Scholarships & Awards

Scholarships + Awards

Alumni, faculty, and friends have established a variety of awards to recognize and support deserving students in our department. These awards are given at the discretion of an award advisory committee including the department chairperson, and with the guidance of the IU Foundation.

Any currently enrolled full-time student who is a major, minor, or graduate student in the Department may apply.

Beginning Spring semester 2021, students are encouraged to apply for The Department of Theatre, Drama and Contemporary Dance scholarships and awards using the IU Scholarships task in One.IU.edu.

How to apply for a Theatre and Dance Scholarship

A Theatre and Dance Scholarship is much more than a monetary award. It is also an indication of your abilities, your work ethic, and your promise. When noted on your resume or printed in a bio, the designation “Scholarship Recipient” implies dedication, discipline, responsibility and initiative. That is the ongoing value of a scholarship awarded by our department.

Awards and Scholarships available to students in our department include:

Graduate Student Awards

Betty and Charles Aidman (Spoon River) Scholarship or Fellowship

This scholarship is given to one or more deserving undergraduate or graduate students in acting or directing, based upon merit and need.

Fontaine Syer Award Fellowship

This fellowship is used to support students pursuing a graduate degree in directing. 

Gary Gaiser Award

This award is given on an irregular basis to an undergraduate or graduate student who has been self-motivated and unusually innovative as an artist, technician, and/or scholar.

Foster Harmon Graduate Fellowship in Theatre

This award is given to a graduate student pursuing a major in the department.

David S. Hawes Award

This award is given to an undergraduate junior or senior majoring in the department, or to a student in the graduate program who has demonstrated exceptional creative work in playwriting, acting, or directing.

Hubert C. Heffner Fellowship

This award is given to a graduate student in the area of theatre history, theory, and dramatic literature.

Jay Mark Scholarship

This scholarship is given during even numbered years to a graduate student or undergraduate major.

Richard L. Scammon Scholarship

This award is presented to a graduate student in the department who exemplifies high artistic standards and a sense of dedication to theatre.

Robert R. and Wilda L. Crosby Fellowship

This gift is used to support undergraduate scholarships and graduate fellowships in Theatre + Drama.

Rosemary R. Schwartzel Scholarship

This scholarship honors and supports students in the department.