the completion of the internship. The award comes with a stipend of $300.

History majors may receive an "Honors in History" designation on their official transcript. In order to be eligible, history majors must have completed at least 30 credit hours including 6 hours in 4000-level history courses. Applicants must also have completed at least 90 credit hours overall, and at least half of all credit hours and all 4000-level history courses must be completed at WMU. A minimum GPA of 3.5 and a GPA of 3.75 in History courses is required to maintain the designation. The Department will notify the University Registrar to enter it onto your transcript. Please submit the form below, a substantial writing sample, a brief letter stating the reasoning for your request, along with a statement of support from a faculty member to hist-outreach@wmich.edu.

Note: If your GPA falls below the required 3.5 minimum for Honors in History, the University Registrar can revoke it.