Undergraduate Programs
Financial Support
Each Spring semester, the Department of Germanic Studies awards two scholarships to deserving undergraduate German majors. Each helps German majors or honors concentrators with their upper-division work in German; they are the highest honors the Department bestows on its undergraduate students.
The Robert LaB. Van Dusen Endowed Scholarship in Germanic Studies is offered to students who are able to demonstrate particular initiative in Germanic Studies, including participation in departmental activities, active involvement or leadership in departmental organizations, and research projects (including Honors). Additional funds may be available for students who plan to pursue internships abroad, study abroad, or similar initiatives. Applicants must have a minimum GPA of 3.0 overall and 3.5 in Germanic Studies courses. Preference will be given to applicants who have completed two upper-division courses, but lower-division students may apply.
The Helen B. Green Endowed Scholarship in Germanic Studies is offered to students who are at the end of their junior year and who have shown exceptional ability in Germanic Studies. During their senior year, recipients of the award will be encouraged to promote Germanic Studies among freshmen and sophomores by mentoring, visits to beginning language classes, or similar means. Particularly deserving students will have already demonstrated a commitment to promoting Germanic Studies across campus, including participation in mentoring other students. Applicants must have a minimum GPA of 3.0 overall and 3.5 in Germanic Studies courses. Preference will be given to applicants who have completed two upper-division courses, but lower-division students may apply.
The J. Lassen Boysen Scholarship is available for German majors at the Junior rank with a grade point average of at least 3.5, and with at least one more year at UT. This scholarship rewards the finest in undergraduate scholarship. The initial endowment for this scholarship was made by Helen M. I. Boysen in honor of this long-time Professor of the department.
The W. F. and Marian Michael Scholarship is available for German majors with a grade point average of at least 3.0, interest in departmental activities, and fewer than ninety semester hours of credit. The money for this endowment was raised through small donations made during the 50-year history of German play productions at UT, chiefly under the directorship of the Michaels. Students recipients of this scholarship distinguish themselves through their contributions to the department and to the University, as well through their scholarship.
Aside from these two scholarships, the Department is also responsible for honoring a departmental student with the yearly German-Texan Heritage Society Award, a book award given to students who contribute to the study of Texas-German immigration and culture.
Two additional scholarships for undergraduates are closely associated with the Department, although they are administered through the College of Liberal Arts. You can contact the Office of Student Financial Services
for more information.
The first is the Ralph R. Read Scholarship, a bequest by Dr. Read on his early death to honor the undergraduate students for whom he worked with such dedication. It is given to undergraduates in the College of Liberal Arts with fewer than ninety semester hours of credit and a grade point average of at least 3.25 who has completed at least thirty hours in residence. Special consideration is given to students in the Department, but any Liberal Arts student may be honored.
The second of these is an Endowed Scholarship for Swedish/Scandinavian Studies, an endowment collected over years of dedication by the Linneas Society of Houston to honor the memory of the Swedish influence on Texas by fostering the study of Swedish language and Scandinavian culture.