Giandoni Awards

The Department of History is grateful to former ODU history major Will Giandoni for his generous support of a series of programs designed to benefit our students.

The Giandoni Awards in History will enhance and support:

  1. Undergraduate scholarships to attract majors to the history program;
  2. Undergraduate participation in study abroad trips;
  3. Intensive undergraduate research with faculty members;
  4. Graduate student research.
  5. Faculty research and teaching
Important Deadlines
  • Study Abroad Scholarship due date: November 1, 2024
  • History Scholarship application due date: November 1, 2024
  • Undergraduate Research Award due date: December 13, 2024
  • Graduate Research Award due date: December 13, 2024
  • Gateway to History Scholarship due date: March 1, 2025

Sponsored Internships in Public and Applied History due date: Applications accepted on a rolling basis.

 

*Applicants must spend the funds within six months of notification of the award. If you have any questions, please email history@odu.edu.

Giandoni Awards in History

The competitive scholarships will encourage excellent undergraduate students to major in History at Old Dominion University by defraying undergraduate tuition costs.
 
  • A maximum of $30,000 will be granted during each academic year.
  • All Award monies will be used for the payment of undergraduate tuition.
  • The Giandoni Awards Committee will evaluate all applications for overall academic merit, prior performance in the History Department, and continuing promise as a History student.
  • Applicants must be rising sophomores or higher, who are enrolled as History majors or minors with a cumulative GPA of 3.3 or higher, and who have taken at least 12 credit hours in the ODU History Department OR completed 9 credit hours in the ODU History Department plus 3 credits in History at another institution. An Advanced Placement (AP) course in history may count towards the 3 credits earned at another institution. Applicants must also make satisfactory academic progress (SAP), as defined by the Office of Student Financial Aid.
  • Students must be enrolled for 12+ credits during the semester(s) in which they are to receive the award.
  • Recipients who have not previously taken HIST 201: Historical Methods will be required to take the course during the scholarship semester.
  • Applicants may apply for either one or two semesters of support. Awards will typically be in the amount of $2500 to $5000 but the size and number of awards will be decided at the committee’s discretion.
  • Applicants may reapply in future semesters, but priority will be given to excellent students who have not yet received the Award.
  • ODU’s Office of Student Financial Aid will administer the Giandoni Scholarships in History.

Please note that accepting a Giandoni Scholarship will NOT affect your Pell Grant eligibility.

The support will significantly defray the cost for Department of History undergraduate or graduate students for their participation in Study Abroad programs.
  • Awards offer financial assistance in the amount of $1,000 to $5,000 per study-abroad engagement.
  • A maximum of $10,000 will be granted during each academic year.
  • Award monies will be used for tuition costs, travel expenses, or other fees related to study abroad. Students will not receive financial assistance to exceed the full cost of a study-abroad engagement. They cannot combine awards with the Center for Global Engagement or other funding sources when the total financial assistance would exceed the full cost of a study-abroad engagement.
  • The Giandoni Awards Committee will evaluate all applications for overall academic merit, prior performance in the History Department, and the stated benefit of study abroad for the student’s current study of history and anticipated career trajectory.
  • Applications may include proposals for the student to participate in short-term study abroad, semester-long study abroad, or year-long study abroad programs overseen by the Center for Global Engagement.
  • Applicants must be undergraduate students enrolled in the BA program as a History Major or Minor with a cumulative GPA of 2.8 or higher, or a graduate student enrolled in the MA program with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher, making Satisfactory Academic Progress as defined by the Office of Student Financial Aid.
  • Applicants may only receive one Giandoni Study Abroad Award.
  • ODU’s Office of Student Financial Aid will administer the Giandoni Study Abroad Scholarships.
  • Applicants must spend awarded funds within six months of award notification.
  • Please note that accepting a Giandoni Scholarship will NOT affect your Pell Grant eligibility.

The support will provide a payment to both undergraduate students and their faculty advisors who participate in the Department of History Undergraduate Research Program.
 
  • Awards offer financial assistance in the amount of $1,000 to $3,000 per research proposal.
  • Each award will include a $750 stipend for the full-time faculty member advising the student research, deducted from the total award amount.
  • A maximum of $9,000 will be granted during each academic year.
  • Award monies will be used for tuition costs for independent research (HIST 497, or a similar course), travel expenses, database access, photocopying costs, and other research-related expenditures.
  • The Giandoni Awards Committee will evaluate all applications for overall academic merit, prior performance in the History Department, faculty advisor approval, and the strength and feasibility of the proposed research project.
  • Applications may include proposals for student research to be conducted in a single semester, including summer.
  • Applicants must be undergraduate students enrolled in the BA program as a History Major or Minor with a cumulative GPA of 3.3 or higher making Satisfactory Academic Progress as defined by the Office of Student Financial Aid.
  • Previous Undergraduate Research Award winners may reapply with a subsequent research proposal, but priority will be given to excellent students who have not yet received the Award.
  • ODU’s Department of History will administer the Giandoni Undergraduate Research Awards.
  • Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until a final deadline at the end of the semester.
  • Applicants must spend awarded funds within six months of award notification.
  • Please note that accepting a Giandoni Award will NOT affect your Pell Grant eligibility.

The support will award $500 annually to the History Major with the overall highest GPA.

 
  • The award winner must be an undergraduate History Major.
  • The Giandoni Awards Committee will issue this award to the History Major with the overall top GPA in the undergraduate program at the end of each academic year once Spring grades are submitted. The committee will also take into consideration the number of courses the History Major has taken in the ODU History Department.

The award will support advanced graduate students in the M.A. program while conducting independent research.

  • Awards offer financial assistance in the amount of $500 to $3,000 per research proposal.
  • A maximum of $6,000 will be granted during each academic year.
  • Award monies will be used for travel expenses, database access, photocopying costs, and other research-related expenditures.
  • The Giandoni Awards Committee will be evaluated for overall academic merit, faculty advisor approval, and the strength and feasibility of the proposed research project.
  • Applicants must be enrolled in the History M.A. program with a GPA of 3.0 or higher. Students without a demonstrable ODU GPA must request a recommendation form from a second ODU faculty member and approval from the Graduate Program Director.
  • ODU’s Department of History will administer the Giandoni Graduate Research Awards.
  • Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until a final deadline at the end of the semester.
  • Applicants must spend awarded funds within six months of award notification.
  • Please note that accepting a Giandoni Award will NOT affect your Pell Grant eligibility.

 

This award is designed to support the cost of extraordinary expenses related to specific faculty projects (research, scholarship, and/or teaching). Funding requests are accepted on a rolling basis, but the committee will specifically solicit faculty requests twice during the academic year, once in the early Fall (mid-October) and once in the early Spring (mid-March).

As part of that request, faculty will submit a paragraph outlining the nature and purpose of the request, its relationship to the larger project, and an itemized budget. To provide fair and equitable access to the funds, the committee can only approve up to $330 ($5,000 divided by 15, the current number of full-time faculty) during the Fall round of requests. During the Spring round, the amount awarded will depend on the number of requests received and the remaining funds. Please see the full description for acceptable uses of faculty funds.

These competitive scholarships will identify talented non-history students in 100-level courses and encourage them to (double) major or minor in history by subsidizing tuition for 9-12 credit hours in history courses to be taken over two to four semesters.

  • A maximum of $6,000 will be awarded for Gateway to History scholars each academic year.
  • All Award monies will be used for the payment of undergraduate tuition.
  • The Giandoni Awards Committee will ask full-time teaching faculty for nominations at the conclusion of each semester. Students so nominated would be invited to apply for the scholarship.
  • Nominated students who wish to apply will fill out an application form (with overall GPA and grades in previous history courses) and submit a writing sample from the 100-level history course.
  • Nominating faculty members will fill out a recommendation form for each nominated student.
  • Recipients will be required to take 9-12 credit hours in history (either HIST 201 and 6-9 credit hours in upper-level courses, or 9-12 credit hours in 300-level courses) over the following two-to-four semesters, for which the scholarship would defray costs of tuition.
  • By accepting the award, students commit to adding a history major or minor in the first term funds are disbursed.
  • The Giandoni Awards Committee will evaluate all applications for overall academic merit, performance in 100-level history course, and faculty recommendations.
  • ODU's Office of Student Financial Aid will administer the Giandoni Gateway to History Scholarship.

Please note that accepting a Giandoni Gateway to History Scholarship will NOT affect a student's Pell grant eligibility.

These competitive scholarships will encourage excellent undergraduate students to undertake internships for academic credit in Public History/Applied History by covering the cost of tuition for HIST 368: Internships.

  • A maximum of $3,000 will be granted during each academic year (including summer).
  • All Award monies will be used for the payment of undergraduate tuition.
  • Applicants must be rising juniors or higher, who are enrolled as History majors with a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or higher. Applicants must also be making a Satisfactory Academic Program (SAP), as defined by the Office of Student Financial Aid.
  • Applicants must have already secured the internship and have completed the HIST 368 Syllabus and Contract Form before applying.
  • Applicants must fill out an application form (with overall GPA and grades in previous history courses), submit a statement of purpose, and have taken at least 12 credit hours in the ODU History Department OR completed 9 credit hours in the ODU History Department plus 3 credits in History at another institution. Advanced Placement (AP) courses may qualify as 3 credits in HIstory at another institution.
  • Recipients who have not previously taken HIST 201: Historical Methods will be required to take the course during the award semester.
  • Applicants may only receive one Giandoni Sponsored Internship.
  • The Giandoni Awards Committee will evaluate all applications for overall academic merit, performance in the History Department, faculty advisor approval, and the stated benefit of the internship for the student's current study of history and anticipated career trajectory.
  • ODU's Office of Student Financial Aid will administer the Giandoni Sponsored Internship in Public and Applied History.

Please note that accepting a Giandoni Sponsored Internship will NOT affect a student's Pell Grant eligibility.