Student History Awards
Student awards are one of the major ways that the department has of recognizing and
celebrating student achievement. All awards involve small, but not insubstantial monetary
awards. Students are not eligible for more than one award per academic year, and prior
receipt of an award is not a factor in considering the merit of any given candidate.
There is no formal application process for the awards. All enrolled history majors
are eligible and will be considered.
- The Outstanding Sophomore History Major Award is awarded to an outstanding sophomore based on academic excellence and commitment to the ideals and practice of critical historical thinking.*
- The Outstanding Junior History Major Award is awarded to an outstanding junior based on academic excellence and commitment to the ideals and practice of critical historical thinking.
- The Outstanding Senior History Major Award is awarded to an outstanding senior based on academic excellence and commitment to the ideals and practice of critical historical thinking.
- The Outstanding Student in History — Adolescent Teaching Program is awarded to a student enrolled in the teaching program based on academic excellence, dedication to learning the craft of teaching, and evidence of superior potential for achieving teaching excellence.
- The HIS485 Research Project Writing Prize is selected by the 485 instructors for that year.
Based on a dedicated gift to the college, the Benjamin Feinberg Memorial Scholarship is awarded to a student “either majoring or concentrating their studies in history, government and/or political science, with preference being given to those whose primary concern is with American history, American government and/or American political science. The only other restriction is that the scholarship be awarded or granted to students from Clinton, Essex and Franklin Counties, with preference being given to those from Clinton County. The Scholarship Committee may take into consideration any and all factors which it deems to be relevant and persuasive including, of course, merit and need.”
Based on a dedicated gift to the college, the Martin Hasting Scholarship is awarded to “a resident of New York State…[and] awarded to a qualifying student regardless of color, race, creed or gender. Eligibility for receipts of the scholarship shall be based upon academic achievement with financial need a preference but not an absolute requirement.”
* Academic excellence is determined according to a combination of GPA and the judgment of course work by faculty who know the candidate. Commitment is evaluated in a variety of ways, including but not restricted to: if a student has presented a paper at a conference (i.e. the Phi Alpha Theta conference) or served on either the History Association or Phi Alpha Theta. It might also include volunteer activities, or publications in The Press Republican or Cardinal Points.