Ruth Abernathy Presidential Scholarship Last Chance

About This Scholarship

The Ruth Abernathy Presidential Scholarship is the flagship student award from SHAPE America, the national professional association for health and physical education teachers. Undergraduate winners receive $1,250 and graduate winners receive $1,750, and every recipient also gets a complimentary three-year SHAPE America membership — a meaningful extra for students entering a field where the association's conferences and job boards matter.

The academic bar is the highest of SHAPE America's awards: a minimum 3.5 GPA, with eligibility limited to undergraduate juniors and seniors at baccalaureate-granting institutions and full-time master's or doctoral students. Applicants must major in health, physical education, recreation, or dance, and must be current SHAPE America members — though students can join at the time of application.

SHAPE America runs its student scholarships through a single shared application, so one submission also puts qualifying applicants in the running for the Bill Kane Undergraduate Scholarship and the Barbara A. Cooley Master's Scholarship ($1,000 each, with lower GPA cutoffs). Applications close October 15, making this an early-fall deadline to calendar at the start of junior year.

Eligibility

• Major in health, physical education, recreation, or dance
• Undergraduates: juniors or seniors at a baccalaureate-granting institution; graduates: full-time master's or doctoral students
• Minimum 3.5 GPA
• Current SHAPE America membership (students may join at the time of application)
• First-time recipients only

How To Apply

• Join SHAPE America as a student member if you are not already one
• Complete the shared scholarship application linked from the Abernathy scholarship page
• Document your GPA and major in a qualifying field
• Submit by the October 15 deadline

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Frequently Asked Questions