Each year Women's and Gender Studies awards several scholarships and awards for teaching, scholarship and research to undergraduate and graduate students, as well as faculty in Women's and Gender Studies.

Undergraduate Awards

Arney Robinson Childs Student Award

Women's and Gender Studies faculty nominate students for this award. Nominees should be seniors with a major or minor in Women's and Gender Studies, a record of extraordinary achievement and contributions to Women's and Gender Studies classes, and exemplary commitment to women's issues on campus or in the community. The $250 award is presented at the U.S.C. awards ceremony in April each year.

Women's and Gender Studies faculty should send the name of the student and a hard copy and an electronic copy (put "Childs Award" in the subject line) of a detailed letter of nomination to Dr. Ed Madden. Nominations deadline: March 4, 2009.

This award is designed to assist Women's and Gender Studies Graduate Certificate students with research and professional development. Research should be consistent with the research mission of Women's and Gender Studies to reconceptualize knowledge, create new knowledge, and/or reinterpret existing knowledge about women and other underrepresented groups and their experiences through the lens of gender and the prism of diversity. The maximum award is $500 and can be used for travel, books, supplies, and/or equipment. At least two awards are made each year.

The application will consist of the following:

1. A two-page proposal that addresses: a) the aim and purpose of the research, b) the methodology, and c) the significance of the research to the research mission of Women's and Gender Studies
2. An itemized budget of expenses to be covered by the award
3. A one-page curriculum vita/resume

Emily Thompson Student Award

This award was established within the Women's Studies Endowment by friends and family of Emily Thompson after her untimely death in the Spring of 1988. She had recently completed her master's in public health. This award is for the best graduate student research paper or project focusing on some aspect of women's health. Students may submit a research paper or project of significance to women's health, three copies of the paper, and a cover letter to Women's and Gender Studies. A panel of faculty selects the project they believe makes the greatest impact on our knowledge of women's health. The entry may have originated at any time in the 2007-2008 academic year, and the graduate student must be currently enrolled at USC at the time of the award. The $250 award is presented at the U.S.C. Awards Ceremony in April each year. Submit a hard copy and an electronic copy (put "Thompson Award" in the subject line) of the entire application to Dr. DeAnne K. Messias, Graduate Director, USC Women's and Gender Studies Program, 201 Flinn Hall, Columbia, SC 29208.

Women's and Gender Studies Teaching Award

This award was established to recognize outstanding teaching in undergraduate and graduate courses of the Women's and Gender Studies Program. Nominees must have taught at least one undergraduate or graduate WOST (or WOST cross-listed) course within one semester of the time of nomination, have demonstrated a history of effective and sustained integration of race, class, gender, and sexuality issues into course materials and requirements, shown evidence of providing guidance and inspiration to undergraduate and graduate students beyond the classroom, and shown evidence of positive student and peer response through student and peer evaluations. A $1,000 award will be presented to a faculty member, staff member, or adjunct faculty and a $250 award will be presented to a graduate student.

Nominations (which may be self-nominations) will be sought from students and faculty members on all USC campuses offering WOST courses. Nominees will be asked to provide copies of student evaluations, peer evaluations, and course syllabi. The Women's and Gender Studies Undergraduate and Graduate Committees will serve as the Selection Committee. A hard copy and an electronic copy (put "Teaching Award" in the subject line) of the nominatin letter outlining the reasons the nominee is deserving of the award should be sent to Paulette Jiménez, Program Coordinator, USC Women's and Gender Studies Program, 201 Flinn Hall, Columbia, SC, 29208. Nominations deadline: February 4, 2009.

Josephine Abney Faculty Fellowship Award

Designed to encourage cutting edge research that is solidly grounded in women's and gender studies perspectives. Proposals are invited which are consistent with the research mission of Women's and Gender Studies to reconceptualize knowledge, create new knowledge, and/or reinterpret existing knowledge about women and other underrepresented groups and their experiences through the lens of gender and the prism of diversity. The research should be interdisciplinary in nature or have interdisciplinary implications and should reflect a commitment to improving the status of women and other underrepresented groups.

This fellowship is open to any full-time, permanent faculty or professional staff member within the U.S.C. system. Selections are made by a Women's and Gender Studies committee. The $5,000 award may be received as salary or used for research expenses. Projects are expected to be of such a nature that they can be completed over the summer. The recipient must deliver an oral presentation of the results at the Women's and Gender Studies System-wide Conference in March 2010 following the award. Any publications that result from this work should contain an acknowledgment such as "This work is partially supported by the Josephine Abney Faculty Fellowship for Research in Women's and Gender Studies at the University of South Carolina."

Applications Deadline: February 4, 2009

Abney Application Form [pdf]

Carol Jones Carlisle Faculty Award

The Carol Jones Carlisle Award in Women's Studies was created by friends, colleagues, family, and students of Dr. Carlisle. Dr. Carlisle who taught at U.S.C. for nearly 40 years. She now is an English Professor Emeritus and internationally known as an important Shakespeare scholar. She is the noted author of a book-length biography of Helen Faucit, the great Shakespearean actress of the 19th century. Carlisle was one of the first women faculty at U.S.C. This award is designed to assist faculty and professional staff in the conduct of women-centered research which is consistent with the research mission of Women's and Gender Studies to reconceptualize knowledge, create new knowledge, and/or reinterpret existing knowledge about women and their experiences through the lens of gender and the prism of diversity. This fellowship is open to any full-time, permanent faculty or professional staff member within the U.S.C. system. The $1,000 award can be used for travel, software, books, supplies, and/or equipment.

Proposals will consist of a one-page description of the research, the relationship of theresearch to the mission of Women's and Gender Studies, an itemized budget of expenses this award will cover, and a one-page curriculum vota/resume. Submit a hard copy and an electronic copy (put "Carlisle Award" in the subject line) of proposals to:

Dr. Drucilla K. Barker, Director
Women's and Gender Studies
University of South Carolina
Flinn Hall, Room 201
Columbia, SC 29208


Proposal deadline: February 4, 2009.