Graduate Funding
For information on funding for graduate school, please visit our Graduate Funding section.
Undergraduate Fellowships, Scholarships, and Prizes
The application for 2024-2025 scholarships & awards is now closed. We will open applications for 2025-26 in mid-December 2024. Applications will be due shortly after Winter quarter 2025 final exams. Last year's application is here . Note that you will need a UW NetID to access the form via Google Suite. Scholarship applications require an unofficial transcript, statement of purpose and two letters of recommendation from faculty. Paper awards require only the application form and the paper submission.
We hope to award over $420,000 to undergraduate history majors for the 2025-26 academic year! If you are considering applying, please take the next step and apply for an award or scholarship! Please read below for descriptions of the various scholarships, awards, and prize funds available to History students. Each award description states the intention of the award and its eligibility requirements. Some of the awards require financial need, and others do not. Some awards are geared toward interests in specific areas of history and others only require that students are strong students majoring in History. Please know that you do not need to try to fit yourself into only one scholarship or award category. The scholarship committee will assess your application based on your statement of interest, classes taken, and letters of recommendation. We recommend that you select "please consider me for all scholarships and awards for which I am eligible" when you complete the application. Please note that our scholarships and awards have no restrictions on the basis of citizenship status; all eligible students are welcome and we especially encourage Underrepresented Minority and undocumented students to apply.
James Bicknell Endowed Fund
This fund, established by Professor Emeritus Daniel C. Waugh and Dr. Charlotte Green, and administered by the Department of History, provides academic travel aid for undergraduate students of any major in the College of Arts & Sciences who intend to study abroad in Europe, Asia or Northern Africa. Preference is given to students who have a demonstrated interest in Russia, Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Middle East or the Baltic region, but under some circumstances students with other travel plans may be considered. Upon return, the student will be required to provide documentation on their course of study, i.e. a certificate of completion from international study program, as well as a short (1-3 page) description of their experience.
Virginia Brandeberry Denison and Mark Kernaghan Endowed Scholarship
This scholarship is intended for a declared History Major with a demonstrated focus on European Medieval, Renaissance, Reformation, or Early Modern History to 1789. The scholarship may help with the costs of tuition, books, coursepacks or fees. The scholarship will be awarded to one student based on academic merit.
Filaretos Fotas Award for Study at Cardiff University
The Filaretos Fotas Award is presented to a student accepted to study at Cardiff University in the capitol of Wales, UK. All fields of study within History are acceptable. The scholarship alternates each academic year between inbound & outbound students. Visit our Study Abroad section for more information.
Freedman Remak Family Scholarship Fund in History
The Freedman-Remak Family Scholarship in History, named for Nancy Freedman Remak and Ben Remak, was created to support History Majors who must pay out-of-state tuition. This scholarship will be awarded annually to non-resident students with selection based on academic merit, financial need, and a demonstrated interest in "giving back" to the university community. Applicants for this scholarship must be out-of-state students, enrolled in good standing at the University of Washington and declared History Majors.
Meder-Montgomery Family Endowed Student Support Fund in History
This fund offers support for History Majors to assist with the cost of academic travel or research, and is awarded based on academic merit.
Bryan Phillips Scholarship
This scholarship is offered in memory of Bryan Phillips, a UW student who graduated with a history degree in December 2000. Bryan passed away in 2001 from complications from muscular dystrophy. The scholarship will be awarded to a physically disabled student to help defray the costs of tuition, books, academic support and disability accommodations. In accordance with the donors' wishes, preference will be given to History Majors with mobility-related disabilities.
Thomas M. Power Endowed Prize Fund for Excellence in History
This prize is awarded to a first-prize and an honorable mention undergraduate research paper written in a University of Washington History course. Applicants must be enrolled students in good standing at the University of Washington and declared History Majors.
Maurice D. and Lois M. Schwartz Scholarship Fund
This scholarship is awarded to a History major with a demonstrated interest in the study of the History of the Near East, Asia or Africa. The award may cover resident or non-resident tuition for up to three quarters so long as the recipient maintains a 3.0 or higher GPA.
Larry Lee Sleizer Endowed Scholarship Fund
This fund provides financial assistance to cover tuition for qualified History Majors.
Faye A. Wilson Endowed Scholarship Fund
This scholarship will be awarded to a History Major based on academic excellence and financial need, with preference given to students with a demonstrable interest in United States History.
Ravage Endowment Prize for Research Projects About African Americans in the American West
This award is given to the best undergraduate research paper or project (including but not limited to scripts, photo essays, radio productions, television or film documentaries, or oral histories) on a topic in the History of African Americans with a preference for African Americans in the American West, broadly defined as any of the states from North Dakota to Texas and west to the Pacific Ocean including Alaska and Hawaii, over the chronological period extending from 1528 to the present. Papers on western Canada or northern Mexico will also be considered. A review committee for the Department will select the best paper or project on the basis of the significance of the work, its style of presentation, and its contribution to the study of History. Undergraduate applicants must be enrolled students in good standing at the University of Washington and declared History majors, regardless of financial need.
Award for Outstanding History or Social Studies Teachers in Washington Schools
Thomas J. and Cameron Pressly Endowed Prize Fund
Named for Professor Emeritus Thomas J. Pressly and his wife Cameron, this fund honors outstanding teachers of history or social studies in Washington schools. The Department of History invites students and others to nominate those they feel are deserving of this prize. You need not be a History Major in order to nominate someone. Please click here for the nomination form. You will need your UW NetID to access the form via Google Suite. The form for nominations is now open.