The Betty Baum and Norman Hirschfield Award was permanently endowed in Women's and Gender Studies by Alan Hirschfield in 1999 in memory of his parents. The Hirschfields lived in Oklahoma City for many years and created this generous endowment to support single mothers returning to the University of Oklahoma, Norman Campus. Three scholarships of $4000 each are awarded annually. The application deadline for 2010-11 competition is April 1, 2010 at 5:00 p.m.

Application Criteria

The applicant must satisfy the following criteria to be eligible for the competition:
• be a single mother raising children;
• have completed, within the previous five years, the equivalent of two semesters of study (30 hours);
• have completed coursework with GPA 3.0 or better; and
• be a full-time student at the University of Oklahoma, Norman Campus.

Application Materials Required

• completed and signed cover sheet:
• autobiographical essay of 4-5 pages which should include relevant information on family and educational background, significant events that led to the applicant to return to school, parenting responsibilities, challenges faced in pursuing an education, and how the award would impact future plans;
• typical week's schedule outlining daily activities;
• budget summary. Budget information should be provided in a consistent fashion, i.e., weekly, monthly, or annually. Gross income, DHS funding, and other sources of funding should be indicated;
• demonstration of needs, i.e. copy of OU FAN for 2009-10

• official transcripts of all academic work; and,
• three letters of reference for graduate applicants and two letters for undergraduate applicants, at least one of which must be from the applicant's instructor; relatives are not acceptable references; forms are in the application materials.

Click here to get the application package.

Criteria for Review Process

• autobiographical essay will be used to evaluate the feasibility the applicant's plans, her ability to articulate her goals, her level of motivation, and the clarity of her thinking and writing skills;
• candidate's likelihood of academic success as judged by letters of reference, academic record, typical week's schedule, and autobiographical essay;
• likelihood that this award will make a difference, as judged by the autobiographical essay, budget, typical week's schedule, and letters of reference; and,
• the budget and autobiographical essay will be used to distinguish between otherwise equivalent candidates according to need.

Application Submission Instructions

You may download the forms for each section on the application from our website, http://www.ou.edu/womstudy or pick up copies at the Women's and Gender Studies office. To access forms on our website, click on Academics and then on Scholarships. Please mail or hand-deliver the completed application (5 copies) to the Women's and Gender Studies office.

Please compile each application in the following order:

A. Cover sheet
B. Autobiographical Essay
C. Typical Week's Schedule
D. Budget summary
E. Official transcript(s)
F. Letters of reference *

*Although a form is online for letters of reference, they are to be sent directly to the Women's and Gender Studies Program. They will be photocopied in the Women's and Gender Studies office and added to applications.

Contact information is listed below: