NIU Department of Mathematical Sciences

There are several sources of scholarships and awards available to mathematics students. While it is unfortunately true that we do not have money to award scholarships to all deserving students, we do recognize many of our strongest students within the Department, and encourage them to apply for funding from outside as well.

Your primary resource for scholarship information at NIU is the Scholarship Office. They have a list of university-wide awards for which mathematics students are typically strong contenders. In particular, students in our department are encouraged to apply, if eligible, for

• The University Scholar Award, generally reserved for those incoming freshmen with an ACT score of 27 or above who graduated in the top 5% of their high school class, and those transfer students with a minimum GPA of 3.50 from their prior institution. Recipients of these awards have close to a "free ride" at NIU! There are also some scholarships which cover the cost of tuition for a few additional students in this category.
• The Centennial Scholarships, established at NIU's centennial, award $1000 to students in the top 10% of their high school class with ACT composites of 25 or above; comparable requirements are set for transfer students.

There are several other university-wide scholarships for which an individual may be eligible, depending on characteristics not related to his or her major in this department. Please consult the Scholarship Office for more information.

Students pursing a career as teachers of mathematics are encouraged to apply for the State's Illinois Future Teacher Corps Scholarships, designed especially to assist students preparing for teaching careers in high-need disciplines.

The awards given by the Department to incoming freshmen and incoming transfer students are

• Clarence Ethel Hardgrove Mathematics Scholarship. These are restricted to incoming students indicating a major in the Mathematical Sciences. Awards are based upon class rank, ACT score, and prior mathematical accomplishment. Awards are intended to help defray the cost of tuition for a maximum of 4 semesters. If you are interested in this scholarship, please fill in the FORM1 if you are an incoming freshman or FORM2 if you are an incoming transfer student and mail it to the department.

• Joseph C. and Marion E. Huber Memorial Scholarship. This scholarship supports students entering our program from a rural community or a city of less than or equal to 100,000 in population. Awards are based upon academic merit and accomplishment. The award can be extended for a maximum of two semesters. If you are interested in this scholarship, please fill in the FORM1 if you are an incoming freshman or FORM2 if you are an incoming transfer student and mail it to the department.

Each of these awards has been made possible by a generous donor to allow us to attract the best students to our program, both incoming freshmen and transfer students. Awards are based on the candidates' records supplied to the Admissions office, so in order to be eligible, students must indicate at the time of application to NIU that they intend to pursue a major in our department. (If you were admitted with a different major, you will have to notify the Admissions Office if you wish to change to Mathematical Sciences, and you must notify our department to let us know that you wish to be included in the candidate pool.)

The awards given by the Department to continuing or graduating students are

• Gail Masters Gallagher Memorial Scholarship. Awarded to an outstanding full-time undergraduate student majoring in Mathematical Sciences who will have junior class rank during the next academic year. Based on academic achievement. If you are interested in this scholarship, please fill in the FORM and mail it to the department.

• The Dale Jungst Award. Students must have completed at least one semester at Northern Illinois University with a GPA at least 3.2 and must be majoring in Mathematics Education. If you are interested in this scholarship, please fill in the FORM and mail it to the department.

• Dorothy and Glenn Erickson Mathematics Scholarship. Awarded to an undergraduate student in Mathematics Education in good standing who is at least a sophomore. If you are interested in this scholarship, please fill in the FORM and mail it to the department.

• Eugene W. Hellmich Mathematics Prize. Limited to graduating seniors in the Department of Mathematical Sciences who are continuing for graduate work, and have made a commitment to teach mathematics at the secondary level. Requires a high scholastic GPA, demonstrated ability, and excellent character. More information is available about this generous award.

A number of generous bequests have enabled the Department to make financial awards to a few students each year. The following awards are primarily prizes, not scholarships: no application form is usually needed, and the award is typically made at the end of the school year (possibly upon graduation) to reward accomplishment. Recipients are recognized at the Department's annual Commencement Brunch each May. A list of recent recipients can be found on our main web pages.

• Merlyn J. Behr Award in Mathematics Education. For a student who demonstrates ability and potential in mathematics education research. (This is usually restricted to graduate students.) Requires successful completion of a significant amount of coursework in mathematics education, and successful participation in a mathematics education research project in which specific aspects of student's mathematical understanding was investigated.
• D.R. Ostberg Award. Awarded to a continuing upper division or graduate student in the Department of Mathematical Sciences, based on academic achievement.
• Adam Slagell scholarship. Awarded to a student majoring in mathematics with the major GPA 3.25 or above and financial needs.
• Stelford Prize. Awarded to a graduating senior in recognition of outstanding academic achievement. Based solely on academic achievement.
• Margariete Montague Wheeler Scholarship. Awarded to a junior mathematics education major preparing for a career in teaching mathematics who will be continuing his or her studies at Northern the next year. Based on academic achievement and potential as a teacher.
• Margariete Montague Wheeler Teaching Award. Awarded to graduating students judged to have the most potential as mathematics teachers. Based on performance in student teaching and other clinical experiences, as well as academic achievement.
• Horvath Family Fund Award. For a mathematics undergraduate, or graduate student in Mathematics. (The award rotates among four departments; the next award to a student in our department will be made for the 2008-2009 academic year.) If you are interested in this scholarship, please fill in the FORM and mail it to the department.
• Carol J. Feltz Memorial Award. Awarded to a continuing student pursuing the emphasis in Statistics. (This is a new award; please contact the Division of Statistics for more information.)
• College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Deans' Award. Awarded to students who made substantial contributions to the university community and who have demonstrated outstanding scholarship.
• Department of Mathematical Sciences Chairman's Award. Awarded to a graduate in recognition of their outstanding academic achievement.
• Division of Statistics Director's Award. Awarded to a graduate (Bachelor or Master) in recognition of outstanding academic achievement.
• Certificate of Merit and Honorable Mention Awards are also awarded to graduating students in recognition of superior academic achievement.
• Mathematics Department Contest. Each Spring semester the department holds a contest consisting of a three-hour exam that is open to all undergraduates and structured so that advanced students have no advantage.

Students in the mathematical sciences are also invited to apply for certain other scholarships. Naturally, these students -- who tend to be very bright and hard-working! -- are good candidates for any scholarship open to students from many majors. But we mention here a scholarship that specifically solicit applicants from our department:

• The Association of Old Crows awards one scholarship annually to a recipient who is a student at NIU and majoring in Engineering, Physics, Computer Science, or Mathematics. Please contact the AOC for more information.

In addition to these recognitions open to undergraduates, the Department awards a Certificate of Teaching Excellence to exceptional doctoral students, based on sustained excellence as graduate teaching assistants as well as academic achievement.