Scholarships & Assistantships

Our department awards its students $50,000 every year in scholarships relating to academic achievement, activity in the local community and extracurricular organizations, research interests, and much more. As well as positions for graduate students in graduate teaching assistantship (GTA) and graduate research assistantship (GRA), at a $7,000-$8,000 per semester stipend.

Scholarship winners and those granted assistantship positions for the academic year are announced annually in April. Listed below are the scholarship winners and assistantship recipients of 2024.

 

2025-2026 POLITICAL SCIENCE SCHOLARSHIPS & ASSISTANTSHIPS

Application Period opens January 2025

 

As a political science undergraduate student, you are encouraged to apply for all departmental scholarship for which you qualify. To apply, students must have an account on the K-State Scholarship Network (KSN).

After completing your profile, you will have access scholarship applications, including those for political science. To be considered for a Political Science scholarship, you must fully complete the Political Science section of the "College of Arts and Sciences" application, and upload two letters of recommendation. If this section is not filled out, your application will not be considered.

K-State University and the College of Arts and Sciences also offers some scholarship and financial assistance options that are university-wide.

Freshman, continuing, or transfer students must complete scholarship applications by March 15th.

If you have any questions regarding our scholarship process, please contact the department office at polsci@ksu.edu, or 785-532-6842.

As a student in one of our graduate or accelerated programs, you are encouraged to apply for all departmental scholarships/fellowships for which you qualify, as well as graduate assistantship positions.

Applications require the following:

  • Application form**
  • Copy of your CV/Resume
  • Personal Statement: 1-page document describing your career plans and objectives
  • Recommendation Letters (2): One reference must be able to evaluate your academic performance

Please click the button below to download our Graduate Scholarship/Assistantship application***. Send your finished application, along with any additional, requested materials to polsci@ksu.edu.

Applications are due by March 1st.

If you have any questions regarding our scholarship process, please contact the department office at polsci@ksu.edu, or 785-532-6842.

**2025-2026 Application Period opens January 2025

***Application form available during application period



Scholarships for Internships & Study Abroad Programs

The Boren Scholarships fund the intensive study of language and culture abroad by U.S. undergraduate students. Applicants must be enrolled in an associate’s or bachelor’s degree program located within the United States and accredited by a body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education at the time of application.

They must remain enrolled for the duration of the scholarship and may not graduate until the scholarship is complete.

Maximum awards are determined by duration abroad:

  • Up to $25,000 for 25-52 weeks
  • Up to $12,500 for 12-24 weeks

Contact Beth Powers (bethpowers@ksu.edu) at the Nationally Competitive Scholarship office with help in preparing your application.

The U.S. Department of State’s Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship is a grant program that enables students of limited financial means to study or intern abroad, thereby gaining skills critical to our national security and economic competitiveness.

The Gilman Scholarship Program is open to U.S. citizen undergraduate students who are receiving Federal Pell Grant funding at a two-year or four-year college or university to participate in study and intern abroad programs worldwide. Program must be at least 3 weeks in length.

Applications will not be considered for a country with a travel advisory of 3 or 4.

Contact Beth Powers (bethpowers@ksu.edu) at the Nationally Competitive Scholarship office with help in preparing your application.

The Gilman-McCain Scholarship is a congressionally funded initiative of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State and named after the late senator John S. McCain from Arizona.

It provides awards of $5,000 for undergraduate child dependents of active duty service members to study or intern abroad on credit-bearing programs. Developed under the framework of the State Department’s Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program, the John McCain International Scholarship for the Children of Military Families (Gilman-McCain Scholarship) is open to eligible students enrolled at accredited U.S. colleges and universities who receive any type of Title IV federal financial aid. Deadlines vary, please see website for more information.

Contact Beth Powers (bethpowers@ksu.edu) at the Nationally Competitive Scholarship office with help in preparing your application.

The mission of the Fund for Education Abroad (FEA) is to provide scholarships and ongoing support to students who are underrepresented among the US study abroad population. FEA makes life-changing, international experiences accessible to all by supporting minority, community college, and first-generation college students before, during, and after they participate in education abroad programs.

REQUIREMENTS

  • U.S. citizen or permanent resident
  • Currently enrolled as an undergraduate at a college or university in the U.S.
  • Study abroad program must be eligible for credit at the student’s home institution
  • Study abroad program must be at least 4 weeks (28 days) in country/countries

FEA gives preference to students with demonstrated financial need, and strongly encourages students to apply who represent a group that is traditionally underrepresented in education abroad. These groups include, but are not limited to:

  • First-generation college students
  • Minority students

The Don and Carol Kissinger Experiential Learning Scholarship will award up to $2,500 for students participating in internships and study abroad. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis.

Fellows Programs

The John S. McCain Strategic Defense Fellowship Program is a 12-month Department of Defense (DoD) leadership development program for recent advanced degree program graduates from across multiple academic disciplines.

Established by the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act of Fiscal Year 2019, this program provides the DoD headquarters staff offices with the ability to recruit and develop future leaders from across the United States.

Fellows are provided with challenging developmental opportunities and flourish into problem solvers, strategic thinkers, and future leaders. The program instills a spirit of public service and a commitment to the larger DoD community.

Fellows that successfully complete the program are eligible for conversion into a position with the DoD.

The Presidential Management Fellows Program is the Federal Government's flagship leadership development program for advanced degree holders across all academic disciplines. It was established 45 years ago by Executive Order and has gone through changes over the years, but the essential mission remains the same: to recruit and develop a cadre of future government leaders drawn from all segments of society.

Eligible individuals apply to be selected as Finalists. Finalists then have 12 months to secure an appointment as a Fellow, which is a two-year, full-time, paid fellowship at a Federal agency. The PMF Program creates a lasting bond among Fellows and Alumni. It also instills a spirit of public service, which, for Fellows who complete the program successfully, can ultimately encourage and lead to a career in government.

The White House Fellows program is one of America’s most prestigious programs for leadership and public service. White House Fellowships offer exceptional emerging leaders first-hand experience working at the highest levels of the Federal government.

Selected individuals typically spend a year working as a full-time, paid Fellow to senior White House Staff, Cabinet Secretaries, and other top-ranking government officials.

Fellows also participate in an education program consisting of roundtable discussions with leaders from the private and public sectors, and potential trips to study U.S. policy in action both domestically and internationally. Fellowships are awarded on a strictly non-partisan basis.

Applicants must have completed their undergraduate education by the time they begin the application process.

Department of Political Science
Kansas State University
802 Mid Campus Dr. South
101D Calvin Hall
Manhattan, KS 66506

785-532-6842
polsci@ksu.edu