Scholarships & Awards

The Department of Political Science has several academic scholarships and awards for our undergraduate and graduate students.

How do I apply?

The call for applications are typically at the beginning of spring semester. For academic year 2024-2025, applications for all scholarships will be due March 2025. 

Although scholarship applications are due in spring semesters, you must be enrolled in classes in the following fall semester to be eligible. Scholarship recipients receive funding through their financial aid. While graduating seniors are no longer eligible for scholarships, they are eligible for departmental awards, listed at the bottom of this page. 

In spring semesters, after scholarships are posted, students can apply during through the Bronco Scholarship Portal. Although this page lists the opportunities in the department, once logged in with your Bronco ID and password, you can search the Bronco Scholarship Portal. Below each scholarshipm, you can also find unique links that will take you directly to each scholarship.

Click here for the Bronco Scholarship Application

Department Scholarships

John H. Esterline Scholarship in Political Science ($1,000)

The Esterline Scholarship is given in tribute to former Department Chair and faculty member Dr. John Esterline. After a distinguished career in diplomacy for the United States, Dr. Esterline served in the department until his death in 1996. The scholarship is awarded from an endowment fund at Cal Poly Pomona established through the generous contributions of the family, friends, and colleagues of Professor John H. Esterline.

Selection Criteria

• Must be a Political Science major
• Must be enrolled in classes for Fall 2022
• Must have a GPA greater than or equal to 3.2
• Must demonstrate interest in international affairs in the general application essay
• International students may apply
• Preference will be given to students who were not given a department scholarship in previous years

Click here to apply for the John H. Esterline Scholarship

Previous John H. Esterline Scholarship Recipients
2015 - Melissa Petersen
2016 - Steven Zhang
2017 - Daniel Raad
2018 - Daniel Raad
2019 - Zachary Wardlow
2020 - Alex Carcamo & Yesennia Sandoval
2021 - Raisa Majid & Avery Ulinskas
2022 - Martha Juarez Martinez & Cole McMillin
2023 - Emily Phan & Nathalie Vasquez
2024 - Aakriti Adhikari, Cole McMillin, & Stephanie Paredes

Bruce E. Wilson Memorial Scholarship ($500)

The scholarship is a tribute to Dr. Bruce E. Wilson, one of the founding members of the Political Science Department, whose ideas, enterprise, and labors should always be remembered. Professor Wilson was the chief driving force behind both the founding and the first years of the department’s development. 

Selection Criteria

• Must be a Political Science Major
• Must be enrolled in classes for Fall 2022
• International students may apply
• Preference will be given to students who were not given a department scholarship in previous years
  

Click here to apply to the Bruce E. Wilson Scholarship

Previous Bruce E. Wilson Scholarship Recipients
2015 - Mary Ashley Cherney
2016 - Wilma Rodriguez
2017 - Clarissa Lemus
2018 - Alexandria Hostin
2019 - Jacob Wolak
2020 - Miguel Franco & Farah Sanchez
2021 - Lucia Torres & Joanna Flamenco
2022 - Mitzi Esquivel & Tala Qasqas
2023 - Daniela Pena-Angulo & Melani Quezada
2024 - Kyra Garza & Aman Safi

George P. Hart Scholarship ($500)

The scholarship is a memorial to George Hart who devoted thirty years to Cal Poly Pomona as a member of the Political Science Department and as Associate Dean in the School of Arts (now the College of Letters, Arts, and Social Sciences). He served on the Academic Senate from 1983 to 1995, acting as chair from 1987 through 1989. His life serves as a tribute to the pursuit of academic excellence and dedicated leadership.

Selection Criteria

• Must be a Political Science Major
• Must be enrolled in classes for Fall 2022
• Must demonstrate interest in community affairs in general application essay
• International students may apply
• Preference will be given to students who were not given a department scholarship in previous years

Click here to apply for the George P. Hart Scholarship

Previous George P. Hart Scholarship Recipients
2015 - Raquel Mercado
2016 - Nafisa Ahmed
2017 - Alex Gharapetian
2018 - Alexis Ruiz-Ramirez
2019 - Jasmin Ledezma
2020 - Jocelyn Alfaro & Anjana Renteria
2021 - Chelsy Palafox & Breanna Caal
2022 - Maria Matos Lujan & Jessica Yanez
2023 - Norma Galeas & Zé Ferreyra
2024 - Michael Miser & Jocelyn Sandoval

BNI-Misner Endowed Scholarship for Political Science ($1,000)

The BNI-Misner Endowed Scholarship for Political Science is awarded to promising students currently majoring in political science to support their first year at Cal Poly Pomona. 

Selection Criteria

• Must be a Political Science major
• Must have completed no more than 30 residency semester units by the end of Spring 2022
• Must be enrolled in classes for Fall 2022
• Must have a Cal Poly Pomona GPA greater than or equal to 3.0 at the end of Spring 2022
• Must demonstrate interest in school and/or community service in the general application essay
• Preference will be given to students who demonstrate financial need in the application essay
  

Click here to apply to the BNI-Misner Scholarship

Previous BNI-Misner Scholarship Recipients
2020 - Aanuoluwap Akingbemi, Orlando Arbizu,Jesse Elisara, Francine Espinosa, Jose Jauregui, Pasindu Perera, Prabhat Jammalamadaka, Sofia Rosales, Destany Vickers
2021 - Hennessy Gomez & Leen Salid
2022 - Melanie Olmeda & Fiona Takeuchi

John A. Mortberg Endowed Scholarship ($1,000)

The John A. Mortberg Endowed Scholarship in Political Science will be awarded to graduate students in the Masters in Public Administration (MPA) program. The scholarship is intended to support promising MPA students who are pursuing a career in public service.

Selection Criteria

• Must be currently enrolled in the MPA Program
• Must be enrolled in classes for Fall 2022 
• Must demonstrate interest and commitment to a career in public service in their personal statement
• Preference will be given to students who demonstrate financial need

Click here to apply to the John A. Mortberg Scholarship

Previous John A. Mortberg Scholarship Recipients
2021 - Angela Chavez, Nicholas Delgado, Maya Monges Hernandez, Emely Nguyen, Yenifer Say
2022 - Lisa McCarthy & Sue Monemi
2023 - Joseph Amir & George Magallon
2024 - Joselyn Archila-Tello & Wail Jamal  

Department Awards

Seniors are eligible for the following awards after they complete the senior capstone courses. These awards may or may not carry a monetary prize and are typically announced at the end of spring semester. 

Best Senior Capstone Paper

These awards are offered annually to outstanding papers written for both Senior Thesis and Senior Internship. Award recipients must satisfy the requirements of the course, but also demonstrate mastery of the skills taught in the major. The student must also demonstrate academic acheivement while in the Political Science Department. 

Previous Best Senior Capstone Paper Recipients
2013 - Meghan Callahan 
2014 - Fernando Garcia
2015 - Mariah Lindsay
2016 - Travis Barrett & Joshua Ebiner
2017 - Aubrey Ackermann, Tara Kwan, Mirette Morcos, & Thomas Davis
2018 - Gregory Li & Laura Yeghiazaryan
2019 - Ana Larroque & Amy Stubblefield
2020 - Jackeline Cortez, Fernando Garcia, Kristen Hernandez, Amber Myles, Alexis Ramirez-Ruiz

Best Senior Conference Presentation 

These awards are offered annually to outstanding presentation given for both Senior Thesis and Senior Internship. Award recipients must satisfy the requirements of the course, but also demonstrate mastery of the skills taught in the major. The student must also demonstrate academic acheivement while in the Political Science Department. 

Previous Best Senior Conference Presentation Recipients
2014 - Sarah Nenadovic
2015 - Robert Rhodes
2016 - Balki Bayahan
2017 - Ashling Kelly
2018 - Savannah Dao, Arman Ghomi, & Kristen Khair
2019 - Lauren Daisy Berg & Genesis Gonzalez

Outstanding Political Science Graduating Senior

The political science major with the highest grade point average for "all college work" at the end of the fall Semester will be designated as the Outstanding Political Science Graduating Senior. The pool of eligible students shall consist of all political science majors listed as "candidates for graduation" since the previous graduation ceremony.

Previous Outstanding Graduating Seniors
2014 - Christopher Vordahl*
2015 - Mariah Lindsay
2016 - Peter Tran
2017 - Thomas Davis
2018 - Laura Yeghiazaryan*
2019 - Daniel Acosta
2020 - Jackeline Cortez & Jeremy Santos
2021 - Erika Soares
2022 - Evan Park

*Denotes that this student is the CLASS Julian A. McPhee Valedictorian, earning the highest GPA amongst all 11 departments in the college.

Dr. G. Sidney Silliman Thesis Award ($1,000)

The award is for the best senior thesis by a political science major in the area of public policy and endangered species protection. A thesis focused on public policy, and threatened or endangered species within the California Desert Conservation Area, will be recognized as especially meritorious. A minimum of one thesis in the designated area is sufficient to select an awardee.

Please submit the general application with a copy of their thesis. The student must also demonstrate academic achievement in the Political Science Department.

Previous G. Sidney Siliman Thesis Award Recipients
2015 - Jose Gomez-Perez
2016 - Elena Ramirez
2018 - Maxwell Iskiev
2019 - Ana Larroque & Amy Stubblefield
2020 - Timothy Moffitt

Retired Scholarships

The following department scholarships were given with a one-time gift to the department. 

The Sean Yu Student Leadership Scholarship
in honor of Professor David Speak

The Sean Yu Student Leadership Scholarship was awarded annually to a student in the Political Science major who provided leadership to student organizations during their time at Cal Poly Pomona. Of particular salience was activity in the Political Science Club, the Model UN, the Mock Trial and ASI.

Previous Sean Yu Leadership Scholarship Recipients
2015 - Travis Barrett
2016 - Tara Kwan
2017 - Maxwell Iskiev
2018 - Athenamarie Garcia-Gunn
2019 - Alexandra Porges
2020 - Jared Hasen-Klein & Natalie Kassar
2021 - Danna Batarni & Derek Sweem