Honors College Graduate Receives Prestigious Phi Kappa Phi Scholarship

July 10, 2023.  University of Memphis graduate Samantha Hall has been awarded a graduate fellowship worth $8,500 by The Honors Society of Phi Kappa Phi, the nation’s oldest and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines. Hall is one of 62 recipients nationwide to receive a Phi Kappa Phi Fellowship.

Hall earned her bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering with Honors in Biomedical Engineering and the Helen Hardin Honors College’s “University Honors with Thesis” designation in May 2023. She will continue her studies for a M.S. in biomedical engineering at the UofM this fall.

During her college career, Hall served as a Herff College of Engineering Ambassador and has been continuously involved in the University of Memphis Wind Ensemble and Orchestra.  Hall has received many awards, including the Honors College Summer Research Fellowship, Outstanding Undergraduate in Biomedical Engineering Award, and the Honors College’s Director’s Award for Scholarship. She has also published her research in QuaesitUM, the UofM’s undergraduate research journal.

"I'm so thankful to be named a recipient of the Phi Kappa Phi Fellowship,” Hall said. “The award will greatly assist me in the pursuit of my graduate studies. I would like to thank my research advisor Dr. Joel D. Bumgardner as well as the faculty of the Department of Biomedical Engineering and the Helen Hardin Honors College for their continuous support throughout my undergraduate and graduate research journeys."

“This is the fourth consecutive year that one of our Honors College students has received a significant scholarship in the national Phi Kappa Phi competition,” said Dr. Melinda Jones, director of the Helen Hardin Honors College. “We were very proud to nominate Samantha for the Phi Kappa Phi Graduate Fellowship, and not surprised at all that she won this award. This award recognizes Samantha’s achievements and her potential, and I look forward to seeing what she will accomplish in the future.”

Since its creation in 1932, the fellowship program has become one of Phi Kappa Phi’s most visible and financially well-supported endeavors, allocating $615,000 annually to outstanding students for first-year graduate or professional study. This year’s program awarded 54 fellowships of $8,500 each, six at $20,000 each, and two awards at $35,000 to members entering the first year of graduate or professional study. Each active Phi Kappa Phi chapter may select one candidate from among its local applicants to compete for Society-wide awards.

For more information about the campus nomination process, contact Dr. Beverly Bond in the History Department (Phi Kappa Phi Scholarship Chairperson) or honors@memphis.edu.