Scholarships and Awards

Bernard J. Kwiatkowski Memorial Scholarship

The purpose of this fund is to provide scholarship support for one student each year in the Masters Program in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders. Each student recipient will be selected based on:

• outstanding performance in clinical practicums during the first year of the Masters Program, to include:
  • the entire first to master and
  • the second semester up to mid-term
• financial need

Outstanding clinical performance will be documented through a letter written by the student’s clinical professor in his or her first year of clinical experiences. Financial needs will be determined by the department based on a ranking of possible scholarship candidates by the Office of Student Financial Aid.

The award will be available late in the spring semester of the student’s first year of the Masters Program.

Before submitting an application, applicants should confirm with faculty that they are willing to be listed as a reference for the letter of recommendation.

Who can apply: First-year Masters SLP students

Offered: Spring

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Emma Allen Fellowship Award

The Emma Allen Fellowship Awards are made possible by a generous bequeathal from Emma Allen, a 1957 Ph.D. graduate of our Department and the UW-Madison. Awards can be made for funds up to an amount of $1000.00, to be used for research expenditures and/or travel to professional conferences. An award of travel funds will only be considered when the student is presenting research (oral or poster presentation) at a state, national, or international conference and related airfare is booked through the UW’s designated travel agency. Applicants will be required to complete a budget form that justifies/explains the budget along with the application. The advisor’s letter should indicate that they are aware of and support the budget that is being proposed.

Before submitting an application, applicants should confirm with faculty that they are willing to be listed as a reference for the letter of recommendation.

Who can apply: CSD Ph.D. students, Masters SLP students, Audiology students

In years when there is surplus in available funds, awards may be made to students in clinical training programs for various training activities.

Offered: Fall and Spring

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Frank V. Powell Award

Frank V. Powell was a director of the Division for Handicapped Children, Department of Public Instruction. He was an educator in Wisconsin for nearly 50 years and was interested in the field of “speech correction,” as it was known then.

The Frank V. Powell Award was created by his family in his memory and was active from 1958 – 2022. The award was distributed annually to a junior or senior undergraduate student majoring in Communication Sciences and Disorders. The award recipients’ names are engraved on a plaque displayed on the fourth floor of Goodnight Hall.

Before submitting an application, applicants should confirm with faculty that they are willing to be listed as a reference for the letter of recommendation.

Who can apply: Junior or senior undergraduate students majoring in Communication Sciences and Disorders

Offered: Spring –  Pending (not offered in 2024)

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Go Big Red Scholarship

Go Big Red Scholarship was established in 2011 by her colleagues to honor the career of Mary E. Smith, a clinical faculty member in Communication Sciences and Disorders for her 44 years to honor her commitment to teaching, scholarship and service efforts. Her father, ‘Red’, instilled in her the value of education. This scholarship will be given to a graduate student in speech language pathology annually with an expressed specialty preference for diagnostics and assessment and thereby extend Mary’s legacy.

Award recipients are selected via recommendation of the faculty.

Before submitting an application, applicants should confirm with faculty that they are willing to be listed as a reference for the letter of recommendation.

Who can apply: Masters SLP students

Offered: Spring

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Julie Anderson Wagner Memorial Scholarship

This scholarship was established in 2015 to honor the memory of Julie Anderson Wagner. This fund supports future speech-language pathologists studying at UW-Madison who share Julie’s passion for improving children’s lives through better communication. The endowment supports a scholarship to be provided every year to a student in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders studying to become a speech-language pathologist.

Learn more about Julie Anderson Wagner

Before submitting an application, applicants should confirm with faculty that they are willing to be listed as a reference for the letter of recommendation.

Who can apply: Masters SLP students

Offered: Spring

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Lewis Family Scholarship

This scholarship is made possible by a gift from Nancy Lewis and her husband, Paul. Both are UW–Madison graduates, Mr. Lewis from the School of Business and Mrs. Lewis from the School of Education and the College of Letters and Science. The Lewis Family Scholarship was established to provide financial assistance to an outstanding student in the communicative disorders program. Nancy Lewis received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in communicative disorders from UW–Madison and has worked in schools in the Minneapolis area. She received scholarship support as a student and wants to return the favor by supporting current SLP graduate students and Doctor of Audiology students in the field.

Scholarship recipients must remain a full-time graduate student in the UW-Madison Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders.

Before submitting an application, applicants should confirm with faculty that they are willing to be listed as a reference for the letter of recommendation.

Who can apply: Masters SLP and Audiology students who intend to obtain their degree from UW-Madison’s Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders.

Offered: Spring

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Linda L. Parisi-Ruffalo Award

This endowed fund was established in 2013 by Linda L. Ruffalo.

The purpose of this endowed scholarship is to provide financial support for full-time undergraduate students in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders who are majoring in the areas of Speech-Language Pathology or Audiology. The only requirement for awarding this scholarship is that the student have a demonstrated financial need as determined by the Office of Student Financial Aid at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. If no such student can be found in the specific aforementioned areas, the donor requests that the scholarship not be awarded for that year and a larger scholarship awarded when an eligible recipient can be found.

Before submitting an application, applicants should confirm with faculty that they are willing to be listed as a reference for the letter of recommendation.

Who can apply: Full-time undergraduate students in the Department of Communication Sciences

Offered: Spring

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Loon Fellowship Award

The Loon Fellowship, a group of former UW-Madison master’s program students in Communication Sciences and Disorders, has established an award to recognize contributions by an M.S. or Au.D. student who creates and fosters a sense of community and fellowship among graduate students.

Nominees should be first-year professional-degree graduate students in good academic standing majoring in speech-language pathology or audiology, or first-year master’s-degree students in Communication Sciences and Disorders. There are no restrictions as to citizenship, age, gender, undergraduate degree, financial need or grade point average.

Nominations are sought from faculty, clinical instructors and graduate students at any point in their academic programs. Nominations should be limited to one page and should address student leadership as evidenced by the nominee’s support of fellow graduate students, and actions which foster professional development and personal relationships among students. Nominees will then be contacted and asked to prepare short responses to a limited number of questions.

Before submitting an application, applicants should confirm with faculty that they are willing to be listed as a reference for the letter of recommendation.

Offered: Spring

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Phi Beta Award

The Phi Beta Award is given to a junior student based on good scholarship and character, demonstrated talent and achievement in speech or music, promise of continuing achievement as judged by a peer group of faculty. The award rotates among four departments including: Department of Music, Department of Theatre and Drama, Department of Communication Arts and Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders. An award is given to a CSD student(s) every four years.

Nominees should display outstanding character, scholarship, and professional skill.

Before submitting an application, applicants should confirm with faculty that they are willing to be listed as a reference for the letter of recommendation.

Who can apply: A junior undergraduate student in the Department of Music, Department of Theatre and Drama, Department of Communication Arts and Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders

Offered: An award is given to a CSD student(s) every four years. CSD will offer the Phi Beta award in Spring of 2026

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Ray Kent Doctoral Scholarship

The Ray Kent Doctoral Scholarship is a fund administered through the University of Wisconsin Foundation for the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, UW-Madison.

The fund will be used to award a scholarship, once a year, to a doctoral student who is in the second year of the program or later. The fund is intended to support a student research project that emulates the interest areas and high level of scholarship exemplified by Professor Kent throughout his career at UW-Madison. These interest areas include motor speech disorders, normal speech production studies, speech development, and other areas of speech-language pathology.

The award will be made competitively, on the basis of an application made by the doctoral student. In the application letter, students should describe their academic interests, background, and long term goals. The letter should also include a description of a specific research project that the funds will be used to support. In addition, specific research components for which funds will be used should be described. Application letters should not exceed 2-3 pages.

The Ray Kent Doctoral Scholarship can be used to support travel to a meeting for which the aforementioned research project will be presented. However, preference will be given to applications requesting support for research activities other than travel. A scholarship will be available each year, the amount of which will depend on the fund balance as well as the fund needs described in the application.

Before submitting an application, applicants should confirm with faculty that they are willing to be listed as a reference for the letter of recommendation.

Who can apply: CSD doctoral student who is in the second year of the program or later. The fund is intended to support a student research project that emulates the interest areas and high level of scholarship exemplified by Professor Kent throughout his career at UW-Madison. These interest areas include motor speech disorders, normal speech production studies, speech development, and other areas of speech-language pathology.

Offered: Fall

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Shana Kay Memorial Scholarship

The Shana Kay Memorial Scholarship was established to remember Shana, who was a diligent and enthusiastic student at UW-Madison planning for a career in speech pathology. Sadly, her life ended after her Freshman year in July 2005 from viral encephalitis. Shana was a spirited but serious student who was committed to helping people with communicative disorders. Her compassionate and magnetic personality would have contributed to her success as a speech-language pathologist. Beginning in Fall 2008, the Shana Kay Memorial Scholarship is granted to a student with a commitment to excellence in Communication Sciences & Disorders.

Faculty recommend an undergraduate student who has:

• a commitment to excellence in Communication Sciences and Disorders (preferably studying Speech-Language Pathology), and
• financial need.

Learn more about Shana Kay

Before submitting an application, applicants should confirm with faculty that they are willing to be listed as a reference for the letter of recommendation.

Who can apply: Undergraduate students majoring in Communication Sciences and Disorders

Offered: Spring

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ASHFoundation Grants and Awards

The ASHFoundation supports innovators and sparks innovation in communication sciences. They give early support to promising students, researchers, and clinicians exploring bold ideas to transform the field and improve people’s lives. ASHFoundation offers various awards and scholarships based around research, servitude, and achievements.

Visit the ASHFoundation website to review available awards and scholarships.

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Wisconsin Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology Association (WSHA) Foundation Scholarships

The WSHA Foundation currently sponsors several annual scholarship competitions, with awards announced at the Association’s Convention in the spring of each year. In awarding scholarships, WSHA does not discriminate based on race, color, creed, age, gender, sexual orientation, or disability. Each scholarship carries its own set of eligibility criteria and procedures. In general, however, all application materials must be received by WSHA on or before the specified date each year. Incomplete or late applications will be disqualified.

Visit the WSHA website to review available awards and scholarships.

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Wisconsin Maternal and Child Heath (MCH) LEND Program

The Wisconsin Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) Program provides interdisciplinary and disciplinary leadership training in order to improve systems of care that promote the prevention of disabilities and assure access to family-centered, community-based services and supports for children with neurodevelopmental disabilities and their families. WI LEND provides advanced training to graduate students, post-graduates, family members, self-advocates, and community professionals who already demonstrate a commitment to promoting quality systems of care for children and their families.

Visit the Waisman Center’s LEND website to learn more.

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Speech Pathology Masters Programs

Speech Pathology Masters Programs has a comprehensive list of opportunities for earning financial assistance towards your master’s in speech! Here you will find over 60 great scholarships that you can use towards your master’s in speech pathology tuition or research, complete with information on award amounts and eligibility. Scholarships are available at the national, regional, or state-wide level.

Visit the Speech Pathology Masters Programs website to learn more.

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