The political science fraternity Pi Sigma Alpha got its origins at the University of Texas in Austin in December 1919 and formed the Alpha chapter in October 1920. Its inaugural class, comprised of undergraduate and graduate students, hosted an impressive membership list that included a future Supreme Court judge, US Attorney General, and a US ambassador. In 2021, the fraternal organization has expanded to a membership of 300,000 with almost 850 college campuses around the country.
Pi Sigma Alpha provides its members the chance to support their academic endeavors through various scholarship programs and awards. The organization’s goals focus on understanding the practical and scientific study of government, helping people understand government issues, and fostering reforms in government. The fraternity offers chapter grants and graduate and internship scholarships to students toward supporting the above aims.
One of the opportunities that students have to procure funding is through Chapter Activity Grants, which allow chapters to launch broader projects. One of the central benefits of the program is that it provides student members with grant and proposal writing experience. They also learn how to draft budgets and how to manage funded projects.
The grants awarded are typically for $2,000 a year and usually go to chapters whose project focuses on virtual or on-campus programming instead of taking trips. Further, they usually choose projects that move beyond the initial ceremony. A few of the activities that the grant money has been used for in the past include lectures, film series, writing workshops, speakers series, and community engagement, among other activities.
Students can get funding individually through McManus Washington Internship Scholarships and the Howard Penniman Scholarship for Graduate Study. The McManus Washington Internship Scholarship provides funding for four students for $2,000 to be used in the fall or spring semester.
One of the four scholarships is set aside for students involved with the Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars. Students working at the Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars can take advantage of another opportunity to give a winner of the scholarship an additional $2,500 to go toward room and board.
The purpose of the scholarship is to assist students working as a part of an internship in Washington, DC. Students can be working under the auspices of their academic institution or a recognized internship organization. Each chapter chooses candidates for the internship scholarship, and the national committee makes the selection based on merit and Pi Sigma Alpha service.
The following academic year, graduate students entering their program qualify to apply for the Howard Penniman Scholarship for Graduate Study. The scholarship program awards five scholarships for $2,000 for one academic year.
Finally, students also support various awards programs, such as Best Class Paper and Best Thesis Award. Both awards provide winners $250 and $100 to those who place second. Another award is the Best Chapter Award given to chapters based on their annual reports and any extraordinary evidence of chapter activity. Winners walk away with $500, and advisors to winning chapters are given $200.
The organization’s purpose in giving students these funding opportunities is two-fold. The first goal is to promote excellence in political science scholarship, and the second is to lay the foundation for expanding the fraternity’s scope in programming.
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