Scholarships

Up to $1500

Named for Alexander Meiklejohn, founder of the University of Wisconsin Experimental College (1927-1932), the forerunner to the ILS Program

 This prize is intended to help support an ILS student in a university-sponsored or an independent program of education-centered travel or study abroad, taking place during the summer or academic year (or in the US if the destination is remote from the student’s home or the campus).

Eligibility:

• Applicants must be declared in the ILS Certificate program.
• Consideration is given to the student’s need, extra-curricular activities and academic standing.
• Applicants must be full-time undergraduate students.

Submit

• A two-page double-spaced typed statement of your project, outlining your interests, goals, need, and itinerary.
• The applicant should provide evidence that the travel proposal has been reviewed and endorsed by an appropriate faculty member or UW-Madison campus office. This evidence can include documentation confirming that the student is participating in a study abroad program or another academia-related trip.

The travel should take place during the year of the award, and students currently abroad are encouraged to apply
This project may be directed by a faculty member for directed study credit, be part of a study abroad course for credit or non-credit, or be a non-credit self-directed trip. Please indicate in your submission which of these options you will be using.
The recipient of the award will submit a report on the project upon returning.

Up to $2,000 each (based on available funds)

Named for Professor Robert Pooley, the first chair of the Integrated Liberal Studies program (1948), this prize is:

• given annually to outstanding ILS students
  on the basis of academic achievement (GPA of at least 3.0 for the 3 preceding semesters),
• evidence of good character
  student leadership in the ILS program, including involvement in extracurricular activities, and
  available for travel purposes relating to their ILS courses.

Eligibility

Open to all students who are enrolled in the ILS certificate, in the process of completing, have completed or are about to complete the ILS certificate program this year.

Submit

• A double-spaced typed essay (2-3 pages) on your educational philosophy and goals (at least one page must be devoted to a narrative of your transcripts). The transcript narrative should tell why you took the elective courses you did, what you learned, what you liked or disliked, expectations met or exceeded, hopes realized, disappointments, and so on. Also discuss your participation in the life of the ILS Program.
• Two reference letters from faculty providing evidence of your participation in and contributions to the life of the ILS program, your scholarship, and your character.

Up to $5,000 (based on available funds)

Named for Ruth Knatz Gross Wisnewsky and given by her husband, Edward Wisnewsky, this prize will be given only to a truly outstanding student who:

• is majoring in at least one humanities discipline
  gives promise of making a valuable contribution to the humanities
• shall have done exemplary work in 15 ILS credits (six credits above 250)
• has achieved junior or senior standing
  has enrolled in the certificate program and plans to complete the ILS certificate program.

Submit

• Two letters of recommendation, addressing your current contributions to the humanities and your potential for future contributions
• A brief (4-5 pages, double-spaced) essay on why you love the humanities; how the study of the humanities has changed your life; and how you hope to share what you’ve discovered with others.