Scholarships, Fellowships & Awards for Graduate Students

To be considered for a School of Education scholarship, fellowship or award, you must have already been accepted as a graduate student. For more information see How to Apply for School of Education Scholarships, Fellowships and Awards.

Awards

Barbara Holland Chapman and John Franklin Chapman Graduate Fellowship

Eligibility: Current doctoral students studying literacy

About the award:

This award is given annually to a doctoral student pursuing the study of literacy with preference to Curriculum and Instruction. The fellowship honors Dr. Barbara Holland Chapman (Ph.D. ’81) and Dr. John Franklin Chapman (M.P.H. ’76, Dr.P.H. ’78). Barbara is a retired principal of New Hope Elementary School in Orange County and John is a professor emeritus in the School of Medicine.

The Barbara M. and William B. Ware Scholarship Fund

About the award:

Dr. William “Bill” Ware was a distinguished educator and researcher at the School of Education for more than 40 years. The Barbara M. and William B. Ware Graduate Scholarship Fund was established to support future doctoral students and honor Dr. Ware’s commitment to educating students interested in the application and teaching of quantitative methods in educational research. Barbara worked in the Department of Allied Health Sciences at Carolina.

The Betty Lou Whitford Scholarship

About the award:

Betty Louise “Betty Lou” Whitford (A.B.Ed. ’72, M.A.T. ’76, Ph.D. ’81) established this fund to provide support for graduate students in the School of Education. Betty Lou is Dean and the Wayne T. Smith Distinguished Professor of Auburn University’s College of Education.

Carol and William Malloy Travel Award

About the award:

This award was established by Drs. Carol and William Malloy, longtime professors in the School of Education. Awards are made to assist graduate students with travel expenses incurred while sharing their research at education conferences. William Malloy had a 44-year career in education. He taught and mentored graduate students in educational administration and leadership for 15 years.

The late Carol Malloy received her Ph.D. from the School of Education in 1995. She joined the faculty and taught curriculum and foundations courses for graduate students, secondary mathematics methods courses in the M.A.T. program, and mathematics for middle and elementary pre-service students until her retirement in 2009.

The Charles S. Templeton Scholarship

About the award:

This Scholarship was established by the late Charles S. Templeton (A.B.Ed. ’34) in memory of his parents, Mr. and Mrs. George Templeton. Templeton came to Carolina in 1930 from China Grove in Rowan County. After graduating, he taught in Chapel Hill and Durham and earned an M.S.A. at Columbia University. During World War II he was a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army Air Force. After the war his new career as a hospital administrator took him to Florida and Georgia. Along the way his life was full of friends, music, books, Carolina sports, and his large extended family back in North Carolina.

Dixie Lee Spiegel Fund

How to be considered: This fund is used to respond to crisis situations only. Students should connect with the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs if they believe they have a situation that might warrant an award.

About the award:

This fund, created to honor the contributions of Dr. Spiegel, is available for graduate students who have emergency financial need.

During her 28-year career, Dixie Spiegel was a professor of literacy studies and served in significant administrative posts, including director of accreditation, director of graduate studies, director of admissions, associate dean for students and senior associate dean. At the University level, Spiegel provided leadership as chair of the Student Health Committee, chair of the Minorities and Disadvantaged Committee, chair of the Disability Subcommittee of Undergraduate Admissions, member of the Graduate School Advisory Board and initiator of a course for learning disabled students on campus.

The James Yadkin Joyner Fellowship in Education Policy

Eligibility: Students must be admitted to the Ph.D. program in Policy, Leadership and School Improvement (PLS) and committed to the study of education policy and research.

How to be considered: Students are nominated by a member of the PLS faculty.

About the award:

Established in 2003 by Musette Sprunt Morgan (A.B.Ed. ’76) and Allen Benners Morgan (B.A. ’65), this fellowship honors the legacy of Musette Morgan’s great-grandfather, James Yadkin Joyner, who served as North Carolina’s State Superintendent of Public Education from 1902-1917 and brought sweeping reform and improvement to the state’s system of public education.

Galassi-Brown Award

Eligibility: Students in the School Counseling program.

How to be considered: Recipients are nominated by peers, faculty and public school personnel.

About the award:

This award was named for Drs. John P. Galassi and Duane Brown, both full professors in the School of Education who contributed more than 60 years of combined service. Since 1973, both Dr. Galassi and Dr. Brown have led through their research and scholarship. Most importantly, they devoted time and attention to the students of the counseling program and have been stalwart advocates for the profession.

The Galassi-Brown Advocacy Award recognizes the school counseling student who is judged by the faculty to have gone beyond expectations and demonstrated exceptional advocacy for the students they serve, the schools where they work and the school counseling profession.

The George W. Noblit Graduate Scholarship

Eligibility: This scholarship provides awards to doctoral students in the Culture, Curriculum, and Teacher Education program who are pursuing research with a focus on racial equity and/or social justice.

About the award:

This fund was established to honor Dr. George Noblit in recognition of his distinguished 39-year career at the School of Education by his wife, Mary A. Longhill and the many students impacted by his teaching and mentorship.

This scholarship endeavors to increase the diversity of the student body and further the interest of traditionally underrepresented groups in graduate education.

Graduate Assistantship for Research in the Teaching and Learning of Reading and Writing

Eligibility:  Doctoral student working with a faculty member on a research project that involves the teaching and learning of reading and/or writing.

How to be considered: Faculty working in this area will specify the project on which they are working and outline the need for graduate student assistance.

About the award:

This award was established by Anne and Wilson M. Brown III. Anne received her A.B.Ed. in Early Childhood Education in 1974 and Wilson received his A.B. in English the same year.

Guy B. Phillips Fellowship

Eligibility: Students pursuing graduate studies in public school administration

About the award:

This fellowship was established in honor of the late Guy B. Phillips. Dr. Phillips received his B.A. from Carolina in 1913. From 1937 to 1958, he was director of the summer session and dean of the School of Education from 1948 to 1954.

The Guy B. Phillips Scholarship is awarded on the basis of merit and leadership as well as the potential for contributions to public education in North Carolina.

Ira and Esther Gordon Scholarship

Eligibility: Incoming doctoral student who has high academic potential and a strong interest in one or more of the following areas: parents, parent education, at-risk children, family literacy, or child development.

About the award:

This scholarship was established by Esther Gordon to honor the work of her late husband, Dr. Ira J. Gordon, former School of Education dean and a Kenan professor. Dr. Gordon was a nationally renowned expert in early childhood and parent education and development.

Linnea W. Smith Innovations Fund

Eligibility: Faculty members or doctoral students whose scholarly work leads to the identification, intervention, and/or prevention of early-life traumatic stress that impacts the development of children in the classroom and strategies that strengthen the partnership between educators and families.

About the award:

Established by John (B.A. ’58) and Mary Louise Burress (A.B.Ed. ’58), this fund honors Dr. Linnea Weblemoe Smith (M.D. ’76), a psychiatrist and advocate for exploited women and children. This fund shall be used to support the research seeking solutions for children whose development and education have been hindered as a result of adverse childhood experiences.

Emphasis is on the role of the educational system in increasing the resilience of victimized children and reducing the risk factors for behavioral, academic, and social problems.

Marvin Wyne Memorial Scholarship

Eligibility: Preference is given to doctoral students preparing for work in special education, with a focus in developmental or learning disabilities, who have a strong interest in both teaching and research.

About the award: Named for the late Marvin Wyne, who was a professor of special education at the School of Education for 20 years, this fellowship is awarded annually to a student interested in working with children with special needs.

The Moise A. Khayrallah Innovation Fund

Eligibility: Students who have expressed an interest in developing or building educational products or services.

About the award: This fund was established by Moise A. Khayrallah (Ph.D. ’93) to support students and to support the Master of Arts in Educational Innovation, Technology and Entrepreneurship (MEITE) program. Uses of the fund include, but are not limited to, the sponsorship of an annual “edtech innovation pitch event” in partnership with Innovate Carolina as well as the funding of one or more fellows to be known as Moise A. Khayrallah Innovation Fellows. These fellows will serve in a year-long internship at the Carolina Center for Excellence in Education supporting learning innovation design.

The Nancy Blanche Norman Scholarship

Eligibility: Students pursuing college degrees in the field of public education.

About the award:

This fund, established by the estate planning of Nancy Norman, is used to support students pursuing college degrees in the field of public education. Dr. Norman received her M.A. in elementary education in 1943 and an Ed.D. in administration and supervision in 1965 from UNC. She taught in Wentworth, Draper and Leaksville (now Eden) prior to becoming a principal at Burton Grove School from 1945-1975. She was the first female principal in North Carolina to receive her doctorate in education. During summer vacations she taught at Boston College, UNC, Western Carolina and Duke.

Patrick W. and Janet R. Carlton Award for Dissertation Research in Educational Leadership

Eligibility: Doctoral student working on his or her dissertation in educational leadership

About the award:

This award was established by Dr. Patrick Carlton, who received his M.Ed. in Science Education in 1961 and his Ph.D. in Education in 1966. He is a professor and Undergraduate Coordinator of the Masters in Public Administration at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Priddy Family Award

Eligibility: Doctoral student in the Educational Leadership program with a preference for a student who plans to become a school system superintendent.

About the award:

The Priddy Family Award was established by current School of Education Alumni Council President Michael D. Priddy (A.B. ’70, M.Ed. ’75, Ed.D. ’81) on the occasion of his mother’s 100th birthday in 2017. The fund honors Dorothy Page Wiggs Priddy and will provide a scholarship to a doctoral student in the Educational Leadership program with a preference for a student who plans to become a school system superintendent.

Samuel M. Holton Graduate Fellowship in Foundations of Education

Eligibility: Doctoral candidates studying the history or philosophy of education.

About the award:

This Fellowship was created by Samuel H. Holton, the late professor emeritus of social foundations of education and his late wife, Margaret, in 2000 to help support doctoral candidates studying the history or philosophy of education. Holton served on the faculty of the School of Education from 1948 until his retirement in 1987. He was chair of the social foundations area, supervised the dissertation research of more than 50 doctoral candidates and received several teaching awards.

Susan Friel Graduate Student Stipend for Mathematics Education

Eligibility: Graduate students, with a preference for doctoral students, whose studies are in mathematics education

About the award:

This stipend is awarded to graduate students, with a preference for doctoral students, whose studies are in mathematics education at the School of Education. Priority is given to students who are midway through their program and who could benefit from a stipend to help offset the costs of their education and provide them the financial capability to complete their course of study without having to work. The award is named in honor of Susan Friel, Professor of Mathematics Education at the School of Education.

The Virginia Carter Gobbel Fellowship

Eligibility: Graduate student in educational leadership who wishes to pursue a career in the public schools either as a teacher or administrator.

About the award:

The Gobbel Fellowship was established by Ann Gobbel Sullivan (A.B.Ed. ’57) and Noel Sullivan (B.S.B.A. ’56) whose mothers were both teachers. Ann’s mother, Virginia Carter Gobbel, started her career in a one-room schoolhouse near Salisbury, North Carolina. Noel’s mother taught English at Chapel Hill High School.

W. D. Perry Award

Eligibility: Students in the School Counseling program.

How to be considered: Recipients nominated by peers, faculty and public school personnel.

About the award: 

This award was named for Dr. William D. Perry, a former full professor in the School of Education who provided more than 30 years of leadership. After coming to the UNC-Chapel Hill in 1939, Dr. Perry exerted a major influence in the development both of the counseling program and the Guidance and Testing Center. The Center continued to serve the University for many years after Dr. Perry retired in 1973. The Perry award continues to recognize the student who is judged by the faculty to have demonstrated excellence of achievement in academics, outstanding performance in the counseling field placement coupled with unwavering adherence to ethical and professional standards, and demonstrated student leadership within the program.

The William C. Self Award

Eligibility:  Doctoral student in Policy, Leadership and School Improvement.

About the award:

William Self (M.A.Ed. ’48, Ed.D. ’56) was dean of the School of Education from 1978 to 1982. He devoted his career to addressing issues of educational equity. Before becoming dean, Self served as superintendent of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School System from 1967 to 1972, leading that system as it implemented racial desegregation policies.