Scholarships and Awards

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Walter F. Scheffer Scholarship is a scholarship that was established to honor Regents' Professor Emeritus Walter F. Scheffer who was instrumental in developing the MPA program at OU and pioneered its offering through the Advanced Programs format. The award is based on merit as indicated by grade point average, letters of recommendation, career accomplishments or other evidence of academic promise. One (and possibly two) is given each year.

To be eligible for this scholarship, students must apply by February 1, have an OU grade point average of 3.5 on a minimum of 8 hours of graduate work with OU and no more than 24 hours (including transfer credit). The scholarship is awarded in September at the Department's annual award luncheon.

Scheffer Scholarship Application

John Halvor Leek Memorial Scholarships are awarded to graduate students in the MA, MPA (Main Campus or OU-Tulsa only), or PhD Programs in the Department, who have at least a 3.50 cumulative GPA in the OU graduate coursework. These scholarships are funded through an endowment of the late David Ross Boyd Professor John Halvor Leek, a distinguished professor in the Department for thirty-nine years, and his sister, the late Normal Leek. The application deadline is March 15.

Hugh MacNiven Award is given each academic year for the outstanding MPA final research paper. The award honors Professor Emeritus Hugh MacNiven who was the department chair during the eight-year period when the MPA degree program grew rapidly under his guidance. Faculty members nominate eligible papers and the final selection is determined by the Public Administration Faculty Committee.