Quick Links
- Scholarship Information Session - Spring 2024
- How to Apply for Funding
- Labor Studies - Scholarships and Fellowships
- Labor Studies - Best Paper/Project Prize
About
Are you an undergrad passionate about social justice? A graduate student writing a dissertation on a labor-related topic? A busy activist building a student group or union campaign?
You are in luck! Each year, the Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies awards over $50,000 in scholarships and fellowships to students at the University of Washington. The awards are available to students at multiple stages of education and experience, from incoming freshman to senior graduate students. Individual award amounts range from $1,000 to $10,000. Students at any of the three University of Washington campuses (Seattle, Bothell or Tacoma) are eligible to apply.
Scholarship Information Session
If you are curious about the scholarship and fellowship selection process, how to strengthen your application, or how to work on your application collectively with Bridges Center staff and other students, please register for our in-person Scholarship Information Session on Wednesday, April 10th, from 3:30PM to 5PM in the ECC Chicano/Native Room. Food will be provided, and dietary restriction information is requested. Register here.
How to Apply for Funding
The online application has been extended for the Kennedy-Drayton Scholarship for incoming undergraduate students (including transfer students) enrolling at the UW. The application deadline for this award has been extended to Monday, June 3rd, at 11:59PM. Access the application by clicking on this link: 2024-2025 HARRY BRIDGES CENTER KENNEDY-DRAYTON SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION.
Application Instructions
By submitting the online application, you will be considered for all Labor Studies awards you qualify for (in this case, ONLY the Kennedy-Drayton Scholarship). The deadline to apply is Monday, June 3rd, 2024 at 11:59PM.
To strengthen your application, we highly recommend you familiarize yourself with the terms of specific Labor Studies awards you are eligible for and prepare your application with the intents and purposes of these awards in mind.
Prior to accessing the on-line application, a student should prepare the following materials:
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Essay Responses. Please prepare written answers to the following questions. We recommend compiling answers into a separate document before entering them into the on-line application. This will ensure your responses are saved on multiple platforms, as answers entered in the on-line application are not saved until they are submitted.
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Tell us about any labor, social justice, or racial justice issues that you are passionate about and why these issues matter to you. Please share your history of involvement with these issues, which may include but is not limited to personal experience, advocacy, or research. If relevant, highlight issues related to waterfront industries or organized labor. Please limit your response to 800 words or less.
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How will funding from the Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies support the goals you have for your education at the University of Washington? How do you plan to engage with the labor movement during your studies here? How will the fellowship prepare you for what you want to accomplish upon completion of your degree? Again, if relevant, highlight issues relevant to waterfront industries or organized labor. Please limit your response to 400 words or less.
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Optional Essay Response(s) - NOT NEEDED for the Kennedy-Drayton Application (please disregard). If you would like to be considered for the LERA and Bassett Scholarships in Labor Relations and/or the Duggan Fellowship in Caring Labor, please include the following additional essay response(s):
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Martha H. Duggan Fellowship in Caring Labor. Please include a written response detailing your involvement and commitment to caring labor. Please limit your response to 800 words or less.
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LERA Scholarship and Samuel Bassett Scholarship in Labor Relations. Please include a statement explaining your intention to pursue a career in labor relations. Please limit response to 400 words or less.
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Silme Domingo and Gene Viernes Scholarship in Labor Studies. Please include a response to the following question: How do you see yourself advancing the legacy of Silme Domingo and Gene Viernes? Please limit response to 400 words or less.
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A brief letter of support from a teacher or community member.
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A high school or college transcript (which ever is most recent). Unofficial transcripts are acceptable.
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Up to date contact information, including e-mail, mailing addresses, and phone number.
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Optional: Additional documents demonstrating your commitment to labor or Labor Studies, such as a resume or curriculum vitae, may also be submitted.
Questions?
Contact the Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies at hbcls@uw.edu or (206) 543-7946. You may also visit the Bridges Center office on the UW Seattle campus in Smith Hall, room M266, located on the mezzanine level between the second and third floors.
Labor Studies Scholarships and Fellowships
The Bridges Center honors students annually with the following awards. For more information about each award, please click on the name of individual awards in the list below.
| Name | Eligibility | Amount |
|---|---|---|
|
Undergraduate or graduate students |
$6,000 over two years | |
|
Undergraduate or graduate students |
$5,500 |
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Undergraduate students |
Up to $5,000 over two years | |
|
Labor and Employment Relations Association (LERA) Scholarship |
Undergraduate or graduate students pursuing a labor-related career |
$1,000 |
|
Graduate students studying and/or providing caring labor |
$10,000 |
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|
Undergraduate students |
$5,500 |
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Undergraduate or graduate students pursuing a labor-related career |
$4,500 |
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First-year undergraduate students or graduate students of any year, who qualify for financial aid |
$6,000 over two years |
Best Paper/Project in Labor Studies Prize
Each year, the Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies recognizes the best papers and projects on a labor-related topic, by both undergraduate and graduate students, with prizes of $500 cash.
A special award is reserved for the Best Paper on a Labor History topic. This award is the result of a generous endowment established in 2018 by the Pacific Northwest Labor History Association (PNLHA) in honor of the organization's 50th anniversary. Since 1968, the PNLHA has worked to document and promote the unique and storied working history of the Pacific Northwest region, serving students, union members, academics and independent scholars across British Columbia, Oregon, and Washington State. In addition to the cash prize, Best Labor History Paper Prize recipients will receive a complementary membership in the Association and an invitation to present their work at the annual PNLHA conference. Funding for travel to the conference may also be available.
Click here to view a sampling of past award-winning projects.
Competition Guidelines
- Both original written papers and other forms of media (e.g. videos, podcasts, visual art, etc.) are eligible for this competition. Submitted papers or projects must have been written during the current academic year at one of the University of Washington campuses (Bothell, Seattle or Tacoma).
- Submitted papers must have been written during the current academic year at one of the University of Washington campuses.
- Papers/projects may focus on any dimension of United States or international labor, including class relations, social conditions, working-class culture or politics, work and gender, work and race/ethnicity, unions, and comparative labor relations.
- Students may submit their own papers/projects, or faculty members may nominate outstanding papers/projects they have reviewed during the course of the year.
- Submissions may be made at any time during the academic year up until the Monday following finals week of spring quarter. For the 2023-2024 competition, this deadline is Monday, June 10, 2024.
- Winners are expected to attend the Bridges Center's Annual Awards Celebration Banquet held each November, as well as prepare a poster showcasing their work for the Celebration.
How to Submit Your Paper/Project
Please submit:
- An electronic copy of your paper or project (one submission allowed per student)
- Your summer and fall contact information (email and phone number)
A committee comprised of faculty members associated with the Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies will judge the papers. The winners will be announced by early August and the prizes will be presented at the Bridges Center's annual awards celebration held each November.
Send submissions as attachments to hbcls@uw.edu . Questions may also be directed to that address.