Hazel Ruby McQuain Graduate Scholarship | Graduate Education and Life

The Hazel Ruby McQuain Graduate Scholarship is open to any outstanding West Virginia resident who intends to pursue and complete a graduate degree.

This scholarship is not only available at West Virginia University, but also at any higher education institution in West Virginia or at an accredited higher education institution outside of the West Virginia, but within the United States.

In the spirit of honoring Hazel Ruby McQuain’s legacy of service to the state of West Virginia, this scholarship invests in residents who:

Have a strong undergraduate and/or graduate academic record and the promise to succeed in a graduate program.
Are committed to scholarly study or professional work that may potentially address the greatest needs of West Virginia and its citizens.
Have a documented record of public service.
Have demonstrated active leadership involvement.

Funding

This scholarship offers up to two years of financial support for master’s degree recipients and three years of financial support for doctoral degree recipients.

Annual scholarship of $20,000 will be payable to the higher education institution for the benefit of the scholarship recipient. The annual scholarship will be payable in two equal installments (fall and spring) for those institutions which function on a semester system or three equal installments for institutions which function on a quarter system (fall, winter, spring).

In no situation will the annual scholarship exceed $20,000 and/or a grand overall total of $40,000 over two years for master’s degree scholarship recipients and $60,000 over three years for doctoral degree scholarship recipients.

Learn more about Hazel Ruby McQuain Apply Today

Please contact the Office of Graduate Education and Life at GradEd@mail.wvu.edu or (304) 293-7173 for additional information about this scholarship opportunity.

ELIGIBILITY

Applicants must:

Exemplify the legacy of Hazel Ruby McQuain’s commitments of service to the people of West Virginia.
Have a documented record of the public service.
Demonstrated active leadership involvement.
Be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.
Online and/or hybrid academic programs will not be considered.
Be a West Virginia resident, have significant ties to West Virginia, or be dedicated to the betterment of lives of West Virginia citizens. West Virginia resident is defined as individuals who a) graduated from a West Virginia high school or b) graduated from a four-year regionally accredited public or private higher education institution in West Virginia.
Have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 (undergraduate and/or graduate) from a regionally accredited higher education institution.
- Applicants applying for a master's degree scholarship cannot have previously earned a graduate degree.
- Applicants applying for a doctoral degree scholarship must include their graduate academic transcript, if applicable, for consideration for the doctoral scholarship.
Have applied and been accepted to an on-campus, full-time graduate degree program at a regionally accredited higher education institution within the United States.
- Professional doctoral degree programs (e.g., DDS, EdD, JD, MD, Pharm.D, D.PT., etc.) are not covered by this scholarship.

A priority of this Scholarship is to promote and support students who are new enrollees to a graduate program (beginning summer or fall semester/quarter).

Applicants currently or previously enrolled in a graduate program seeking a master’s degree scholarship will not be given priority.

APPLICATION PROCESS

Eligible applicants must complete the online application form by March 16, 2025 no later than 11:59 pm. Applications received after the deadline will not be considered. It is the applicant’s responsibility to assure their recommenders submit letters by the recommender deadline. Applications lacking recommendations submitted by the deadline will be considered incomplete and will not be reviewed.

Online applications will require PDF copies of the items listed below:

Copy of graduate school/program acceptance letter
Resume or curriculum vitae
Unofficial high school transcript, if available (official transcript will be required if applicant is selected for a scholarship).
All unofficial college transcripts (official transcripts will be required if applicant is selected for a scholarship)
Personal statement (no more than 500 words) that outlines the applicant’s qualifications for the scholarship with an emphasis on their record of public service and active leadership involvement, intended field of graduate study, their long-range professional goals, and specifically how their graduate program of study will contribute to the State of West Virginia for the betterment of West Virginians.
Three letters of recommendation from the following individuals (see below):
1. From a faculty member.
2. From a community service organization that the applicant has served in.
3. From an individual significantly qualified to address the applicant’s specific qualifications and characteristics for the scholarship.

Additional guidelines for applicant’s letters of recommendations:

Each recommendation must detail how the scholarship applicant meets the scholarship overview, eligibility requirements, and specifically address the public service and active leadership involvement criteria. All recommendation letters must be formatted as PDF files and be directly submitted by the recommender to HRMgraduatescholarship@mail.wvu.edu by March 27, 2025, no later than 11:59 pm.

Completed and/or incomplete applications received after this date and time will not be considered. Incomplete applications include letters of recommendation submitted directly by the recommender received past the deadline.

SELECTION PROCESS

Members of the Hazel Ruby McQuain Graduate Scholarship Selection Committee will review each application. This committee is comprised of faculty and administrative representatives from five different institutions of higher education in West Virginia. As the administrator of the Scholarship, West Virginia University Office of Graduate Education and Life will be one of the five representatives on the Selection Committee. Award selections will be based on the quality of the submitted information. The selection process is a holistic review of each applicant.

Attention will be given to applicants’ undergraduate and/or graduate academic record, personal statement, and letters of recommendation. Special attention will be paid to applicants’ record of public service, active leadership involvement, and how the graduate program of study will contribute to the State of West Virginia for the betterment of West Virginians.

All deadlines are firm and applicants should carefully examine the rules for submission detailed above and work with their recommenders to assure timely receipt of all application materials.

The selection process will be completed during the first week of May 2025 with notice provided to each applicant starting the second week of May 2025.