Politics

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The Department of Politics presents two prestigious awards each year. Students receiving these honors participate in the annual College of Arts and Sciences Awards Ceremony and receive additional printed recognition in the Commencement Program, which is distributed during graduation.

• The Passarelli-Guinta Award for Excellence in Political Science is presented annually to the graduating senior who has achieved the highest academic performance in classes taken toward their politics major. Highest academic performance will be determined primarily by GPA and can include other criteria, such as faculty-mentored research, presentations at academic conferences or research symposia, and other related criteria.
• The John Orman Award for Political Activism is presented annually to a graduating politics major who has combined outstanding academic performance with a demonstrated and productive commitment to political activism.

In addition to our departmental awards, politics students are also eligible for, and in many cases receive, University-wide awards, fellowships, and scholarships that are open to all Fairfield undergraduates. These include:

• The St. Ignatius Loyola Medal is given annually to a senior who has shown commitment to high academic standards and substantial involvement in community service and/or extracurricular activities.
• The William J. Kramer ’60 Humanitarian Award recognizes a senior who has shown a commitment to volunteerism and service to an external community activity that best exemplifies the Ignatian tradition of being men and women for and with others.
  Student Achievement Awards which recognize seniors who have shown exceptional dedication to and enhancement of a specific Fairfield University program, activity, organization, or project.
• The Fairfield University Honors Program invites highly accomplished and motivated students, including eligible politics majors, to participate in an engaging and enriching series of special courses in which intensive academic activities are connected to meaningful experiential learning.
• The national Alpha Sigma Nu Honor Society, the Honor Society of Jesuit Colleges and Universities, recognizes individual students who distinguish themselves in scholarship, loyalty, and service.
• Phi Beta Kappa is the oldest and most widely recognized national academic honor society in the United States.
• The Bellarmine Scholars program provides a unique opportunity for Fairfield sophomores to study in Florence, Italy.
• Campus Sustainability Committee Grants, three of which are awarded each year to students and faculty who submit winning proposals for projects that will positively affect environmental and sustainability issues on campus.
• A large number of prestigious Student-Faculty Research Grants, including The E. Gerald Corrigan Endowed Scholars Fund; Hardiman Scholars Fund; Lawrence Family Faculty Student Mentor Program; Mancini Family Faculty Student Research Fund; Kathleen McGuiness Mentorship Program; Emil and Daniel Brennan Endowed Fund; Faculty Student Collaborative Research Fund; Thomas Hulseman Fund for Student Global Experiential Learning; and the College of Arts and Sciences Faculty-Student Research Endowment.