Thanks to the generosity of Dr. Gloria Bousley, the Gloria Bousley Graduate Scholarship was established to provide scholarships to IBEA member graduate students who are actively pursuing business teacher education careers, specializing in business education at the master’s degree level in an Illinois state-approved teacher education program. Dr. Bousley was very active in state educational organizations and served as President of the Illinois Business Education Association. Funds for this scholarship come from the interest from her endowment from her estate that was earmarked for IBEA. Graduate level students may earn a scholarship in one of two ways:
The scholarship awards $2,500 for outstanding graduate student(s) specializing in business education at the graduate level (Master’s degree in Business Education).
Business education graduate students not enrolled in a master’s program may receive up to $500 per semester for further certification endorsement, or post-baccalaureate advance study in the area of business or technology for business. The applicant must be teaching in a business education program during the next school year in the area in which they are obtaining the certification, endorsement, or post-baccalaureate advanced study area.
Scholarships may be paid directly to the university/college or the recipient.
Graduate Scholarship Eligibility Requirements
- Applications are available on the IBEA website (www.ibea.org). Click here to apply online: Graduate Scholarship Application
- Applicants must be current IBEA members in good standing for at least the past 12 months.
- Members and relatives of the IBEA Scholarship Committee are not eligible to apply for IBEA scholarships.
- To receive up to $2,500 for the graduate scholarship,
- IBEA members must be currently enrolled in a state-approved Illinois college or university business teacher education program or related business area with an emphasis in business education at the graduate level.
- Applicants must have completed at least two graduate hours (or equivalent) in his/her program.
- Applicants must currently be Illinois residents who are already teaching or plan to teach in the field of business education.
- Applicants must be enrolled in graduate classes during the fall semester following application and must provide updated transcripts prior to having payment sent to the college or university.
- To receive up to $500 to obtain a certification, endorsement, or post-baccalaureate that includes advanced study for a master’s degree,
- the applicant must be teaching in a business education program during the next school year in the area in which they are obtaining the certification, endorsement, or post-baccalaureate advanced study area.
- The money from the spring application round should be used for summer/fall semester, while the fall application round should be used for the spring semester.
- The application deadline is June 15th for summer/fall semester classes and September 30th for spring semester classes.
- All scholarship recipients are expected to attend the IBEA Annual Fall Conference in November of the year in which they are awarded a scholarship.
Application Procedures
Applicants must submit the following to the Scholarship Chair postmarked on or before the semester due date.
- Completed application form available at the IBEA website (www.ibea.org).
- An essay stating the reasons the applicant has selected business education as a career and wishes to further pursue studies.
- College transcripts for undergraduate degree and any advanced degrees and/or coursework, if not already received a with previous application.
- If applying for the $2,500 scholarship, please send the course schedule for summer/fall or spring semesters.
- If applying for a $500 scholarship, please send current semester and future summer/fall/spring semester teaching load signed off by the department or division chair in addition to classes signed up for.
- Two letters of recommendation.
Incomplete or late applications will not be considered. The IBEA Scholarship Committee will make the final selections and notify all applicants of the results as soon as possible. Scholarship recipients will be recognized at the IBEA Fall Conference in November.
All forms and other necessary materials to apply for an IBEA scholarship are now available only in the Forms & Documents section under Downloadable Documents. Click the link at the top of the page to access them. You may directly link to the scholarship download section by clicking here.
Application Deadline: June 15th of each calendar year
All applications must be postmarked or received electronically on or before the above date in order to be considered.
Send completed applications to:
Dr. Gary Hutchinson
IBEA Executive Director
3610 Hennepin Drive
Joliet, IL 60431
Phone: 815.483.4056
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
