The deadline to apply for the 2021 Beth B. Hess Memorial Scholarship is April 1.
Please see below for information on scholarship eligibility and criteria.

HISTORY AND OVERVIEW

The Beth B. Hess Memorial Scholarship will be awarded to an advanced sociology Ph.D. student who began their study in a community college or technical school. A student advanced to candidacy (ABD status) in an accredited Ph.D. program in sociology is eligible to apply if they studied at a U.S. two-year college either part-time or full-time for the equivalent of at least one full academic year that was not part of a high-school dual-enrollment or enrichment program. Students who attended the international equivalent of U.S. two-year college are also welcome to apply.

The Scholarship carries a stipend of $18,000 from Sociologists for Women in Society to support the pursuit of a Ph.D., a certificate from SWS, a $500 travel grant to attend SWS’s 2022 Winter Meeting, a $500 travel grant to attend the SWS 2021 Summer Meeting in 2021 and a one-year complimentary SWS membership (including a subscription to Gender & Society). The Society for the Study of Social Problems (SSSP) honors the awardee with a one-year complimentary membership and waived meeting registration for their 2021 Annual Meeting where the awardee will be honored with a plaque at the Awards Ceremony. SSSP also provides a $300 stipend to be used toward travel to the 2021 SSSP Meeting.

Recognizing Beth B. Hess’s significant contribution to the American Sociological Association (ASA), ASA joins SWS and SSSP in honoring the awardee. ASA provides one year of membership, and also a $500 travel award and waived registration for the ASA Annual Meeting.

WHAT WE'LL BE LOOKING FOR

To honor Beth Hess's career, the subcommittee will be looking for:

  • Commitment to teaching, especially at a community college or other institution serving less-privileged students.

  • Research and/or activism in social inequality, social justice, or social problems, with a focus on gender and/or gerontology being especially positive.

  • Service to the academic and/or local community, including mentoring.

  • High quality research and writing in the proposal and letter of application.

All else equal, candidates who are already in the writing stage and apparently close to completion will be preferred. While repeat applications are not prohibited, the odds of success are improved by waiting to apply until the applicant is obviously no more than 12 months from defending the dissertation, making the award available to the recipient in the last full year of the Ph.D. program.

THE APPLICATION

Applications for the award should be submitted via the SWS MemberClicks system at https://sws.memberclicks.net in one file.

Any questions should be directed to Sarah Bruch, Beth Hess Award Subcommittee Chair at: (skbruch@udel.edu).

Applications must contain the following items in the following order:

1. A cover sheet with:

  • Name and full contact information, including phone and email
  • Current academic affiliation, with years attended and expected degree date
  • Community college or technical school attended, with years and number of credits completed
  • Name and contact information for graduate faculty reference
  • If included, name of honored faculty member

2. A letter of application (no more than 2 pages) describing:

  • Full curriculum vitae, including all schools, degrees awarded, dates/years of study, and full or part-time status in each.

  • The student's decision to study sociology

  • Commitment to teaching

  • Career goals

  • Research agenda

  • Service and activism

  • Dissertation project, including clear indicators of progress to date and future timeline (this summary statement should be approximately 1 page)

  • A description of challenges overcome by the candidate, how these experiences have shaped their service, teaching, and research related to social justice, inequality, or social problems, and their continuing commitment to helping others to overcome challenges specific to them. In recent years these challenges have included family drug use, social class, immigration status, racial minoritization, nonconforming sexuality, etc.

  • Financial need and an overview of how the stipend funds would be used (a budget is not required)

3. Full curriculum vitae, including all schools, degrees awarded, dates/years of study, and full or part-time status in each.

4. (Optional) A one-page letter describing a community/technical college faculty member who contributed in a significant way to
    the decision to study sociology or pursue higher education.

Applicants should also arrange for the following to be submitted via the MemberClicks system.
The items below must clearly specify the applicant’s name.

  1. A letter confirming advancement to candidacy (ABD status) in a sociology Ph.D. program and aid award, if any. ABD status is required.

  2. A letter of recommendation from a sociologist.

  3. Transcript (official or unofficial) from the community or technical college attended.

To be considered, all application materials must be RECEIVED by April 1, 2021 at 11:59 pm Eastern Time.

For further information contact Barret Katuna, SWS Executive Officer (swseo.barretkatuna@outlook.com) or Sarah Bruch, Chair of the Beth Hess Award Subcommittee (skbruch@udel.edu).