Financial Assistance

The Criminal Justice program has two scholarships and one award for which our majors are eligible: The Lisa Marie Kimmel Scholarship and the Walt Francis Award:

The Lisa Marie Kimmel Scholarship was established through the generosity of the Southern Institute of Forensic Science and continues to grow with contributions from criminal justice faculty, students, and friends.  The scholarship is offered in memory of Lisa Marie Kimmel who was murdered in 1988, and whose murder went unsolved for sixteen years. Two scholarships of $500 each (one for a junior and one for a senior) are awarded at the Spring Awards Ceremony. Recipients must be a full-time UNC students majoring in Criminal Justice, maintaining at least a 2.5 GPA, and be an active member of the Criminal Justice Society.

The Walt Francis Award was established by UNC alum, Walt Francis, who has taught in criminal justice programs in Wyoming, Nebraska, and also served as an adjunct professor at UNC. This $250 award is presented during the Spring Awards Ceremony to a graduating senior, majoring in Criminal Justice, who shows an interest in ethics and community oriented policing and is planning a law enforcement career and/or planning to attend graduate school in some area of criminal justice.

In addition to the scholarships and awards available through the Criminal Justice program, students are encouraged to visit the Office of Financial Aid to apply for scholarships and other types of financial assistance that are available to all UNC students. The universal scholarship form should be used for the Lisa Marie Kimmel Scholarship and the Walt Francis Award. Of particular interest to Criminal Justice majors of Latino/Hispanic ethnicity is the Cesar Chavez Scholarship for Criminal Justice (scroll down the list at Undergraduate Scholarships).

For broader information on student financial aid Start with The Student Guide from the U.S. Department of Education. Then try the FastWeb Free Scholarship Search . Also very helpful (although it has an annual fee depending on how many award matches you want to see) is the College Scholarship Search Services provided by College and University.net.