Scholarships and Awards Information

Described below are local, regional or nationally competitive scholarships and fellowships for undergraduates. 

Scholarships

The College of Charleston has switched to an online scholarship awarding system called the Cougar Scholarship Award System (CSAS). CSAS will serve as the platform that you will use to apply for all privately funded scholarships. CSAS gives you access to all departmental scholarships that may be available to you through one easy application.

To submit an application for scholarships from your particular department, you will need to log on to https://cofc.academicworks.com/. You must select “submit” on all applications within the portal to be considered for funding.

If you have questions or concerns about the Cougar Scholarship Awarding System (CSAS), please contact us via email: foundationscholarships@cofc.edu

William Bischoff Memorial Scholarship

The department offers an institutional scholarship in memory of the first chair of the Department of Psychology. Scholarship funding must be applied toward academic expenses (e.g., tuition, textbooks, etc.) for the awarded academic year. This award may be renewed one time only for the Spring semester. Award renewal is contingent upon maintaining academic performance.

To determine eligibility, verify that you meet all of the following criteria:

  • You must be a full-time student at the College of Charleston (12 credit hours per semester) and, should you receive the scholarship, you must maintain full-time status throughout the duration of the award.
  • You must be a declared psychology major and you must remain a psychology major throughout the remainder of your undergraduate career.
  • You must have completed and earned at least 60 credit hours. Of the 60 or more earned credit hours, at least 40 credit hours must have been earned at the College of Charleston
  • You must have completed at least 12 credit hours of psychology courses at the College of Charleston.
  • You must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0, and a minimum psychology GPA of 3.5.

Applications are now being accepted for the 2024-2025 academic year, and the application period is expected to remain open until March 1st, 2024. To apply for the award, you should follow the instructions that you should have received from the Financial Aid Office in November or review the information regarding Cougar Scholarship Award System (CSAS) noted above. You can also access the application directly here.

Charles Kaiser Award for Outstanding Psychology Students 

The Department of Psychology at the College of Charleston values students who have a commitment to community service, especially in areas that are related to the field of psychology. The Charles Kaiser Award for Outstanding Psychology Students (award amount $875.00) will be given to students to acknowledge and reward these types of service activities. Specifically, timely and outstanding applications from rising senior psychology majors (90+ earned hours) will be given full consideration for this award. Students must possess a 3.5 GPA in psychology and an overall average GPA of 3.0 or higher. 

  • Download the Charles Kaiser Award Application

The deadline for applications for the 2023-2024 academic year has passed. Please check back for future calls for applications.

Psychology Student Opportunities Fund

The Department of Psychology at the College of Charleston is pleased to announce a new initiative: the Psychology Student Opportunities Fund!

Students may apply for funding to support engagement in a variety of endeavors including internships, research activity, and College of Charleston-sponsored study abroad experiences in psychology or neuroscience.

Declared psychology majors with a minimum of 12 earned credits in psychology are eligible to apply. There will be two application deadlines for the 2023-2024 academic year: one in the fall and another in the spring.

It is expected that each award will vary between $50.00 and $500.00. Preference will be given to those projects or activities that occur closer in time to the application deadline. The application (see link below) will require you to provide details about your:

  • academic history (e.g., GPA, earned credits)
  • project/activity
  • timeline
  • budget and funding request
  • if relevant the name(s) of the faculty mentor(s) associated with the project/activity.

You also will be required to submit a pdf of your DegreeAudit. Finally, you will have the option to provide additional information related to your extra-curricular activities and/or work experience. Please contact Dr. Adam Doughty (doughtya@cofc.edu) with any questions about your application.

The deadline for spring 2024 applications has passed. Please check back for future calls for applications.

School of Humanities and Social Sciences Leadership | Experiential Learning | Academic Achievement | Professional Development

The School of Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) LEAP is an inclusive community of diverse students and professors from a wide variety of backgrounds committed to working together to build meaningful relationships that will support students as they strive to achieve their goals. This multi-year academic enrichment program has four strategic goals to promote comprehensive student development: increasing academic achievement, encouraging experiential learning, providing professional development, and creating community. Participants will gain skills that will prepare them to be independent lifelong learners who will engage in solving complex problems and act as informed citizens who contribute to their communities.

Eligibility:
  • Enrolled full-time at the College of Charleston
  • Declared Major or Minor in a program offered by a department or program within HSS
  • GPA 2.0+ preferred
  • Freshman, sophomore, or junior standing (preference given to students who will not graduate before May 2022)
  • Must commit to participate for at least one academic year (includes attending monthly meetings as a community, monthly meetings with your faculty mentor, and professional development workshop(s)) Refer to student contract here

Applications for the 2024-2025 cohort are being accepted through March 31st, 2024. You can access the application by clicking this link. If you have any questions please email hss@cofc.edu for more information.

Student Research Awards

College of Charleston students involved in undergraduate research are encouraged to apply for these awards.

Charles Latimer Jr. Psychology Travel Award

The Department of Psychology at the College of Charleston values individualized and advanced student learning experiences. Such experiences include travel to professional conferences to present original research on topics relevant to psychological science. The Charles Latimer Jr. Psychology Student Travel Award will be given to students to help support these endeavors by helping to cover student costs associated with attending the conference or other presentation venue. Specifically, timely and outstanding applications from psychology majors will be given full consideration for this award.

The deadline for spring 2024 applications has passed. Please check back for future calls for applications.

School of Humanities and Social Sciences

College of Charleston's School of Humanities and Social Sciences offers several different awards for both scholarship and conference travel. 

College of Charleston Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (URCA)

College of Charleston's URCA provides a variety of additional competitive grant opportunities to students and faculty mentors, including Major Academic Year Support (MAYS; maximum award $4000), Research Presentation Grants (RPG; awards range from $50-$750 depending on level of conference), and Summer Research with Faculty (SURF; maximum award $6500). 

Graduating Student Awards

Graduating students may apply for Outstanding Student and HSS Scholar awards described below. In addition to the below noted criteria, other considerations for both awards may include personal statements and other relevant community service or work experience in psychology related areas (paid or unpaid).

Outstanding Psychology Student Award and HSS Scholars

The Department of Psychology is inviting applications for the Outstanding Student Award and the Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) Scholars Award. To apply for the award, first review the criteria below to ensure that you are eligible. 

  • GPA > 3.8
  • Psychology GPA > 3.8
  • No incomplete notation or grade lower than “C” on college transcript (students with a grade lower than "C" may provide a brief explanation of why they should still be considered)
  • 62 credit hours completed at the College of Charleston
  • Outstanding Student Award: Completion of nine or more credit hours of independent course work (e.g., independent study, bachelor's essay, tutorial, internship course, and teaching mentorship) completed in psychology/neuroscience at the College of Charleston. Six of these nine credit hours must be met through independent study or bachelor’s essay research.
  • HSS Scholars: Completion of nine or more credit hours of independent course work (e.g., independent study, bachelor's essay, tutorial, internship course, and teaching mentorship). At least three of these credit hours must be completed in psychology/neuroscience at the College of Charleston. The remaining six credit hours may be completed in other departments within the School of HSS at the College of Charleston. Finally, six of the nine credit hours must be met through independent study or bachelor's essay research.

If you meet the criteria and would like to be considered please follow the below link to view and complete an application. 

Please contact Dr. Doughty (doughtya@cofc.edu) with any questions about this award.

The deadline for spring 2024 applications has passed. Please check back for future calls for applications.

Departmental Honors

The Department of Psychology is inviting applications for Departmental Honors. To apply for the award, first review the criteria below to ensure that you are eligible. 

  • Psychology GPA > 3.5 
  • Completion of six or more credit hours of independent course work completed in psychology/neuroscience at the College of Charleston (these six credits must come from bachelor's essay and/or independent study).

If you meet the criteria and would like to be considered please follow the below link to view and complete an application.

Please contact Dr. Doughty (doughtya@cofc.edu) with any questions about this award.

The deadline for spring 2024 applications has passed. Please check back for future calls for applications.

Other Scholarships and Awards

Many funding opportunities also exist outside the College of Charleston to support students. Highlighted below are links to a few current opportunities:

  • Psi Chi Undergraduate Research Grants
  • Charleston Sigma Xi Psychology and Neuroscience Fund (Applications for the current funding cycle are being accepted until November 1st, 2023, and the application form can be accessed here.)