The Elizabeth D. Rockwell Center will award six Student Scholarships in Ethics and Leadership to UH undergraduate students who are interested in participating in an Ethics Bowl team and competition in the fall of 2025. Participation will consist of weekly team training and practice sessions, collaborative preparation of ethical cases, and a one-day Texas Regional Ethics Bowl competition in San Antonio during one weekend in early November. If the team is successful at the Texas Regional Ethics Bowl, there may be further opportunities to compete nationally in the spring of 2026.

Selected students will receive a $1,500 scholarship for participation on the Ethics Bowl team. All travel expenses for the  regional competition (and potentially beyond) will be paid for by the EDR Center.

Expectations and the schedule for weekly meetings will be outlined in detail during the first meeting at the beginning of the fall 2025 semester. In general, team members will be expected to attend 1-2 hour weekly team sessions, participate in practice activities, and attend the regional event in November.

Distinct from Speech and Debate, the Ethics Bowl is “a unique, collaborative experience for undergraduate students that provides valuable educational experience in practical and professional ethics” (APPE). As a member of the UH Ethics Bowl team, “Students develop ethical understanding of complex, ambiguous, and difficult to resolve issues, as well as key virtues associated with democratic deliberation” (APPE) by preparing arguments about today's most pressing issues. For additional information about the Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl, students should visit the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl website (https://www.appe-ethics.org/about-ethics-bowl-appe-ieb/).

To be eligible to apply for this scholarship, students must be enrolled in at least 9 hours at UH in the fall of 2025. Students of all majors and fields of interest are encouraged to apply, no experience with philosophy or ethics is necessary.

Interested students should submit the following materials by April 15, 2025.  All materials should be submitted in a single PDF electronically to EDRCenter@central.uh.edu. Please include in the subject line: 'EDR Student Scholarship application, Last name, first name.’

• A Cover letter that includes the following:  

1. Name 
2. People Soft ID
3. Email Address  
4. Preferred Phone number
5. Address with city, state, and zip code 
6. Major[s] (and minors, if applicable)
7. Number of college credit hours completed and remaining
8. Cumulative UH GPA
9. GPA within Major (you can find this information on your degree report plan) 
10. If applicable, what is your transfer GPA? How many semester hours have you completed at UH? 
11. If applicable, how many hours did you transfer to UH? 
12. How many hours are you currently enrolled at UH? 

• A copy of your resume or CV listing your contact information and ethics and leadership activities.
• A short statement (no more than 750 words) that discusses your interest in participating on the UH Ethics Bowl team; experience that you have which make you a good candidate for the team, and a description of a topic of interest that you see as one of today's most pressing ethical issues along with why it matters to you.

Students may be invited for a brief interview during the week of April 21.

For more information, please contact Dan Engster at daengste@central.uh.edu