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The scholarship process for all undergraduates and all scholarships (both major specific ones and all general scholarships) begins with UWM’s Panther Scholarship Portal. Graduate students can also follow this process, though most of the available scholarship funding is for undergraduates. See the graduate student funding page for more information.

How and when to apply:

  1. Log into the portal and your general application. This must be done a minimum of once per school year but we recommend doing this twice a year at the start of each semester (September and January).
  2. In the portal, complete the Letters & Science scholarship application. Here is where you will upload a copy of your transcript (also recommended to be done in September and January).

    Completing steps 1 and 2 will match you to most scholarships based on the information you enter.
  3. You may see scholarships on your Panther Scholarship Portal dashboard that you can “Apply To.” These are scholarships which require additional information beyond steps 1 and 2. Complete any of these you wish to apply for.

The Panther Scholarship Portal can also be used to find non-UWM (private) scholarships that have registered with UWM. These may be scholarships sponsored by local or national organizations, fraternal clubs or other companies outside of UWM.


In the portal, the Women's & Gender Studies Department offers these scholarships and awards just for their students.

Casey O'Brien Outstanding Activist Award

This non-monetary award is given in recognition of student activism (on or off-campus) and leadership within the areas of women’s issues, gender and sexual equality, and social or racial justice. Applications are accepted during January and early February each year leading up to Women’s History Month (March).

Casey O’Brien was a lecturer in Women’s and Gender Studies for ten years, beginning in 2008. She served a critical role in the development of the WGS undergraduate program, developing the course, WGS 211: Foundations of Women’s and Gender Studies Writing and Research, launching the WGS TA mentorship, and engaging students in service learning. As a result of her pedagogical innovations in the classroom, outstanding rapport with students, commitment to feminist teaching methods, and enthusiasm about the subject matter, she became an indispensable member of our teaching staff and a very popular teacher among our students, undergraduate and graduate alike.

Women’s and Gender Studies majors, minors, master’s or certificate students whose activism and leadership address gender equality and/or social and racial justice, are eligible to apply.

Award: $0

Donor: Multiple Donors

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Florence L. Healy Scholarship

The Florence Healy Scholarship is open to students with research interests focused on women’s and gender studies. Eligible students will be sophomores, juniors, seniors, or graduate students who will be enrolled full-time in Fall 2025 and who have documented financial need. A minimum 3.0 GPA is required, and applicants must have completed at least one Women’s and Gender Studies course (code WGS on the schedule of classes). A list of WGS courses you have taken as well as a statement explaining your interest in women’s and gender studies is required.

Preference will be given to students who are first-time applicants to this scholarship.

Applications are typically accepted in January and early February in the lead up to Women’s History Month (March). Awards are for the following school year so students graduating that same spring or summer are not eligible. E.G. applications reviewed in Spring 2025 are for Fall 2025; students graduating in May or August 2025 are not eligible.

Award: Varies

Donor: Dr. Matthew Healy and Dr. Kimberly Coleman Healy

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Women's & Gender Studies Paper & Project Award

In anticipation of Women’s History Month (March), during February each year Women’s & Gender Studies hosts the annual UWM Student Research Paper & Project Contest.

Undergraduate or graduate research papers or projects having to do with women, gender, sexuality, feminism or feminist thinking which were completed for UWinteriM, Spring, Summer, or Fall 2024 courses at UWM’s Milwaukee campus are eligible for entry. Prizes will be awarded in the following two categories. One undergraduate prize and one graduate prize will be given.

  • Undergraduate Research Paper or Project: This paper, a minimum of five, double-spaced, typed pages, must demonstrate original thinking and critical engagement with the use of primary and/or secondary sources. (Book reports will not be accepted.) Projects could include, for example, an individual piece or portfolio of artwork, video production, curriculum design, musical composition, architectural or engineering design, original literary piece such as a poem or short story, or essay based primarily on personal or autobiographical reflection. Submit your project in a digital format that shows it best to the review committee. You may take photographs, videos, or any other transmissible digital format.
  • Graduate Research Paper or Project: This paper, approximately 10-20 double-spaced, typed pages will likely utilize primary sources such as documents, statistical data, or interviews in an original research project written for a graduate course or seminar, or in an independent study. Projects could include, for example, an individual piece or portfolio of artwork, video production, curriculum design, musical composition, architectural or engineering design, or original literary piece such as a poem or short story. Projects should demonstrate a professional level of expertise. Submit your project in a digital format that shows it best to the review committee. You may take photographs, videos, or any other transmissible digital format.

Submission guidelines:

  • Written work must be typed, double-spaced, with a one inch margin: all pages should be numbered consecutively (including the bibliography). Your name should not appear anywhere on your paper or your abstract.
  • All projects should be presented in as professional a manner as possible
  • The paper or project submitted for consideration may be a revision of the original submitted for the course.

All entries are judged anonymously, and all judges’ decisions are final.

Award: Varies from $500

Donor: Multiple Donors

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Chancellor's Graduate Student Award in Women's & Gender Studies

Chancellor’s award for graduate students in Women’s and Gender Studies as chosen by the Department. Students do not need to submit an application to be considered for this award.

Award: Varies

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JL Jerger Fellowship

The Women’s & Gender Studies program awards these fellowships to meritorious graduate students in their master’s or graduate certificate program. Recipients are selected by faculty and there is no student application process.

Award: Varies

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Women's & Gender Studies Award

When funds are available, Women’s and Gender Studies award support students with demonstrated academic excellence who are enrolled in the Women’s and Gender Studies program.

Award: Varies

Donor: Multiple Donors

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Mellon Internship Stipend

Students engaged in an approved internship in the Women’s & Gender Studies (WGS) program are provided stipend funding from the Mellon Foundation. Students must be juniors or seniors in good academic standing (minimum 2.0 cumulative GPA). Preference is given to WGS majors and minors but any major is eligible for consideration if the internship aligns with a WGS curricular topic area.

Award: Varies

Donor: Mellon Foundation

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UWM Land Acknowledgement: We acknowledge in Milwaukee that we are on traditional Potawatomi, Ho-Chunk and Menominee homeland along the southwest shores of Michigami, North America’s largest system of freshwater lakes, where the Milwaukee, Menominee and Kinnickinnic rivers meet and the people of Wisconsin’s sovereign Anishinaabe, Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Oneida and Mohican nations remain present.   |   To learn more, visit the Electa Quinney Institute website.