Speech & Hearing Sciences

Scholarships

Introduction to Scholarships in Speech and Hearing Sciences

The Speech and Hearing Sciences Department at PSU offers a variety of scholarships designed to support students pursuing undergraduate and graduate studies in communication sciences and disorders. These scholarships recognize academic promise, financial need, diverse lived experiences, and career aspirations across several specialized fields within speech-language pathology and audiology. 

Awards such as the Animo Scholarship, Dr. Lynn Fox Scholarship, Harrison-Edlefsen Endowed Scholarship, and others provide financial assistance and encourage applicants to demonstrate their commitment to underrepresented communities, clinical excellence, and impactful careers. 

See below for details, deadlines, and application instructions. If you have questions, please contact sphr@pdx.edu.

Scholarships for Both Graduate and Undergraduate Students:

  • Animo Scholarship (One award for undergraduate students, one award for graduate students)
  • Joan McMahon Endowed Scholarship

Scholarships for Undergraduate Students:

  • Animo Scholarship (One award is specifically for undergraduate students.)

Scholarships for Graduate Students:

  • Dr. Lynn Fox Scholarship
  • Harrison-Edlefsen Endowed Scholarship
  • Mary Gordon-Brannan Speech and Hearing Sciences Scholarship
  • Shari Kazdoy Memorial Endowed Scholarship
  • SPHR Diversity Scholarship

Additional Scholarship Available: Please visit PSU's Scholarship Universe page to access the scholarship information outside of the Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences.

Animo Scholarship

Available To: Undergraduate and graduate student studying Communication Sciences & Disorders. Applicants should either be bilingual or have lived cultural experiences that are underrepresented in the field of communication sciences and disorders.
Number of Awards: 2
Amount: $1,000 (1 award for graduate students, 1 award for undergraduate students)
Available: October of the upcoming academic year. Award will be dispersed evenly across Fall, Winter, and Spring terms of the upcoming school year.
Deadline: April 1

Eligibility: 

  1. Field of Study: Speech & Hearing: Communication Sciences & Disorders
  2. Class level: Undergraduate or Graduate
  3. Financial Need: Yes
  4. Other criteria: Bilingual or bicultural students whose languages and/or lived cultural experiences are underrepresented in the field of communication sciences and disorders.

Application:

  1. Complete the online application
  2. Applicants will need to submit a statement describing their lived experiences with bilingualism and biculturalism, leadership work or civic involvement within underrepresented communities, experience working with or as members of an underrepresented population.

Dr. Lynn Fox Scholarship 

The Lynn Fox Scholarship was established with a generous gift from Marcia Blasen, daughter of David Blasen, who was a client in the Aphasia Clinic at PSU. This scholarship has been named for Speech and Hearing Sciences Professor Emerita, Dr. Lynn Fox, in gratitude for her important work with the Blasen family and countless other families with a loved one with Aphasia. Dr. Fox's work focuses on the functional communication and social integration of people with Aphasia.

"Every step of my practice as an SLP involved collaboration with my clients, their families, and care partners to find solutions that were framed by their reality, consistent with my expertise, and ultimately led to meaningful change in the most important areas of their lives." -Dr. Lynn Fox

Available To: Graduate students in the Speech and Hearing Sciences Program. Priority will be given to students whose career plans include working with adults in a rehabilitation setting, with additional preference for students who demonstrate that they value engaging patients' families in the treatment process.
Number of Awards: Varies
Amount: Varies
Available: October of the upcoming academic year. Award will be dispersed evenly across Fall, Winter, and Spring terms.
Deadline: April 1

Eligibility: 

  1. Field of study: Students in the Speech and Hearing Sciences Program
  2. Class level: Graduate
  3. Other criteria: Students interested in working with older adult populations

Application:

  1. Complete the online application
  2. Applicants will need to submit a statement that discusses your career goals after you earn your graduate degree in Speech & Hearing Sciences. Include a discussion of your interests within the field, especially as they relate to practicing in an adult focused rehabilitation setting.

Harrison-Edlefsen Endowed Scholarship

The Harrison-Edlefsen Endowed Scholarship was established with a generous gift from Speech and Hearing Sciences alumna Sandra “Sandy Jo” Edlefsen, who earned her master’s degree from PSU in 2005. Sandy Jo’s education was made possible by a scholarship and she is pleased to be able to help current students complete their graduate degree.

Available To: First-year students in the Speech and Hearing Sciences Program
Number of Awards: 1
Amount: Varies
Available: October of the upcoming academic year. Award will be dispersed evenly across Fall, Winter, and Spring terms.
Deadline: April 1

Eligibility: 

  1. Field of study: First-year students in the Speech and Hearing Sciences Program
  2. Class level: Graduate
  3. Academic record/GPA: demonstrated academic promise
  4. Financial need: Yes

Application:

  1. Complete the online application
  2. Applicants will need to submit a statement that discusses your interests in pursuing a graduate degree in Speech & Hearing Sciences. Include a discussion of your background, including the academic and personal strengths that you will bring to this profession. 
  3. Applicants will need to provide a recommendation from a faculty member in the Department of Speech & Hearing Sciences.

Joan McMahon Endowed Scholarship

Available To: Undergraduate, graduate, and post-baccalaureate students traveling to conference. Support from the McMahon fund may be prioritized based on: (i) whether the student is a presenting author, (ii) the format of the presentation (oral presentation vs. poster), (iii) whether available funds from other resources are available, (iv) whether the student has received an award in the past, (v) whether the presentation is part of a student’s thesis or special project.
Number of Awards: Varies
Amount: The maximum amount of support per submission will not exceed $200.
Deadline: Varies. Applications will typically be reviewed twice per year: once in fall term and once in spring term.

Eligibility: 

  1. Field of study: Students in the Speech and Hearing Sciences Program
  2. Class level: Undergraduate, graduate, and post-baccalaureate

Application:

  1. See email from department

Mary Gordon-Brannan Speech and Hearing Sciences Scholarship Payout

The Gordon-Brannan Endowed Scholarship was established with a generous gift from Speech and Hearing Sciences Professor Emerita Mary Gordon-Brannan, who taught at PSU from 1972 until her retirement in 2002, and her husband Steve Brannan, also a Professor Emeritus at PSU. Dr. Gordon-Brannan’s specialty was in Child Phonology, and she was closely involved in the training of generations of school-based speech-language pathologists.

Available To: Graduate students in Speech & Hearing Sciences at PSU. Priority will be given to students whose career plans include working in the public schools with a focus on child phonology.
Number of Awards: Varies
Amount: Varies
Available: October of the upcoming academic year. Award will be dispersed evenly across Fall, Winter, and Spring terms.
Deadline: April 1

Eligibility: 

  1. Field of study: Students in the Speech and Hearing Sciences Program
  2. Class level: Graduate
  3. Academic record/GPA: Students should demonstrate academic promise; 3.5 GPA min
  4. Financial need: Yes
  5. Preference: Given to students who aspire to work with children in a school setting with a focus on phonology

Application:

  1. Complete the online application
  2. Applicants will need to submit a statement that discusses your career goals after you earn a graduate degree in Speech & Hearing Sciences. Include a discussion of your interests within the field, especially as they relate to practicing in a school setting, your interest in articulation and phonology in pediatric populations, and working with underserved populations. 

Shari Kazdoy Memorial Endowed Scholarship

Shari Kazdoy was a Clinical Audiologist in Portland State University’s Speech and Hearing program from 1979 to 1985. As a memorial to her, and her work in educating clinicians, this scholarship is offered to graduate students in the Speech and Hearing Sciences program.

Available To: Graduate students in Speech & Hearing Sciences at PSU. Priority will be given to students whose career plans include working in the public schools with a focus on child phonology.
Number of Awards: Varies
Amount: Varies
Available: October of the upcoming academic year. Award will be dispersed evenly across Fall, Winter, and Spring terms.
Deadline: April 1

Eligibility: 

  1. Field of study: Graduate students in the Speech and Hearing Sciences Program.
  2. Class level: Master's

Application:

  1. Complete the online application
  2. Applicants will need to submit a statement that discusses your career goals as well as academic and personal strengths that you will bring to the speech-language pathology profession. Include any pertinent information (as relevant) about your plans to work with individuals who are Deaf/Hard of Hearing.

SPHR Diversity Scholarship

The PSU SPHR Diversity Scholarship promotes diversity in the fields of speech-language pathology and audiology. Scholarship recipients will share their unique strengths and diverse perspectives in the field of speech-language pathology or audiology. This Scholarship is for students who are from diverse backgrounds and experiences who are underrepresented in higher education. 

Preference will be given to applicants who meet one or more of the following criteria:

  • Students who identify as having a physical, cognitive, learning or vision disability 
  • Students who have backgrounds that are underrepresented in the fields of speech-language pathology and audiology
  • Students who are first-generation college students/neither parent has a four year college degree

Available To: Graduate students in Speech & Hearing Sciences at PSU. 
Number of Awards: Varies
Amount: Varies
Available: October of the upcoming academic year. Award will be dispersed evenly across Fall, Winter, and Spring terms.
Deadline: April 1

Eligibility: 

  1. Field of study: Students in the Speech and Hearing Sciences Program
  2. Academic record/GPA: Students should demonstrate academic promise; 3.0 GPA min

Application:

  1. Completed the online application
  2. Applicants will need to submit a statement describing the following: 
    1.  Any extenuating circumstances regarding GPA, 
    2. your diverse lived experiences and your background as a member of a community or communities that are underrepresented in higher education, and 
    3. how these experiences described above contribute to your work with clients and their families in the field of speech language pathology or audiology.