Beverly Murphy MLA Scholarship for Underrepresented Students
This scholarship was established in 1973 and renamed for Beverly Murphy, AHIP, FMLA in 2023. Murphy was the first Black President of MLA, first Black chair of the MLA’s Middle-Atlantic Chapter, the first Black editor of MLA News, and the first Black recipient of the Marcia C. Noyes Award. Murphy is a role model for those candidates for the Scholarship for Underrepresented Students to achieve their highest career aspirations. Read more about Beverly Murphy in the Journal of the Medical Library Association, her I Am MLA story, and fellows biography.
A scholarship of up to $2,500 is awarded annually by the Medical Library Association (MLA) to a student who shows excellence in scholarship and potential for accomplishment in health sciences librarianship. The scholarship is announced at the annual conference of the association, where the recipient will also receive a one-year MLA student membership and free inclusive student registration at the association’s annual conference.
Eligibility
- The applicant must be a member of an underrepresented group, such as Black/African-American, Latinx, Asian, Aboriginal, North American Indian or Alaskan Native, or Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander.
- The applicant must be entering a master’s program at an American Library Association (ALA)–accredited graduate library school or, at the time of the granting of the scholarship (March), have completed no more than one-half of the academic requirements of the graduate program.
- The applicant must be a citizen of or have permanent residence in either the United States or Canada.
- The recipient may receive only one MLA scholarship in a given year.
- Past recipients of MLA Scholarships are not eligible to apply.
- Membership in MLA is not required. (discounted student membership is available)
Terms
- The online application must be completed, and all supporting documents uploaded no later than December 2.
- The recipient and nonrecipients will be notified in early March before the public announcement is made.
- The disbursement of funds will not exceed one year past the date of the annual conference.
- The recipient will receive a one-year student membership in MLA and free inclusive student registration to the association’s annual conference.
- Depending on the qualifications of the candidates, the jury may recommend that the scholarship not be presented in a given year.
- An acknowledgement of the submission will appear on the webpage once the application has been received.
- The recipient will be asked to share a photo and video for the virtual awards ceremony held in the spring.
The Scholarship Jury will assess the application and score points based on responses to following questions:
- What would receiving a scholarship from MLA mean to you?
- What are your career and/or academic objectives? How do you plan to achieve your goals? Please describe current or future activities that support your plan.
- How have your career or academic activities, achievements, and contributions impacted the communities you serve? Describe how these activities, achievements, and contributions impacted you personally. You may include personal, academic, work-related or advocacy examples.
Submission Checklist
- Only complete applications submitted by the deadline will be accepted for review.
- Unofficial, or official, transcripts uploaded in the application from each college or university attended, including community college, undergraduate and graduate colleges.
- Copy of library school’s catalog or web page, which states the number of credits needed for a degree, uploaded to the application.
NOTE: One application is used for all three MLA Student Scholarships. A single jury reviews all applications, so duplicate submissions are not necessary.
- Gwendolyn S. Cruzat MLA Scholarship
- Beverly Murphy MLA Scholarship for Underrepresented Students
- Ana D. Cleveland MLA Scholarship
Ready to Submit an Application?
The online submission must be completed and supporting documents uploaded no later than December 2!
Applicants must be logged into MLANET to complete this scholarship application.