College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences

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The Ruffin Humanities Scholarship

Renewable for four years, the Ruffin Humanities Scholarship carries an award equivalent to (in state or out of state) tuition, mandatory fees, and a textbook allowance. The scholarship is awarded at Southern Scholars' Showcase or Scholars' Day. It is awarded in addition to other scholarships.


Established by the late Dr. David A. Ruffin, the Ruffin Humanities Scholarship seeks to reward excellent students who have an interest in the humanities. Candidates for the scholarship must display an outstanding academic and extracurricular record of achievement and be of exemplary personal character.

To be considered for the Ruffin Humanities Scholarship, you must:

  1. Have formally declared a humanities major: a foreign language, history, literature, philosophy, or writing. Students who change their majors from one of these areas will lose their eligibility for the Ruffin Scholarship.

  2. Have undergraduate status (i.e., the student is entering, continuing, or transferring into a baccalaureate program).

  3. Have a minimum 3.0 high school academic average or a 3.0 college cumulative grade point average.

  4. Maintain a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.0throughout the award period. Eligibility for continuation will be verified at the end of each fall and spring semester.

  5. Complete an application form. See the Admissions Web site http://admissions.georgiasouthern.edu/ for guidelines and deadlines.

  6. Solicit two letters of recommendation from individuals who can attest to your academic and extracurricular achievements abd character, as well as to your collegiate and professional potential. (Letters from family or friends are generally seen to be of little value.) Letters should be given to you in a sealed envelope in time for you to submit them with your application.

  7. Scholarships are competitive, and preference will be given to applicants with GPAs that exceed the minimum and/or SAT scores of 1300 or greater (ACT scores 29 or greater).

Application Procedure

  1. Scholarship competition occurs once a year during the December Southern Scholar's Showcase event. You must complete the general application for scholarships to be considered for the Ruffin.

  2. See the Office of Admissions Web site http://admissions.georgiasouthern.edu/ for application deadlines and procedures.

Residential Interest Groups (RIGs) - CLASS ACT (Academic Community Team) RIG

Housed in Eagle Village, RIGs are clusters of 25 - 30 students who share a major or course interest. RIGs allow residence hall students to develop relationships with other students who share similar interests while they are taking general education courses. RIGs are the most academically intentional of the Living/Learning Communities at Georgia Southern University.

The following RIG is associated with the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences:

CLASS ACT: This RIG will focus on issues central to majors and interest within the arts, humanities, and social sciences. This community is dedicated to providing academic support and vocational exploration through faculty involvement.
The CLASS ACT RIG will accomodate approximately thirty students in the following majors:

Benefits of the CLASS ACT

RIGs Application Procedures:

Upon acceptance to Georgia Southern University, apply for on-campus housing at http://www.gsuhousing.com/. There is a $100 non-refundable application fee to apply for Housing.
Select the CLASS ACT RIG in Watson Hall as your first choice for Housing. You may also select a roomate preference, as long as the person you choose is in the CLASS ACT RIG. Residence hall spaces for this RIG are limited, so apply early for this program.

Fall 2007 REQUIRED CLASSES for students in the CLASS ACT RIG

Students will take an additional 6-9 hours of classes to supplement the required classes.