Department Scholarships

Fall Awards

ALC Community Building Scholarship

The Department of Asian Languages & Cultures will award two deserving students at the sophomore or junior level an annual award each fall. The award will be given to students who represent the strengths of our community, and who embody our shared goals to create an environment that is welcoming to all students. We encourage underrepresented minority and first-generation college students to apply! Applicants must be declared in an ALC program (major or certificate), with a minimum GPA of 2.5 and above. Application will reopen in WiSH.

2023 Gregory Everett Mun Sheer, Japanese Major, Certificate in Chinese Professional Communication and East Asian Studies
2023 Jessica Wolf, Chinese Major, Certificate in History
2022 Neon Blu Gallardo-Mambaje, ALC Major, Certificate in Asian American Studies and Gender and Women’s Studies
2022 Kevin Nii Ayitey Teye-Yalley, Chinese and Neurobiology Major

Cameron G. Keith Memorial Scholarship

This award is given annually to an undergraduate student studying Japanese. This award is announced during the fall semester, and is based on merit, therefore there is no application. The criteria are: Japanese major, junior or senior standing, cumulative GPA of 3.5 or above, currently taking Japanese, and plan to go into a Japanese related profession.

Cameron G. Keith was an East Asian Studies and Economics studies major at UW-Madison who studied abroad in Japan, and later in Nepal. In his memory, the Keith family established these funds in memory of his interest in the region.

2023 Kayne Alexander Young-Chewning
2022 Eve Runquist
2021 Declan Dally and Eve Runquist
2020 Josie Anderson and Choua Thao
2019 Xinqi Cao and Jiahang He
2018 Zach Rattunde and Alexis Marie Shoushounova
2017 Yusen Men and Colton Switalski
2016 Yixuan Cheng and Daniel Nachreiner
2015 Kanna Izushi-Ciolkosz and Josh Nys
2014 Benjamin Garton and Madison Mears
2012 Matthew Reagan and Helen Schwartz

Chou Kuo-p’ing Book Award

Several awards will be given each year to undergraduate students who are studying and will continue to study Chinese during the following semester. This award is made possible through a donation by Professor Emerita Chou Kuo-p’ing, the founder of the Chinese program here at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Professor Chou, a dedicated teacher, devoted her entire career to teaching, promoting and developing Chinese studies in Wisconsin. Eligible students must be declared in the East Asian Studies major, Chinese major, or Chinese Professional Communication certificate in the Department of Asian Languages & Cultures.

Professor Chou was very active during her teaching career, and often helped financially disadvantaged students, especially those who excelled in their academic careers despite economic difficulties. Although this award is based mainly on the applicant’s academic performance, special consideration is given to those who are financially disadvantaged in order to carry on this tradition. Application will reopen in WiSH.

2023 Stephen Zhang
2022 Kevin Nii Ayitey Teye-Yalley
2021 Sam Baker and Angela Glowacki
2020 Loreli Zhang and Christy Zheng
2019 Genevive Jacobs, Thekla Ketcher, Erin Naumann, Kristine Nguyen
2017 Farhat Bhuiyan, Daniel Coleman, Tyler Ruzicka
2016 Farhat Bhuiyan, Markayle Schears

Ellen and William E. Fisher Scholarship

Ellen and William E. Fisher have provided funding for an annual scholarship to be awarded to an undergraduate student at the UW-Madison who is studying the Chinese language. Mr. Fisher stipulated that the award must be made in the Fall semester, so that the recipient can use it in the Spring semester. According to the terms of the gift agreement, the award is based on merit, therefore there is no application. The Chinese faculty will make a determination based on students progressing in the program.

2023 Jack Rodgers
2022 Rhianna Prine
2021 Vivienne Wooldridge
2020 Olivia Adelman
2019 Kristine Nguyen
2018 Madeline Chaplin
2017 Tyler Ruzicka
2016 Allison Sharpless

Spring Awards

Gwang-Tsai Chen Award

Professor Sabina Knight established this scholarship in honor of Gwang-Tsai (Arthur) Chen, Emeritus Professor of East Asian Languages and Literature at UW-Madison. This scholarship recognizes a rising undergraduate Chinese major. Student must be a non-native speaker (someone who is not only him- or herself not a native speaker, but someone who did not grow up in the home of native-speaker parents)you’re your freshman or sophomore year in college, and a GPA of 3.0 or above. Application in WiSH opens 4/10/23, deadline 4/21/23.

2022-23 Jack Rogers
2021-22 Aiden Loya
2020-21 Nils Peterson
2019-20 Emma Kempf
2018-19 Erin Naumann

Lawrence Louey Merit Scholarship

The Lawrence Louey Merit Scholarship is an annual competition recognizing an undergraduate Chinese major in the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures. Eligibility: You must be a graduating senior with a GPA above 3.0 and have taken at least three years of Chinese. An application is required for consideration, including a brief career plan, as well as a research paper from one of your courses taken for the Chinese major. Application in WiSH opens on 4/10/23, deadline 4/21/23.

2022-23 Angela Glowacki
2021-22 Nils Peterson
2020-21 Frank Breu
2019-20 Matt Van Gilder
2018-19 David Duszynski
2017-18 Conley Michael Potter
2016-17 Nathan Heinrich

Chinese Language and Culture Club (CLACC) Ambassador Award

The CLACC Ambassador Award recognizes one student who grew up speaking Mandarin Chinese for their engagement and passion in sharing Chinese language and culture with campus.

2022-23 Haozhan Gao
2021-22 Runkai Tao
2020-21 Keran Han
2019-20 Echo (Zhiqin) Xu

Chinese Language Learners Bridge Fund

Chinese Major Alumni Jarrett Wiesolek (Class of 2011) and Ali Dibble (Class of 2012) launched the Bridge fund in 2016. CLLBF is designed to award scholarships to students who are passionate about learning Chinese and building bridges between UW-Madison and China.

2022-23 Yi Lu Lo
2021-22 Angela Glowacki
2020-21 Jae Yong Lee
2019-20 Lili Sarajian