2025 Gender, Women's & Sexuality Studies Scholarships
Applications are due January 31st, 2025
Awards will be presented at the Annual Celebration of Excellence and Achievement Among Women.
Scholarship opportunities for continuing undergraduates
Stephen Lynn Smith Memorial Scholarship for Social Justice
Stephen Lynn Smith (1944-2009) was born in Cedar Rapids and raised in nearby Marion. A 1963 graduate of Marion High School, he enrolled that summer in the ROTC program at the State University of Iowa (the original name of the University of Iowa), majoring in engineering. Perhaps influenced by the 1963 March on Washington that August, Steve embraced the Civil Rights Movement. He soon joined the local chapter of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee and in 1964 participated in Freedom Summer, an effort to register African Americans in Mississippi to vote. He was one of more than 800 volunteers from across the country.
Two awards of $4000 each are given to students who demonstrate a commitment to the principles of social justice and progress. This award is open to both undergraduate and graduate students.
Applications must include:
- Application Form
- A one-page statement describing your academic or career goals, and some ways in which these reflect a concern for social justice.
- Two letters of recommendation.
- Unofficial transcripts of UI coursework
Kristin K. Lippke Memorial Scholarship
Kris Lippke was a University of Iowa undergraduate student one month away from graduating with a minor in Women’s Studies when a serious car accident changed the course of her life. In her memory the Lippke family has established a scholarship to be awarded to undergraduate students majoring in Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies (GWSS) or Social Justice Studies (SJUS).
The 2025-2026 Kristin K. Lippke Scholarship will provide two awards in the amount of $4000 each to GWSS or SJUS majors based on academic merit and financial need.
Please note – this award will be distributed during the next academic year (2025-26); recipients must be enrolled as either a part-time or full-time GWSS or SJUS major during both semesters.
Applications must include:
- Application form
- A one-page statement describing your academic or career goals, and some ways in which these reflect a concern for women's lives
- Two letters of recommendation
- unofficial transcript(s) of undergraduate work
date warning
Applications are due January 31st, 2025
Ensure letters of recommendation are sent to gwsstudies@uiowa.edu
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences scholarships
The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences also awards scholarships to students continuing coursework in a major within the college. Some scholarships are open to all liberal arts and sciences students and others are for select liberal arts and sciences majors.