AWM Scholarships

To increase awareness of the ongoing contributions to the mathematical sciences by women and to promote gender inclusivity, the Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM) and Math for America co-sponsor an essay contest for biographies of contemporary mathematicians and statisticians in academic, industrial, and government careers. Each essay will be based primarily on an interview with a woman or an individual from an underrepresented gender identity in the mathematics community who is currently working in or retired from a mathematical sciences career. Participation is open to middle school, high school, and undergraduate students.

Submission Period. December 1 – February 1 through MathPrograms.org.

Submission Packet. A valid submission will contain the following information:

• A biographical essay of approximately 500 – 1000 words in length, based primarily on an interview you conduct with a woman or an individual from an underrepresented gender identity in the mathematics community who is currently working in or retired from a mathematical career;
• A short (approximately 100 words) biographical sketch of the student contestant. This biographical sketch can be written in the first person, and it should include the student’s name, grade level, school, and mathematical interests;
• Information about the student:
  • student’s name;
  • address of student (or parent);
  • phone number or email address of student (or parent);
• Information about the subject of the biography:
  • name;
  • phone number and/or email address.

How to Submit. Submissions will open on MathPrograms.org in December 2024. If you have any questions, please contact the AWM Essay Contest Organizer, Dr. Johanna Franklin (johanna.n.franklin@hofstra.edu).

Categories. This essay contest is open to students in the following categories:

• Grades 6 – 8
• Grades 9 – 12
• Undergraduate

At least one winning submission will be chosen from each category.

Judging Criteria. Your essay should be based primarily on an interview you conduct with an appropriate interview subject.

• The submission must be in essay form, not just a transcript of your interview.
• The essay should be approximately 500 to 1000 words in length.
• Essays will be judged by a panel of mathematicians on content, grammar, and presentation.

Essay Subject. You may interview and write about any woman or individual from an underrepresented gender identity in the mathematics community who is currently working in or retired from a mathematical sciences career with a small number of exceptions (listed below).  Here are some suggestions for finding someone to interview:

• To find out about mathematical careers, you can look at the resources at the Bureau of Labor Statistics website, the SIAM website, or the ASA website.
• Try the websites for the National Association of Mathematicians (NAM), the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), the Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS), Lathisms, Mathematically Gifted & Black (MGB), Indigenous Mathematicians, or Spectra.
• Look for mathematicians who are active on social media.
• Look up professors in mathematics at a local college or university (you can try looking up the school’s website and looking for the mathematics department; many departments list their faculty and their email addresses).
• Consider other mathematical departments at colleges and universities, such as applied mathematics, computer science, statistics, physics, engineering, finance, etc.
• Ask a nearby math teacher.

A few people are not eligible as essay subjects. They are:

• subjects of essays that have won a Grand Prize, First Place, or Honorable Mention in the past three contests,
• the President, President-Elect, Past President, and Executive Director of the AWM, and
• current AWM Essay Contest Committee members.

Suggested Interview Questions. The following questions are suggestions for what to ask your interviewee during the interview:

• What motivated your interviewee to pursue a career in the mathematical sciences?
• What is your interviewee’s educational, family, or cultural background?
• What kind of work does your interviewee do?
• Does your interviewee have any advice to students who are interested in pursuing a career in the mathematical sciences?
• What are your interviewee’s hobbies?

These questions are just starting points! Use them as a guide, but ask other questions based on your interests or what you know about your interviewee’s interests and experiences, too. You should also follow up with more questions based on your interviewee’s responses to make this more of a conversation. Speaking in person, over the phone, or in a videoconference instead of e-mailing will make it easier for you two to respond to each other.

All submissions become the property of the Association for Women in Mathematics.