Scholarships

The CU Denver Political Science Department is pleased to announce the availability of a student scholarship available to CU Denver students who are interested in one of the following departmental study abroad trips:

• Berlin: Bridging Global Divides
• Window on China
• Korea Goes Global
• Development in East Africa.

This study abroad scholarship will provide up to $4000 in support for a student enrolling in one of these study-abroad trips.

To learn more about these study abroad trips, please contact the Department Chair at the email below, or visit the Office of International Affair's website. 

This scholarship is being provided through an endowed fund, established by Political Science Professor Emeritus Jana Everett, in memory of her father, Richard Matson. The scholarship is meant to introduce students to the life-changing experience of international travel, and to support students who may not be able to afford such travel through their own resources.

We invite all CU Denver students who are interested in taking a Political Science Department study abroad trip (to Berlin, China, Korea, or Uganda) to apply for scholarship support. We will award a single scholarship of up to $4000. 

Core award criteria, in order of importance, are:

1. CU Denver student, interested in applying for Political Science Department study abroad trip
2. Limited international travel experience
3. Financial need
4. Undergraduate preference; graduate students also considered
5. Record of academic, extra-curricular or professional achievement

To apply for this scholarship, please submit the following materials. 

• A short resume, including the following details (where relevant): Major and GPA, notable awards and scholastic achievements, extra-curricular activities, and professional achievements/jobs held. Please note: you need not have a long list of achievements to apply for this award—the core criteria are listed above. 
• A 750 word (or less) essay responding to the following prompt.
  “The Matson scholarship is meant to introduce students to the life-changing potential of international study. The scholarship is particularly targeted to students with minimal international experience and who might not be able to study abroad without financial support. Please explain why you are a good match for these scholarship guidelines. In your essay, please share which departmental trip you are interested in and the reasons for your interest ” 
• A copy of your CU Denver transcript—it does not have to be an official, stamped transcript. 

We are pleased to announce the availability of a $1500 student scholarship available to undergraduate majors of CU Denver Political Science. Eligible students must be a single parent. Preferred applicants will also be a student who has demonstrated exceptional service or leadership in engaging the challenges facing traditionally marginalized and/or low-income communities.

This scholarship is being provided in memory of long-time Department faculty member, Jerry Jacks, and is supported by the Jerry Jacks Endowment. During his lifetime Jerry Jacks was a highly motivated Instructor with a special passion for building service-learning programs in low-income communities that brought university students into beneficial partnerships with community groups across the Denver region. Jerry wished for any fund in his honor to continue to support students engaged in these kinds of service-partnerships and wished also to honor his sister who worked hard to support her family as a single parent. 

To apply for this scholarship, please submit the following materials: 

• A single page Resume or Personal Information Sheet. This single page resume should highlight your professional, educational, community service, or personal achievements.
  Somewhere on this one-page resume, please include the following line: “I confirm that I am a single-parent college student.” 
• A 500-1000 word essay responding to the following prompt:

Jerry Jacks’ favorite quote, featured in all his service-learning course syllabi, was the following statement by Adlai Stevenson, delivered to a college graduating class in 1954: “The privilege and the penalty of your education and the position you hold in your community is that, over the coming decades, as in the past, you will be the pacesetters for political and social thought in your community. You may not accept this responsibility, but it makes no difference. It is inescapable. If you decide to set no pace, to forward no dreams, and to have no vision you will still be the pacesetters. You will simply have decided there is no pace.” 

In your essay, please describe what this statement means to you, and in what ways this kind of reasoning has inspired your past achievements and/or future aspirations. 

• A copy of your CU Denver transcript—it does not have to be an official, stamped transcript. 

The Beeks Scholarship is a student scholarship available to CU Denver Political Science undergraduate majors who demonstrate an ongoing commitment to the study of women’s issues. Such issues may include but are not limited to:

• gender and international development
• feminist movements
• women as political candidates, leaders or voters. 

This scholarship is being provided in memory of Department alum, Karen Beeks, and is supported through a generous endowment supplied by Karen’s surviving family.

During her lifetime Karen Beeks was a highly motivated professional, with impressive academic achievements, who demonstrated a life-long commitment to the study and advancement of women’s issues in her community and across the world. She spent a decade helping to coordinate the Colorado Legislative Breakfast series, edited a book on global human trafficking, and coordinated several conventions on women's issues, including a "Human Trafficking and Trade Conference" and "Beijing and Beyond: Colorado Perspectives on the Global Woman." 

We invite CU Denver Political Science Majors or graduate students who exhibit the character and values of Karen Beeks to apply for support through this scholarship fund.

We will award two $1000 scholarships or a single $2000 scholarship. 

To apply for this scholarship, please submit the following materials: 

•  A single page Resume or Personal Information Sheet, which outlines the professional, educational, and/or personal ways in which you have demonstrated an “ongoing commitment to the study of women’s issues.” 

• A 500-1000 word essay responding to the following prompt:

  During her lifetime, Karen Beeks exhibited the following character qualities: highly motivated, strong academic achievement, active in student government, strong communication skills, good organizational skills and good moral character. How do you exemplify these qualities and how will you carry those qualities forward with you? 

• A copy of your CU Denver transcript—it does not have to be an official, stamped transcript.