Department of Interdisciplinary Studies

Scholarships and Fellowships

Scholarships, fellowships and graduate assistantships are available to full-time, on-campus, degree-seeking graduate students only. Graduate Certificate and Graduate Minor students are not eligible. See Graduate Assistantships Overview for more information.

Application materials should be submitted to the  Appalachian studies program, not the Cratis D. Williams School of Graduate Studies, unless otherwise noted. For other scholarship, fellowship and assistantship opportunities, please see Financial Support.

To Apply for Appalachian Studies Scholarships, visit the ASAP portal: HERE 

Cratis D. Williams Memorial Graduate Fellowship in Appalachian Studies Endowment

Cratis D. Williams (1911-85) was born in the mountains of eastern Kentucky and was the first to go from the one-room elementary school in Caines Creek in Lawrence County to the high school in Louisa, the county seat. He attended Cumberland College, the University of Kentucky and received his doctorate from New York University. He came to Appalachian State Teachers College in 1942 and in 1958 became dean of the graduate school that now is named for him, a position he held until 1975. He served briefly as acting chancellor and in later years was special assistant to the chancellor. Cratis’s life was spent in dedication to the rich narrative, historical and musical traditions of Appalachia. The symposium held upon his retirement in 1976 was a catalyst for formation of the primary scholarly association of the region, the Appalachian Studies Association. He is recognized as “Mister Appalachia” and the “Complete Mountaineer.” Following his death, his friends and admirers contributed funds to this scholarship which he had created and supported for the benefit of graduate students in Appalachian Studies. Through this scholarship, future generations of graduate students can continue his work in Appalachian Studies.

Do Unto Others Scholarship in Appalachian Studies  (graduate)

The "Do Unto Others..." Scholarship is available to one outstanding fulltime M.A. candidate in areas related to Appalachian studies. This scholarship is the result of annual charitable gifts made by anonymous donors who believe strongly in the golden rule and in the value of education. Recipients of awards provided by this program are encouraged to remember the principle referred to in the title of the scholarship and to do as it suggests: financially assist students of the future whenever they are able!

Dr. Carl A. and Charlotte T. Ross Scholarship (graduate or undergraduate)

This award was established by family, friends and colleagues to honor Carl A. Ross’s work on behalf of his students. Carl Ross was professor of History and Director of the Center for Appalachian Studies at Appalachian State University at the time of his death in 1988. This scholarship fund was created in memory of a gifted educator whose presence, good nature, deep booming voice, generosity of spirit, stories, love for the south and the Appalachian region, and for Appalachian State University will continue to live on through support for the education of a gifted student.

Anne and Alex Bernhardt Endowed Scholarship in Appalachian Music  (graduate concentration or undergraduate minor in Appalachian Music)

This scholarship of up to $500 is provided to support a current full-time student enrolled in the Appalachian Music: Roots and Influences undergraduate minor or graduate concentration within the Appalachian Studies M.A. The scholarship is awarded on the basis of merit or potential in the area of music scholarship, with consideration of financial need. This scholarship is not automatically renewable however, recipients may re-apply each year.

Edward J. Cabbell Endowed Scholarship in Appalachian Studies  (graduate for research/travel)

Scholarship funds up to $250 are available for summer/fall to support Appalachian Studies graduate student research or other professional activities (e.g. research travel, present a paper at a professional meeting, purchase of research materials, attend a professional workshop). Preference will be given to projects related to minorities, especially African-Americans, Native Americans and women. Applicants must be graduate students in the Appalachian Studies M.A. program.

William C. Friday Research Fellowship in Appalachian Studies (graduate)

William C. Friday (1920-2012) was born in Raphine, V.A. and grew up in Dallas, N.C. He held a bachelor’s degree from North Carolina State University and a law degree from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Friday served in a variety of administrative positions at UNC-CH before being chosen to head the UNC system in 1956. In 1986, the year of his retirement from the UNC system, a study by the Council of Advancement and Support of Education rated Friday the most effective public university president in the nation. Among his many honors and awards are the American Council on Education’s Distinguished Service Award for Lifetime Achievement (1986), the National Humanities Medal (1997) and the American Academy for Education’s Jacques Barzun Award (1999). Friday hosted "North Carolina People," a television talk show he started while still president of the UNC system. He also served as Honorary Chair of Appalachian’s Cratis D. Williams NEH Humanities Challenge Grant Fundraising Committee. Co-sponsored by the Center for Appalachian Studies and the W.L. Eury Appalachian Collection, the William C. Friday Research Fellowship provides up to $1,000 annually to a full-time Appalachian Studies graduate student to support excellence in original research.

William C. Lindley, Jr. Memorial Scholarship for the Center for Appalachian Studies (graduate)

The William Clarke Lindley Jr Scholarship is available to students who demonstrate a commitment to community-based outreach in the Appalachian region. This scholarship honors the life, work and spirit of William Clarke Lindley Jr. (1984-2014). William earned a B.A. degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in American studies with a concentration in Southern culture, serving as a resident adviser and as a counselor in the Freshman Camp program. Passionate about education, William earned an M.A. degree in Appalachian studies with a concentration in Appalachian culture from Appalachian State University where he served as a graduate teaching assistant and as an adjunct instructor. He was beloved by his students and respected by his teaching peers who nominated him for the Faculty Award of Excellence in General Education Teaching at Appalachian. William was awarded the Appalachia and the Community Together Service-Learning Fellowship and travel grants from the Office of Student Research, the Graduate Student Government Association and the Office of Student Research to present papers at academic conferences regionally and nationally. William was contemplating further graduate study for the doctoral degree. Committed to building community wherever he went, William volunteered with the Appalachia Service Project for many years, eventually accepting a leadership role with this faith-based organization that upgrades substandard housing in Appalachia. Serving in this way in a region he came to love and respect fostered his early connections to music and Southern culture and love for the outdoors. He hiked the entirety of the Appalachian Trail and forged many lasting friendships along the way. A voracious reader and lover of all books, William collected many thousands of volumes, focusing his attention on American studies, particularly Southern and Appalachian studies. His family generously donated many hundreds of his books about Appalachia and the South to the Center for Appalachian Studies for the free use of the graduate students in the M.A. program. The William C. Lindley, Jr. Memorial Library, housed in the graduate carrels, has a special place in the education of all graduate students in the M.A. program. William was a community member, in the best sense of those words, wherever he went. He consciously built community and seemed to know everyone. Soft-spoken, his specialty was putting people together. If he thought two people should know each other, he did not rest until they had been introduced. William is sorely missed.