Scholarships

The Edward Said Scholarship was established by San Francisco State Alumnus Allam El Qadah in honor of Professor Edward Wadie Said, a Palestinian-American literary theorist, public intellectual, political activist, and musician, who helped found the critical-theory field of post-colonialism and was a champion of justice for and in Palestine.

The scholarship is open to undergraduate and graduate students of Arab and Muslim Ethnicities and Diasporas (AMED) Studies who demonstrate an outstanding academic record and community service that exemplifies what Professor Edward Said stood for. Learn more about the Edward Said Scholarship.

Application is due March 25, 2024.

This scholarship recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students whose graduate student thesis focus on the intersection of race, gender and sexuality.

The scholarship was established as part of the Queer Ethnic Studies Initiative in the College of Ethnic Studies and is funded by generous donations from faculty, staff, alumni and friends of the College. Learn more about the Queer Ethnic Studies Endowed Graduate Student Scholarship.

Application is due March 25, 2024. 

The Queer Ethnic Studies Scholarship aim to provide financial support for our undergraduate students in the Queer and Trans Ethnic Studies program. Students who are actively engaged in community work with a focus on empowering and advancing queer and trans people of color and strive for an equitable LGBTQ community will be the ones considered for the scholarship.

Application is due March 25, 2024 Deadline extended to April 8, 2024

RRS prepares students to understand the race-related processes underlying many social problems and the multiple forms of struggle aimed at social justice. Our program explores these processes through an interdisciplinary, comparative and relational approach — examining how people of color and indigenous people both face and resist social inequalities. In doing so, we attend to intersectionality (e.g., how race, class, gender, sexuality and/or nationality intersect) as well as the complexities of identity and community formation.

A core part of our mission is to prepare students to use their learning to build on existing service and organizing work among disenfranchised communities of color in the U.S. and abroad. In short, we seek to build a praxis that unites both theory/study and practice/organizing in a life committed to social justice.

One of our former students, Hassani Bell, who passed in 2021, exemplifies much of what we do in RRS. Hassani came to San Francisco State in 2015 after having been a student in San Leandro High’s Social Justice Academy. In his first semester in RRS, he began talking about the big impact he wanted to make as an organizer. In only his second semester, in the midst of looming budget cuts to the College of Ethnic Studies, Hassani joined three other dedicated RRS students and went on a hunger strike, demanding among other things, full funding for the college. Drawing on what he learned in his RRS classes, the following year, Hassani spent the summer working as an organizer in New York City, trying to build interest in union participation among retail workers. He was the personification of everything we care about in RRS: excellent critical thinking skills, a dedication to social change, great integrity, and a generous heart. In honor of Hassani, we are excited to present this scholarship opportunity.

Application is due March 25, 2024. Deadline extended to April 2, 2024