One Ball State Day 2025
Fundraising for Students
A history education offers a blend of skills and knowledge that can serve as the foundation for successful lives and careers. Ball State University’s History Department provides students with opportunities both within and beyond the classroom that help them build this foundation. We offer scholarships that help cover educational costs, paid and/or for-credit internships that provide real-world experience, and hand-on research opportunities. Our annual Student History Conference allows students to share their work in a professional setting and learning from their their peers from around the Midwest. A gift today to any of the funds listed here will help us provide these experiences and develop new ones.
Our scholarships and awards can help you pay for your education, study abroad, or pursue research in fields of interest, including the American Founding, Ancient Studies, Women's History and African-American History. You can find a list of available scholarships and awards here.
Our public history program organizes paid and for-credit internships that prepare students for professional work in museums, archives, and historical sites. From the start of their studies, public history students spend time working in the community and using digital tools and media to create public-facing historical resources.
We also offer immersive learning courses where students work together to create digital resources, opportunities to collaborate with faculty members on a shared research interest, student teaching, and paid research positions with campus units such as the Center for Middletown Studies and the Applied Anthropology Lab.
Student Highlight
Madeleine Mills-Craig ('23) is a graduate from Honors College who double majoried in history and public relations. She researched Asian adoptions in the United States and partnered with Dr. James Connolly for her honors fellowship. With his guidance, she discovered when Korean adoptions first gained traction in the United States. Her hands-on experience with Dr. Connolly taught her the essentials of historical research and built her confidence in handling primary resources. “We went to the Muncie archives, and Dr. Connolly guided me toward finding primary sources. He walked me through collecting the resources and sifting through what was significant. I put on rubber gloves and everything—it was very official.”
Madeleine now works as a Development Associate at Ecoenergy in Chicago.
A gift to the History Department will help fund opportunities for students like Madeleine.
| Rank | Prize | Units, Funds, & Programs | Donors |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $3,000 | Theatre & Dance | 123 |
| 2 | $2,000 | Indiana Academy | 87 |
| 3 | $1,000 | Ball State Fund | 69 |
| 4 | Soccer | 49 | |
| 5 | Communication Studies | 40 | |
| 6 | Accounting | 39 | |
| 7 | Name a Goose | 34 | |
| 8 | Men's Tennis | 31 | |
| 9 | Scholarships | 30 | |
| 10 | Field Hockey | 30 | |
| 11 | Football | 26 | |
| 12 | School of Music | 21 | |
| 13 | Student Emergency Aid Fund | 20 | |
| 14 | Gymnastics | 20 | |
| 15 | Burris Laboratory School | 19 |
| Rank | Prize | Department | Raised |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,000 | Theatre & Dance | $10,401.75 |
| 2 | $1,000 | Football | $8,045.00 |
| 3 | $1,000 | Men's Tennis | $8,035.00 |
| 4 | $1,000 | Men's Golf | $7,950.00 |
| 5 | $1,000 | Indiana Academy | $7,450.00 |
| 6 | Charles W. Brown Planetarium | $5,050.00 | |
| 7 | Ball State Fund | $3,480.08 | |
| 8 | Communication Studies | $3,248.36 | |
| 9 | Cardinal Excellence Fund | $3,205.00 | |
| 10 | Women's Basketball | $2,525.00 | |
| 11 | Alumni Programs | $2,445.00 | |
| 12 | Soccer | $2,420.00 | |
| 13 | Accounting | $2,345.00 | |
| 14 | Burris Laboratory School | $1,875.00 | |
| 15 | Scholarships | $1,850.00 |
| Rank | Prize | Unit | Donors |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $500 | Theatre & Dance | 309 |
| 2 | $500 | Indiana Academy | 207 |
| 3 | $500 | Ball State Fund | 136 |
| 4 | $500 | Communication Studies | 126 |
| 5 | Soccer | 124 | |
| 6 | Accounting | 101 | |
| 7 | Football | 86 | |
| 8 | School of Music | 85 | |
| 9 | Field Hockey | 84 | |
| 10 | Gymnastics | 77 | |
| 11 | Men's Tennis | 70 | |
| 12 | Burris Laboratory School | 59 | |
| 13 | Cardinal Excellence Fund | 58 | |
| 14 | Student Emergency Aid Fund | 55 | |
| 15 | Softball | 53 |
| Rank | Prize | Unit | Donors |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,000 | Theatre & Dance | 465 |
| 2 | $1,000 | Indiana Academy | 299 |
| 3 | $1,000 | Communication Studies | 194 |
| 4 | $1,000 | Soccer | 179 |
| 5 | $1,000 | Ball State Fund | 158 |
| 6 | Accounting | 130 | |
| 7 | Field Hockey | 127 | |
| 8 | School of Music | 125 | |
| 9 | Football | 122 | |
| 10 | Gymnastics | 114 | |
| 11 | Honors College | 95 | |
| 12 | Men's Tennis | 89 | |
| 13 | Cardinal Excellence Fund | 86 | |
| 14 | Burris Laboratory School | 81 | |
| 15 | Ball State University Police Department | 80 |
| Rank | Prize | Department | Gifts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $5,000 | Theatre & Dance | 663 |
| 2 | $3,000 | Communication Studies | 335 |
| 3 | $1,000 | School of Music | 211 |
| 4 | Accounting | 145 | |
| 5 | Special Education | 88 | |
| 6 | Nutrition & Health Science | 68 | |
| 7 | School of Journalism and Strategic Communication | 65 | |
| 8 | Urban Planning | 63 | |
| 9 | School of Kinesiology | 57 | |
| 10 | Modern Languages & Classics | 55 | |
| 11 | Philosophy and Religious Studies | 55 | |
| 12 | Department of Media | 54 | |
| 13 | Political Science | 50 | |
| 14 | School of Nursing | 49 | |
| 15 | Chemistry | 48 |
| Rank | Prize | College | Donors |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $5,000 | College of Fine Arts | 714 |
| 2 | College of Communication, Information, and Media | 575 | |
| 3 | College of Sciences and Humanities | 515 | |
| 4 | Miller College of Business | 373 | |
| 5 | College of Health | 284 | |
| 6 | Teachers College | 227 | |
| 7 | Estopinal College of Architecture and Planning | 189 | |
| 8 | Honors College | 95 |
| Rank | Prize | College | % +/- | Goal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $3,000 | Estopinal College of Architecture and Planning | +28.85% |
201
goal: 156
|
| 2 | $2,000 | College of Fine Arts | +5.56% |
1,006
goal: 953
|
| 3 | $1,000 | College of Communication, Information, and Media | -9.29% |
762
goal: 840
|
| 4 | College of Sciences and Humanities | -16.17% |
565
goal: 674
|
|
| 5 | Miller College of Business | -20.82% |
407
goal: 514
|
|
| 6 | Honors College | -27.33% |
109
goal: 150
|
|
| 7 | College of Health | -34.21% |
325
goal: 494
|
|
| 8 | Teachers College | -66.89% |
299
goal: 903
|
| Rank | Prize | Department | Raised |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,000 | Women of Beneficence (Discovery) | $13,225.00 |
| 2 | $1,000 | David Owsley Museum of Art | $8,730.00 |
| 3 | $1,000 | Theatre & Dance | $6,598.20 |
| 4 | $1,000 | Cardinal Excellence Fund | $6,330.00 |
| 5 | $1,000 | Men's Golf | $5,500.00 |
| 6 | Indiana Academy | $5,492.00 | |
| 7 | Field Hockey | $2,913.28 | |
| 8 | Sports Link | $2,730.00 | |
| 9 | Gymnastics | $1,975.00 | |
| 10 | CAP's Travel Around the World Fund | $1,945.00 | |
| 11 | Nutrition & Health Science | $1,560.00 | |
| 12 | Communication Studies | $1,535.00 | |
| 13 | Ball State Fund | $1,465.00 | |
| 14 | Accounting | $1,410.00 | |
| 15 | Men's Basketball | $1,400.00 |
| Rank | Prize | Department | Donors |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $250 | College of Fine Arts | 714 |
| 2 | $150 | College of Communication, Information, and Media | 575 |
| 3 | $100 | College of Sciences and Humanities | 515 |
| 4 | Miller College of Business | 373 | |
| 5 | College of Health | 284 | |
| 6 | Teachers College | 227 | |
| 7 | Estopinal College of Architecture and Planning | 189 | |
| 8 | Honors College | 95 |
| Rank | Prize | Department | % +/- | Goal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $200 | Anthropology | +77.78% |
16
goal: 9
|
| 2 | $200 | Mathematical Sciences | +53.33% |
23
goal: 15
|
| 3 | $200 | Women's and Gender Studies | +46.15% |
19
goal: 13
|
| 4 | $200 | Psychological Science | +38.89% |
25
goal: 18
|
| 5 | $200 | Philosophy and Religious Studies | +27.91% |
55
goal: 43
|
| 6 | Political Science | +21.95% |
50
goal: 41
|
|
| 7 | History | +20.69% |
35
goal: 29
|
|
| 8 | Chemistry | -2.04% |
48
goal: 49
|
|
| 9 | Charles W. Brown Planetarium | -3.33% |
29
goal: 30
|
|
| 10 | Sociology | -9.09% |
20
goal: 22
|
|
| 11 | Geography and Meteorology | -10.81% |
33
goal: 37
|
|
| 12 | Modern Languages & Classics | -15.38% |
55
goal: 65
|
|
| 13 | English | -26.23% |
45
goal: 61
|
|
| 14 | Field Station and Environmental Education Center | -33.33% |
10
goal: 15
|
|
| 15 | Computer Science | -38.89% |
22
goal: 36
|
