Scholarships

Statute VII of the Phi Eta Sigma Constitution provides that all income from the Founders Scholarship Fund shall be used to grant scholarships and awards to Phi Eta Sigma members. The Founder’s Fund currently provides the following scholarships and awards: 
 

• The Thomas Arkle Clark Graduate Scholar-Leader of the Year Endowed Scholarship, named in honor of the founder and first National President of Phi Eta Sigma, was awarded for the first time in the 2006-07 academic year. This scholarship, valued at $10,000, is presented each year to the member who, in the judgment of the Scholarship Committee, best exemplifies the ideals of Phi Eta Sigma. The Clark Scholar-Leader is selected each year from among the entire pool of graduate scholarship applicants.

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• The James E. Foy-John W. Sagabiel Undergraduate Leader Scholarship Award will be awarded for the first time in 2020 at the amount of $10,000. This new award was created to honor the legacy of two of Phi Eta Sigma's most dedicated and revered leaders, Dean James Foy and Dr. Jack Sagabiel. Both men served the society in a variety of roles during their tenures that spanned four decades.

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• Six Distinguished Member Scholarships of $7,000 each for full-time graduate or professional study. 
   

• Thirty-six Distinguished Member Scholarships of $5,000 each for full-time undergraduate study. 
   

• Fifty-eight $1,000 awards for either undergraduate or graduate full-time study. 

In 2021, Phi Eta Sigma will award $300,000 in Founders Fund scholarships.

Many local chapters also award scholarships. Check with your chapter adviser for details on how to apply for local scholarships.

Thomas Arkle Clark Scholar-Leader

of the Year

Delegates attending the 2004 National Convention and Leadership Workshops in Savannah, Georgia, approved the Thomas Arkle Clark Scholar-Leader of-the-Year Endowed Scholarship, named in honor of the founder and first National President of Phi Eta Sigma. This scholarship was presented for the first time for use in the 2006-2007 academic year.  The $10,000 Clark Award is presented annually to the member who, in the judgment of our Scholarship Committee, best exemplifies the ideals of Phi Eta Sigma and is selected from among the entire pool of graduate scholarship applicants.  Beginning in 2020, the Arkle award winner will be selected from the pool of applicants who are working toward their graduate degrees, due to the creation of the Foy-Sagabiel Undergraduate award. 

The James E. Foy-John W. Sagabiel Undergraduate Leader Award

In June 2019 the Executive Board members voted to establish a new $10,000 scholarship at the undergraduate level called “The James E. Foy-John W. Sagabiel Undergraduate Leader Award.” 

This new award was created to honor the legacy of two of Phi Eta Sigma's most dedicated and revered leaders, Dean James Foy and Dr. Jack Sagabiel. Both men served the society in a variety of roles during their tenures that spanned four decades. Under their leadership, Phi Eta Sigma impacted the lives of countless students and experienced unprecedented growth. In addition, they were each instrumental in establishing the previous headquarters of the organization at Auburn University (Dean Foy) and Western Kentucky University (Dr. Sagabiel). This scholarship award will be given to an undergraduate student member for the first time in 2020, and in addition to the Thomas Arkle Clark Graduate Leader Award will be the highest scholarships awarded by the Society annually. 

Phi Eta Sigma Graduate Scholarships

The deadline for all scholarship applications is May 1 each year.

Each year, six Distinguished Member Scholarships of $7,000 each are granted for the first year of full-time graduate or professional study. Any Phi Eta Sigma member preparing to enter full-time graduate study during the upcoming academic year may apply for a graduate scholarship. Chapters may submit as many graduate applications as they deem appropriate, as there is no limit on the number of graduate applications submitted from each chapter. Graduate applications may be submitted online. 

Candidates applying for graduate scholarships will also be considered for the $10,000 Thomas Arkle Clark Scholar-Leader of the Year Award. 

Each graduate scholarship will be payable disbursed in a single payment to the recipient on or about August 15.  The deadline for all scholarship applications is May 1 each year.

Phi Eta Sigma Undergraduate Scholarships

Candidates applying for scholarships on either the graduate or undergraduate level will also be considered for the $10,000 Foy-Sagabiel Undergraduate Student Leader Award.

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Each year, thirty-six Distinguished Member Scholarships of $5,000 each are granted to outstanding Society members for full-time undergraduate study. 

All applications for undergraduate scholarships should be submitted online by the deadline of May 1. If your chapter has a local deadline, be sure to submit by that date so that your adviser may review your application. Each chapter can submit as many applications 
 

Chapter advisers must approve the selected applications no later than May 1 each year for submission to the national office.

Each undergraduate scholarship will be disbursed in a single payment to the recipient on or before August 15. fifty-eight $1,000 awards are also granted to Phi Eta Sigma members each year. 

How to Apply for 

Phi Eta Sigma Scholarships

All applicants for Phi Eta Sigma scholarships and awards must be members of the honor society. Members applying for undergraduate scholarships may obtain application details from the chapter adviser. Members applying for graduate scholarships may also contact the chapter adviser, or they may proceed with completing the application form once the link is available on the website.

The application form is the same for all Phi Eta Sigma scholarships and awards. The application asks for:

The student is also asked to respond in essay form to six additional items, including:

Members of the National Executive Committee serve on the Scholarship Selection Committee. Current members of the committee are: 

• Mr. Tim Lemper (Indiana University), Chairperson

• Ms. Mary Jo Custer (Syracuse University)

• Mr. Tony Kemp (Mercer University)

• Dr. John Harrell (Indiana University)

The criteria for selecting scholarship recipients include a high scholastic record with a recommended minimum 3.5 cumulative GPA. Other selection criteria are listed in the Constitution and Laws, Statute VII, Section 5. 

Current Recipients

Scroll through the slideshow below by using the arrows to see the 2020 Founders Fund Scholarship Recipients. There were 96 scholarships awarded totaled at $291,000. The recipients represented 53 schools in 26 different states.