Women's Center Scholarships
The Women’s Center of UNO administers the following scholarships and book awards. Click on the titles below to download each application form.
Submitting Your Application
THE APPLICATION PERIOD FOR AY 2025-26 IS JANUARY 27-MARCH 27, 2025.
The due date for all COMPLETED applications is Thursday, March 27, 2025, by 4 p.m.
INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS: Please indicate in your application that you are an international student and do not have a FAFSA on file.
If applying for multiple scholarships: Submit one complete application containing all required documents for each scholarship.
Applicants must collect all material and submit it all at once.
Each application file must include your first and name and the name of the scholarship, plus the application semester and year; e.g., Frida_Kahlo_Amato_Spring2025
Attach all applications to one email to womenscenter@uno.edu.
Applicants may submit applications either online OR physically, but applications must be submitted in only one format; do NOT submit part of the application online and part of it physically. Pick one delivery method.
If submitting your application online, assemble all material for each application as a single Word document or PDF and email the application as an attachment to Kathy Rodriguez, Director, UNO Women’s Center at womenscenter@uno.edu. Please note: likely the best way to do this is to collect physical copies of all material and scan them into a single PDF.
If submitting in person, gather hard copies of all required material and submit your application in a large envelope marked with your name and the name of the scholarship for which you are applying. Submit your application packet to the Women’s Center, room 201, Earl K. Long Library by 4 p.m. on March 27, 2025.
If you choose to submit physical scholarship applications, PLEASE print material on ONE side of the paper only, and do NOT staple any pages together.
PLEASE REMEMBER: if you are applying for more than one scholarship, each scholarship requires a separate, COMPLETE application. Do NOT put your transcript or letters of recommendation in one file or one packet and then attach a note saying “please use the LORs in my Amato Scholarship file for my Foreman application also.” Each physical application and each electronically submitted application must be complete.
The Janet Neidermeier Interdisciplinary Endowed Scholarship
The Janet Neidermeier Interdisciplinary Endowed Scholarship is a one-time award of $2000 ($1000 towards tuition in the fall semester and $1000 towards tuition in the spring semester). The scholarship is available to women students in any major registered at UNO, who have completed at least one year of college at the time of the award. The scholarship seeks to reward students who demonstrate a deep understanding of the connection between the sciences and other academic disciplines and occupations.
The Janet Neidermeier Interdisciplinary Endowed Scholarship is made possible by Ms. Janet Neidermeier, a graduate of UNO with a B.S. in Math and an M.S. in Applied Physics. Ms. Neidermeier’s children also graduated from UNO with degrees in STEM fields: a daughter in 2019 with a B.S. in Computer Science and a son in 2021 with a B.S. in Environmental Science. Ms. Neidermeier’s aunt, the late Ms. Francine Foreman, left funds in her will to endow UNO’s Francine Foreman Women in STEM Memorial Scholarship. Ms. Neidermeier wishes to promote appreciation of the interdisciplinary connection between STEM subjects and other academic and occupational fields.
An applicant must:
- Be a registered, female undergraduate at UNO, 18 years of age or older.
- Have completed at least 24 hours of college courses towards a degree at the time of the award.
- Have a minimum 2.5 G.P.A. at the time of the award.
- Exhibit academic dedication, as well as insight into the interrelationships between academic disciplines.
A recipient must:
- Maintain full-time standing (no fewer than 12 hours during a regular semester) during the semesters she is receiving the award.
- Remain in good standing at the university.
EHAF Scholarship
The EHAF Scholarship, made possible by 2018 UNO graduate Saada Oulett Ibrahim and dedicated to her father, will provide the recipient with a $2600 award over two semesters ($1300 for fall 2024 and $1300 for spring 2025). The EHAF scholarship is open to female undergraduates at UNO in any major. Students with disabilities, financial and/or personal challenges, and non-traditional students are especially encouraged to apply. Preference will be given to students who demonstrate unusual perseverance in the face of barriers to their academic success.
An applicant must:
- Be a registered, female undergraduate at UNO, 18 years of age or older
- Have completed at least 24 hours of college courses within the past two years
- Have a minimum 2.0 G.P.A.
- Demonstrate financial need
- Exhibit academic dedication
A recipient must:
- Must be enrolled for 12 credit hours and volunteer 2 hours per week on campus, either at the Women’s Center or other approved UNO entity.
- Maintain full-time standing (no fewer than 12 hours during a regular semester)
- Maintain at least a cumulative 2.0 G.P.A.
The Virginia Rosanne Amato Memorial Scholarship
The Virginia Rosanne Amato Memorial Scholarship is available to female students registered at UNO, who have completed at least one year of college. The scholarship is being offered in honor and remembrance of Virginia Rosanne Amato, who was killed in an accident while studying abroad in 1996 at the age of 20. Over 100 scholarships have been awarded since the program's inception.
Application PROCESS
Applications for Women's Center scholarships open near the beginning of the Spring semester and are due near the beginning of April of the Spring semester. Please check the UNO website and other media, including UNO email, for specific dates. All scholarship recipients MUST have a current FAFSA on file with Financial Aid in order to receive a Women's Center Scholarship.
The scholarship is intended to acknowledge hard work, ambition, and motivation on the part of the recipient, in addition to academic success. The scholarship will provide in-state tuition, fees, and a book stipend at UNO to the recipient for the number of full-time semesters remaining until scheduled graduation. This scholarship is advertised in the Spring and awarded in the Fall.
Mrs. Amato explains, "Virginia's life was of the finest quality, and we are proud to be her parents. Her presence impacted many people. Now we would like to honor her memory by using resources available in her Foundation, which was established at the time of her death, to provide a positive impact in others' lives. Virginia was extremely focused and self-driven; she was adventurous and strong, overcoming personal fears to achieve the goals that she had set for herself. We want to extend the Virginia Rosanne Amato Memorial Scholarship to other women with those qualities of motivation, ambition and fortitude."
An applicant must:
- be a registered female undergraduate at UNO, 20 years of age or older at the time of the award
- have completed at least 24 hours of college courses in the past two years, with a 2.5 GPA
- demonstrate financial need
- exhibit academic dedication
A recipient must:
- continue to maintain at least a cumulative 2.5 GPA
- complete her degree within the number of semesters indicated on her application
- maintain full-time status (no less than 12 hours a regular semester) upon receipt of the scholarship
UNO Scholarship for Women in Computer Science
- be a female registered full-time at the University of New Orleans
- be enrolled with a major or minor in the department of Computer Science
- be enrolled in or completed CS2125
- exhibit dedication to the field of Computer Science
- up to $3045 per year for tuition.
- up to 1 year mentoring from founder Sabrina Farmer, Chief Technology Officer (optional)
- attendance (in-person or virtual) to "Grace Hopper Celebration" conference (optional)
The Francine Foreman Women in STEM Memorial Scholarship
The Francine Foreman Women in STEM Memorial Scholarship is a one-time award of $1000 towards tuition in the fall semester of the academic year. The scholarship is available to women students registered at UNO, who have completed at least one year of college and have declared a major in a STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) field. The scholarship is being offered in honor and remembrance of Ms. Francine Foreman.
Francine Foreman was a trailblazer for women working in STEM fields. Graduating from Newcomb College of Tulane University in 1961 with a degree in math, Ms. Foreman began her career as a computer programmer for IBM and worked on NASA’s Apollo Program. She went on to work for Entergy New Orleans, and after her retirement she volunteered at the Chalmette Public Library. Ms. Foreman frequently noted that she could not have attended Tulane had she not received a scholarship, and she specified that a portion of her estate should be set aside as a financial award to assist other women pursuing careers in the STEM fields.
An applicant must:
- Be a registered, female undergraduate at UNO, 18 years of age or older.
- Have completed at least 24 hours of college courses towards a degree with a declared major in a STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) discipline.
- Have a minimum 2.5 G.P.A. at the time of the award.
- Exhibit academic dedication.
A recipient must:
- Maintain full-time standing (no fewer than 12 hours during a regular semester) during the semester she is receiving the award.
- Remain in good standing at the university.
- Maintain her major in a STEM field during the semester she is receiving the award.
The Jacquelene (Jackie) Seal Book Award
The Jacquelene (Jackie) Seal Book Award is offered by the UNO Student Support Services (SSS) program and provides $250 to a woman student. Preference is given to applicants who are current and active participants with the SSS program. Jackie was a very active student with SSS. Days before her scheduled May 2000 graduation, she became a fatal victim of domestic violence. The SSS program offers this award in memory of Jackie and her strong commitment to succeed academically in the face of many hardships.
Each applicant for the book award must:
- be a registered woman student at the University of New Orleans
- be an undergraduate student
- be in full- or part-time standing (no less than six hours)
- demonstrate financial need
- demonstrate academic commitment (must not be on academic probation)
- exhibit academic dedication in the face of hardship.
The Rosalind June Backus Endowed Scholarship
Rosalind June Backus (née Speer) was born in a rural town in Kansas in 1940 where food was often hard to come by and education was a luxury for her family. Reading was her escape. Borrowing from the library, she would spend her free time getting lost in a mystery or the wild landscapes of a Louis L’Amour novel. When she graduated from high school, college was far too expensive, so Rosalind worked. She fell in love with Thomas Backus, and they soon married. While raising five children and often working up to three jobs to make ends meet, Rosalind inspired a love of reading and writing in all her children. Though she was able to take a few college classes herself, she was never able to dedicate enough resources to complete a college degree. However, Rosalind’s youngest child graduated from the Creative Writing Workshop at University of New Orleans (UNO) with an MFA in Creative Writing. Sadly, Rosalind did not live to see her daughter earn that diploma as she passed away just days after her 59th wedding anniversary. This scholarship, established in Rosalind’s memory, is meant to uplift and inspire women who may be pursuing a bachelor’s degree after raising a family or working to make ends meet.
This scholarship will be a one-time $500 award in the fall semester.
An applicant must:
- Be a registered undergraduate at UNO, at least 40 years of age at the time of the award. (Incoming freshmen may apply before they are registered, but must be registered in the fall semester following in order to receive the award.)
- Have a minimum 3.0 GPA if she is a continuing student, OR provide a letter of recommendation from an employer or other professional reference if she is an incoming freshman.
- Identify as a woman
- Exhibit academic dedication
A recipient must:
- Be enrolled for at least 12 credit hours during the semester she receives the award.
- Maintain full-time standing (no fewer than 12 hours during a regular semester).
- Maintain at least a cumulative 3.0 G.P.A.