University Honors and Honors in the Major students are eligible to apply for several grants and awards to supplement their undergraduate experiences. In addition to the opportunities below, students are encouraged to apply for funding and awards in their major departments, other offices at FSU, and from national and international organizations.
The applications for all of the awards and scholarships offered by the FSU Honors Program can be found after logging in to each of Honors Awards and Scholarship Application pages linked below.
Tuition Based Scholarships
FRED MAY GADSDEN COUNTY HONORS SCHOLARSHIP
This scholarship is to be awarded to a Gadsden County, Florida honors student. The award amount is $1,000 for the academic year. Eligible students do not need to apply for this scholarship, as the Honors Program will directly notify awardees after the Drop/Add of the fall semester.
Eligibility Requirements:
- Must be from Gadsden County, Florida.
- Must be enrolled in the FSU Honors Program.
Scholarships & Awards for Current Students
BESS H. WARD TRAVEL GRANT
*Only University Honors Students are eligible for this award.
This grant is awarded each semester to University Honors Program students. Only students who are participating in programs coordinated by FSU International Programs, Global Exchange, Global Scholars or qualifying honors-sponsored opportunities and events (such as honors field trips that require fees) are eligible to receive this grant. These scholarships are a one-time only award and are to be used to defray the expenses incurred during one semester (fall, spring, or summer) during which an honors student participates in an approved activity. Students must take at least the minimum number of credit hours required by the sponsoring program. Please see the application portal for current deadlines.
Eligibility Requirements
- Have a minimum FSU GPA of 3.20
- Have taken 9 credit hours of honors classes
- Be admitted to FSU International Programs, Global Exchange, Global Scholars or qualifying honors-sponsored travel (e.g. honors field trips that require fees).
The deadline to apply for this award for Spring 2023 is Wednesday, October 19, 2022 by 4:00 p.m.
HONORS CONFERENCE ATTENDANCE AWARD
*University Honors and Honors in the Major students are eligible for this award.
The Honors Conference Attendance Award is for partial support to attend a professional conference. We anticipate that for the Spring 2023 semester, conferences eligible for funding may be virtual or in person. Each award amount will be based, in part, on the expense summary submitted with the application. Award amounts are up to $250. Attending a conference is an invaluable way to gain exposure to current research and trends in a discipline and to hear and meet leading researchers. Conferences also offer the opportunity for networking, mentoring, and professional development.
Eligibility Requirements
Each student is eligible for a single, one-time Conference Attendance Award, which may not be given in conjunction with a Conference Presenter Award.
In order to be eligible for the spring funding cycle, the conference in question must have occurred in full between December 3, 2022, and April 28, 2023.
Anticipated Eligible Expenses for Spring 2023 include:
- Conference registration fees
- Airfare and ground transportation to/from the conference site
- Rental car expense (must be in student's name)
- Mileage, if a personal car is used for travel. Reimbursement will be at the established university reimbursement rate
- Student share of hotel expense (i.e. if two students share a $200/night room, the award will only cover $100 in hotel expenses)
Anticipated Ineligible Expenses for Spring 2023 include:
- Meals
- Fees for illegal parking
- Membership fees
- Late registration fees
The deadline to apply for the Spring 2023 award is Friday, April 14, at 4:30 pm Eastern. Applications can be submitted as early as the first day of the semester. They will be reviewed as they are received and will be considered pending availability of funds.
ARIZONA MAKI
Spring 2022 Honors Conference Attendance Award Winner
"In April 2022, I attended the Society for American Archaeology annual conference in Chicago Illinois. This was my first professional conference and simply attending provided invaluable networking opportunities and professional insight into my chosen career field...Meeting other students from all over the U.S. who are going through the same process that I am made me feel less alone. Seeing my peers present their research has motivated me to share mine at future conferences...Not only did this award help me financially, but the reflection essay allowed me to sit down and critically examine my experience which made me fully appreciate it. I am grateful I was able to attend this conference and believe it was worth every penny."
HONORS CONFERENCE PRESENTER AWARD
*University Honors and Honors in the Major students are eligible for this award.
The Honors Conference Presenter Award is for partial support for students who will be presenting their research at a professional conference. We anticipate that for the Spring 2023 semester, conference presentations eligible for funding may be virtual or in person. Each award amount will be based, in part, on the expense summary submitted with the application, along with consideration of the scope and purpose of the conference and other funding granted for the conference. Award amounts are up to $1500.
Eligibility Requirements
Eligible students include those who have won research awards at FSU or who have been invited to present or participate at a professional conference. We encourage all eligible students who have a scholarly paper, poster, or creative work that has been accepted for professional presentation to apply for an award. Each student is eligible for a single, one-time Conference Presenter Award, which may not be given in conjunction with a Conference Attendance Award.
In order to be eligible for the spring funding cycle, the conference in question must have occurred in full between December 3, 2022, and April 28, 2023. Students must have clear evidence of their conference presenter status in hand at the time of application.
Anticipated Eligible Expenses for Spring 2023 include:
- Conference registration fees
- Airfare and ground transportation to/from the conference site
- Rental car expense (must be in student's name)
- Mileage, if a personal car is used for travel. Reimbursement will be at the established university reimbursement rate
- Student share of hotel expense (i.e. if two students share a $200/night room, the award will only cover $100 in hotel expenses)
Anticipated Ineligible Expenses for Spring 2023 include:
- Meals
- Fees for illegal parking
- Membership fees
- Late registration fees
The deadline to apply for this Spring 2023 award is Friday, April 14, at 4:30 pm Eastern. Applications can be submitted as early as the first day of the semester. They will be reviewed as they are received and will be considered pending availability of funds.
MORGAN KIRWAN
Spring 2022 Honors Conference Presenter Award Winner
"This award allowed me to present my honors thesis at the annual Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP) conference in San Francisco. This conference was the biggest networking opportunity I have been able to attend as an undergraduate student at Florida State University, and has greatly enhanced my public speaking skills and community engagement. Acceptance to this conference has given me a huge sense of personal accomplishment and has bolstered my confidence in my academic and research abilities... With this award, I was able to proudly represent my university and myself at this conference...I am truly thankful and appreciative for this award and for persevering throughout the Honors in the Major experience."
READ MORE ABOUT MORGAN AND OTHER CONFERENCE PRESENTER AWARD WINNERS
BESS H. WARD HONORS THESIS AWARD
*Only Honors in the Major students are eligible for this award.
This undergraduate award is offered each fall and spring semester, and can provide up to $750 to support research or creativity leading to an honors project that will be completed as part of the Honors in the Major Program.
The awards can be used to cover expenses such as travel to perform research, books, basic supplies, or participant support for surveys. Any equipment or materials purchased with the award money become property of the student, although the student may elect to donate the equipment to a department or college upon completion of the project.
Eligibility Requirements
- Have a minimum FSU GPA of 3.200
- Be actively working on an Honors in the Major project and registered for HITM credit hours
- Have not previously received the Bess H. Ward Honors Thesis Award
The deadline to apply for this award for the Spring 2023 semester is Friday, March 10, at 4:30 pm Eastern. Applications can be submitted as early as the first day of the semester. They will be reviewed after the submission deadline has passed and will be considered pending availability of funds.
Laura Pellini
Spring 2022 Award Winner
"Honors in the Major [HITM] has been an incredible learning experience since the start. As an art major, I feel a responsibility to create art that’s impactful and meaningful, and the HITM program offered me the perfect opportunity to combine artistic and traditional research.
I went into HITM with the goal of pushing the limits of my craft and contributing to the limited literature about the biased representation of femineity and gender in film posters. In my research, I aim to shed a light on our own preconceived notions about the aesthetics of science fiction, horror, and action movies, and how these attitudes mirror a greater gender discrimination repeatedly found in mass media and pop culture.
Being a recipient of this award facilitates the completion of my honors project and encourages me to keep pushing the use of creative media to instigate a serious conversation about gender representation. These funds will allow me to purchase materials to experiment with different media and pay for large format printing fees. I am extremely thankful for the program, the selection committee, and my thesis director who encouraged me to apply and has supported me every step of the way. This award reassures me that there’s an audience for my research and makes me look forward to the rest of the year and all the exciting paths of research and opportunities that will arise from this experience."
READ MORE ABOUT LAURA AND OTHER BESS H. WARD THESIS AWARD WINNERS
Other Awards & Scholarship Opportunities
HONORS THESIS MENTOR AWARD
*Only Honors in the Major students may nominate their thesis directors for this award.
This award is offered annually to recognize and honor faculty members whose direction and advisement of undergraduate honors thesis research or creative activity has significantly contributed to the enhancement and quality of education of undergraduate students at Florida State University.
Student Nomination Procedure:
Students seeking to nominate their thesis director must submit their letter of nomination through the Honors Thesis Mentor Award nomination portal by the deadline. Previously nominated thesis directors may be nominated again. The letter of nomination should explain how the faculty member demonstrates outstanding guidance and mentoring practices and an overall commitment to the student's undergraduate education at Florida State University. The letter should be as specific as possible and provide examples. The letter should not exceed two pages.
Nominators may wish to address some or all of the following:
- aspects of the mentor's effectiveness, innovation, and creativity in the classroom, the research lab, the studio, the performance setting, and/or in one-on-one conversations;
- the ability to promote high academic standards for the honors thesis and to communicate those standards in a meaningful, consistent, and accessible way;
- the ability to guide a student through the research process while fostering the student's independence and project management skills;
- the ability to facilitate a student's intellectual and professional development through the use of regular constructive feedback;
- the ability to make complex ideas understandable and useful to the student while helping the student make connections between their honors thesis and their undergraduate education;
- the ability to serve as a positive role model with deep professional and personal integrity.
Nominated thesis director response to nomination procedure:
Once a faculty member has been nominated, they will be notified and information will be requested from them on behalf of the award committee. Specific information that will be requested includes: a curriculum vitae, a list of students for whom the faculty member has supervised HITM theses over the past five years, the number of previous nominations for the Honors Thesis Mentor Award, and an undergraduate mentoring philosophy statement.
The deadline to nominate your Honors Thesis Director for this award for the 2022-2023 academic year is Friday, February 24, at 4:30 pm Eastern.

DEBRA FADOOL
Spring 2022 Honors Thesis Mentor Award Winner
Professor, Department of Biological Science
Student Nominators: Nicholas Maykut, Camilla May, and Claudia Silver
KINGSBURY UNDERGRADUATE WRITING AWARD
*All university students are eligible for this award.
This award is offered annually to an undergraduate student who demonstrated excellence in writing. Nominated students who wish to submit their honors thesis must submit a polished draft or finalized version to be considered for the award.
The quality of student writing is of central importance in this competition. Although form and style should be appropriate to subject matter and in accord with the norms of the writers' home discipline, some criteria will operate across disciplines. Such criteria include, but are not limited to, originality, persuasiveness, accuracy, insightfulness, clarity, reasonableness, vividness, timeliness, etc.
Eligibility Requirements
Eligible students can be from any college at FSU and must:
- currently be enrolled full-time as an undergraduate at FSU;
- be in good academic standing;
- submit one or multiple works that total at least 50 pages of double-spaced text, but do not exceed 60 pages;
- be the sole author of the work.
The deadline to apply for this award for the 2022-2023 academic year is Tuesday, February 28, 2023. Applications for this award are submitted through FS4U.
CAROLYN SIZEMORE
Spring 2021 Kingsbury Undergraduate Writing Award Winner
"Completing my honors thesis was the most rewarding academic achievement of my undergraduate career, and by far the most challenging...It allowed me to gain a lot more confidence in my writing and problem-solving in general, and it made me feel more hopeful that the things I am interested in learning more about are meaningful to others, too."