The Beth B. Hess Memorial Scholarship
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 a 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 2023 Winter Meeting, a $500 travel grant to attend the SWS 2023 Summer Meeting 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 2023 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 2023 SSSP Annual 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, a $500 travel award, and waived registration for the 2023 ASA Annual Meeting.
The Beth B. Hess Memorial Scholarship Award Subcommittee often grants one honorable mention award. There is a $3,500 scholarship attached to this honorable mention award.
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.
The award is intended to provide support to a student in the last year of their program. Applicants should have completed data collection and be at the writing stage of the dissertation project. Candidates who are already in the writing stage and apparently close to completion will be preferred, and 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 PhD program.
Those who are recognized with an honorable mention during any previous year are not eligible to re-apply for the award. Reapplication from previous applicants who have not been recognized with honorable mention are accepted.
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 Mairead Moloney, Beth Hess Award Subcommittee Chair at: (mmo272@g.uky.edu)
Applications must contain the following items in the following order:
- 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
- A letter of application (no more than 2 pages) describing:
- 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)
- Full curriculum vitae, including all schools, degrees awarded, dates/years of study, and full or part-time status in each.
- (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.
- A letter confirming advancement to candidacy (ABD status/indication of a successful defense of the dissertation proposal) in a sociology Ph.D. program and aid award, if any. ABD status is required.
- A letter of recommendation from a sociologist who is familiar with the stage of dissertation completion and is knowledgeable about how the applicant fits the award criteria.
- Transcript (official or unofficial) from the community or technical college attended.
To be considered, all application materials must be RECEIVED by April 1, 2023, at 11:59 pm Eastern Time.
For further information contact Barret Katuna, SWS Executive Officer (swseo.barretkatuna@outlook.com) or Mairead Moloney, Chair of the Beth Hess Award Subcommittee (mmo272@g.uky.edu)
Contact
For further information contact Mairead Moloney, Beth Hess Award Subcommittee Chair at: (mmo272@g.uky.edu)
2022 Selection Subcommittee Members: Myra Marx Ferree, Nancy Naples, Toni Calasanti, and Mairead Moloney
2022 Awardees
Past Recipients
- 2021 Jesse Kolber, University of California, Davis
Honorable Mention: Jessica Yorks, University of Connecticut - 2020 Brandi Perri, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Honorable Mention: Sandra Portocarrero, Columbia University - 2019 Laura Jean Kerr, Mississippi State University
Honorable Mention: Rashon Lane, University of California, San Francisco - 2018 Beth B. Hess Memorial Scholarship Winner
- 2018 Melissa Osborne, The University of Chicago
Honorable Mention: Katherine McCabe, University of Illinois at Chicago - 2017 Suzan Walters, SUNY-Stony Brook.
Honorable Mention: Daniela Pila, SUNY-Albany - 2016 Anastacia Schulhoff, University of Missouri-Columbia
Honorable Mention: Ashleigh McKinzie, University of Georgia - 2015 Gina Marie Longo, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Honorable Mention: Yader R. Lanuza, University of California, Irvine - 2014 Jennifer Tobin-Gurley, Colorado State University
Honorable Mention: Heather D. Evans, University of Washington
Honorable Mention: Nicholas A. Jordan, The Ohio State University - 2013 Anna Sorensen, University of California, Santa Barbara
Honorable Mention: Jessica Dunning-Lozano, University of Texas, Austin - 2012 Autumn R. Green, Boston College
Honorable Mention: Laura Logan, Kansas State University - 2011 Elizabeth Seton Mignacca, Syracuse University
Honorable Mention: Rose Buckelew, Duke University - 2010 Sarah Bruch, University of Wisconsin, Madison
Honorable Mention: Emir Estrada-Loy, University of Southern California
Honorable Mention: Miho Iwata, University of Connecticut - 2009 Georgiann Davis, University of Illinois at Chicago
Honorable Mention: April Cubbage-Vega, University of California, Riverside - 2008 Crystal Jackson, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Honorable Mention: Christine Schneider, Case Western Reserve University
Honorable Mention: James McKeever, University of Southern California - 2007 Mairead Eastin Moloney, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
Honorable Mention: Elizabeth Sternke, Purdue University - 2006 Mary Jean Cravens, College of DuPage
- 2005 Sabrina Alimahomed, University of California-Riverside