EIU Graduate School

Scholarships

• Frances Meyer Hampton Graduate Scholarship Award
• Betty Wright Downing Graduate Scholar Award
• Annie L. Weller Undergraduate or Graduate Scholar Award
• GSAC 2025 Scholarship

Frances Meyer Hampton Graduate Scholarship Award

Purpose: The scholarship was established by the family of EIU alumna Frances Meyer Hampton to provide two years of financial support for a full-time graduate student in a master's degree program at Eastern Illinois University. 

Award: Monetary value to be determined each semester, please contact The Graduate School for more information.

Eligibility: The candidate must provide evidence of acceptance as a full-time graduate student in a master's degree program at Eastern Illinois University, must retain degree status in the selected program and provide evidence of full-time enrollment (nine or more semester hours) each semester that support is available, must have demonstrated good character, must have high scholarship ability, must demonstrate financial need, and must have demonstrated a potential for worthy future achievement.

Deadline: Thursday, February 13, 2025

Number: One award per year.

Selection: Award winners are selected by the Awards Subcommittee of the Council on Graduate Studies.

Obligation: Candidates selected for the award are expected to attend the Distinguished Graduate Students Awards Ceremony to receive their award.

Applying: Frances Meyer Hampton Graduate Scholarship Award Application

Betty Wright Downing Graduate Scholar Award

The Graduate School is accepting applications for the 2024-2025 Betty Wright Downing Graduate Scholar Award. The award, distributed in the fall semester, was established by the family of Betty Wright Downing to provide financial support for a full-time graduate student enrolled in a graduate degree program at Eastern Illinois University related to a pre-medical or health-related field. Eligible programs include Chemistry, Communication Disorders and Sciences, Health Promotion, Human Services Program Administration, Exercise Physiology,  Biological Sciences, Counseling and Clinical Psychology.

• The award recipient shall be a graduate student in the field of pre-medicine or another health related field.
• The recipient must have a high academic standing in all graduate level courses as well as in their undergraduate coursework.
• The recipient must show a potential for success in their chosen field.
• The recipient must prove involvement in campus and community activities.
• The recipient must produce the appropriate written recommendations.

Applying: Betty Wright Downing Award Application

Deadline: Thursday, February 13, 2025

Annie L. Weller Undergraduate or Graduate Scholar Award

The Graduate School is accepting applications for the 2023-2024 Annie L. Weller Undergraduate or Graduate Scholar Award. The award was established by the family of Annie L. Weller to provide financial support for a full-time undergraduate or graduate student majoring in social sciences, history, or physical sciences accepted to Eastern Illinois University.

Requirements for the scholarship include that the recipient shall plan to pursue a career in teaching, shall have a minimum grade point average of 3.50, and shall be a full-time undergraduate or graduate student majoring in one of the social science, history, or physical science programs listed below:

• BA or MA in History
• BS or MS in Chemistry
• BS or MA in Economics
• BS in Geography
• BS in Geology
• BS in Physics
• BS or MA in Political Science
• BA in Psychology
• MS or  Specialist’s in School Psychology
• MA in Clinical Psychology
• BS in Sociology
• BA in Social Science Teaching
• BS in Science with Teacher Certification

Applying: Annie L. Weller Scholarship Application

Deadline: Thursday, February 13, 2025

GSAC Scholarship

The Graduate Student Advisory Council will provide a $250 scholarship to two qualified candidates from each of the four academic colleges, one candidate enrolled in an online program and one enrolled in an on-campus program.

Applicants must be graduate students in a degree-seeking program at EIU and in good standing with the Graduate School and the graduate program. Financial need is not a consideration. The selection committee will be comprised of the GSAC Faculty Advisor, Graduate School advisor and the GSAC executive committee. Anonymous applications will be submitted to the committee to ensure fairness in the selection process.  Applicants will be unable to serve on the selection committee.

The awardees will be featured in the "Graduate Scholar- Journal of Scholarship and Recognition".

Applying: GSAC Scholarship Application

Deadline: 4:30 p.m., Thursday Feb 13, 2025.

The application requires an essay component (500 words or fewer) written on the following prompt: 

Highlight your leadership roles in university committees, clubs, or events during graduate school that showcase your dedication to improving campus life. Explain how you intend to uphold this commitment in your ongoing graduate studies. 

As this is a scholarship from a graduate student organization, essays should focus primarily upon involvement in graduate school programming and activities, etc., rather than undergraduate involvement.