History of the award
Barry L. Popkin came to UW-Madison from Superior, Wis., and earned his B.S. in 1967 and his M.S. in 1969. He is currently the W.R. Kenan, Jr. Distinguished Professor at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, where he teaches about and conducts research, outreach, and public service at the interface of economics, public health, and nutrition.
As an honors student at UW-Madison, Popkin completed his senior honors thesis on the economics of nutrition. That thesis experience, combined with studying abroad in India in 1965-66, helped shape his career and life.
In recognition of his transformative experience, Popkin has established an endowment to provide annual funding for an undergraduate honors student majoring in economics or another social science to conduct original research in a lower-middle-income country outside of Europe and to lay a foundation for a career in global work. The Barry L. Popkin Senior Honors Thesis Research Award was endowed in 2015 by Professor Barry L. Popkin.
Award funds
This annual award provides one currently enrolled L&S Honors student with scholarship funds up to $3,500 to support economics or other social science senior thesis research on a lower-middle income country outside of Europe.
This award is currently processed as a scholarship. These funds are processed and applied to tuition bill in the Fall semester. Students receiving scholarships may have financial aid package adjustments. If you have questions about your financial aid and/or the potential impact of receiving this scholarship, please contact L&S Honors Program Administrator Kendra Ramthun (honorsprogram@honors.ls.wisc.edu).
Review of applications and selection of the Barry L. Popkin Senior Honors Thesis recipient will be conducted by the L&S Honors Program Faculty Honors Committee.
Eligibility
In order to be considered for the Barry L. Popkin Senior Honors Thesis Research Award, students must complete the Honors Summer Senior Thesis Research Grant application. Please review the Honors Summer Senior Thesis Research Grant page for more information about general eligibility.
- Additional criteria for consideration for the Popkin Research Award:
- The proposed research falls within economics or another social science in a lower-middle-income country outside of Europe. Students must demonstrate that they will conduct some of their research in the selected country.
Please note that students may not receive a Popkin Research Award if their thesis has been or will be supported by another university undergraduate research grant (e.g., the Hilldale, the Hughes, or by the L&S Honors Program Summer Senior Thesis Grant.) Students who apply to the Summer Senior Honors Thesis Award will automatically be considered for the Barry L. Popkin Award.
Application process
Students interested in the Barry L. Popkin Research Award must complete the Summer Senior Honors Thesis grant application. Please review that grant page for more information related to the application process and deadline.
If you have additional questions about the Mark Mensink Award, please contact the Honors Program office at honors@honors.ls.wisc.edu.
Application evaluation
Barry L. Popkin grant recipients are selected by members of the L&S Faculty Honors Committee. They will evaluate your application based on the following:
- Strength of academic record
- Progress toward the completion of the Honors in the Major, Honors in the Liberal Arts, or Comprehensive Honors degree(s)
- Excellence of the proposal and of the senior thesis research project to be funded
- Strength of personal statement
Conditions
Students who receive funding from the L&S Honors Program for their thesis research should submit a PDF copy of their completed thesis to the Honors Program Office.
Students who receive funding from the L&S Honors Program for their thesis research should register to present at the annual Senior Honors Thesis Symposium.
In most cases, you may not receive this funding if your thesis has been or will be supported by another university undergraduate research grant during the same award period. Students may only receive this award one time. Please contact honorsprogram@honors.ls.wisc.edu with questions about funding.