Department of History & Political Science Scholarships

Colt Hall On Campus

Department of History & Political Science scholarships are available for current PLNU students in the department.

The due date for submitting applications for all 2024-2025 scholarships is March 15, 2024, by 2 p.m. Click here to fill out the application form for the History and Political Science scholarships.

Available Scholarships

Clara Colt Scholarship

This scholarship is awarded to students in all the department's majors on a competitive basis.

Christopher Todd Little Scholarship in History

This scholarship is awarded to a student in the history major with a GPA of 3.0 or higher.

Ron Kirkemo Public Service Scholarship

  1. The scholarship shall be awarded to declared Political Science majors only. 
  2. The scholarship shall be applied to the sophomore year only. 
  3. One purpose of the scholarship is to help support students who give evidence of a desire for a career in public service and of potential to be a successful student and professional. 
  4. The criteria for determining that evidence and potential shall be at the discretion of the professor(s) who teach the Introduction to Political Science course, or its replacement/equivalent. 
  5. The annual selection of the Awardee shall be by the professor(s) who teach(es) the Introduction to Political Science course, or its replacement/equivalent. 
  6. The Awardee must take at least one political science course each semester of the sophomore year. 
  7. A second purpose of the scholarship is to induce the Awardee of Promise during the critical sophomore year to consider and prepare for competition for a nationally competitive scholarship. To that end, the Awardee agrees to (1) become familiar with the national scholarships relevant to his/her major, such as the Harry Truman Scholarship, the David Boren Scholarship, the Morris K. Udall Scholarship, and the William J. Fulbright Scholarship and (2) consider preparing to compete for such a scholarship during the junior or senior years

Ron Kirkemo Honors Scholarship

  1. Recipient(s) shall have a declared major in the Political Science Department
  2. Recipient(s) shall have taken or are currently taking at least two political science courses within their Freshman or Sophomore years.
  3. Recipient(s) shall be a Freshman or Sophomore at the time of awarding, with priority extended to promising Freshman students meeting all criteria
  4. Recipient(s) shall be a student(s) that show(s) preference or a desire towards issues of National Security, Diplomacy, or Government Intelligence, particularly as a career path.
  5. This student(s) shall be identified by the Political Science faculty.

Floyd and Florence Turner Memorial Scholarship

  1. Planning on Graduate School
  2. Declared Political Science major
  3. Must take a minimum of 4 classes in Political Science in the current year
  4. Full-time student - sophomore or higher
  5. Selection by Political Science Faculty.

Della Mendenhall Scholarship in Peace Studies

  1. Must be a declared International Affairs major with a concentration in Peace Studies.
  2. Minimum GPA of 3.5
  3. Must take a minimum of 4 courses in political science in the year to which the award applies
  4. Must be a full-time student, sophomore or higher at the time of application.

Sam Mayhugh and Ron Kirkemo Foreign Affairs Endowed Scholarship

  1. Scholarship recipient(s) shall be declared a political science major
  2. The scholarship award shall be applied to the recipient's sophomore and/or junior year
  3. Recipient(s) shall demonstrate an interest in a career in U.S. foreign affairs, in such areas as diplomacy or intelligence
  4. Recipient(s) shall be enrolled in and complete at least one political science course per semester during the year of the award
  5. Nomination of scholarship recipient(s) shall be at the discretion of the professor(s) in the political science major, with the professor teaching international politics or an equivalent course making the final determination
  6. Political science faculty shall be responsible for providing applicants with application materials, including a letter of instruction prepared by the donors regarding national scholarships and subscriptions/memberships for appropriate journals or associations. The donors understand that the contents of the instruction letter are guidelines and are non-binding.