Scholarships

There are a number of scholarships available annually to student scholars and recent graduates in the fields of historic preservation or conservation or related fields in architecture, engineering, materials science, or allied trades.

2025 Scholarships: Deadline December 31, 2024

Click Here to Apply

2024 Scholarship Winners

APTNE is proud to announce Ziyu Liu, Columbia University, New York
as our 2024 Jill Verhosek Scholarship Fund Recipient

Ziyu Liu

Ziyu demonstrates a deep passion for exploring preservation policies around the world, continuously striving to understand the narratives these policies represent and the impact they have on society. Ziyu’s master’s thesis “Preserving Panzhihua: Cold-War Industrial Heritage, Policy and Propaganda in China” examines how political factors influence the preservation process in a specific community. Interacting with locals and observing situations affected by such policies “first-hand” during a 2023 summer trip to Panzhihua strengthened Ziyu’s commitment to the preservation field. Ziyu plans to visit more sites that are facing unique preservation challenges and have meaningful conversations with local people and officials to broaden her perspective and research. She is a self-proclaimed “advocate for policies that consider and respect the viewpoints of local communities, ensuring that preservation is not only about safeguarding cultural heritage but also about promoting equity and community cohesion”.

Ziyu’s critical inquiry and thoughtful reflection are essential in her cross-cultural research and bode well for her future contributions to the field of preservation. APTNE is proud to recognize Ziyu’s world-wide curiosity and commitment to preservation by awarding her the 2024 Jill Verhosek Scholarship.


APTNE is proud to announce Eleanor “Ellie” Phetteplace, Columbia University, New York

as our 2024 Melissa Morrissey Scholarship Fund Recipient

Ellie Phetteplace

Ellie is known for being smart, curious and insightful, both in her academic classwork and professional work experiences. Ellie attributes her aptitude for meeting new challenges in academic and professional fields related to preservation to the continual support of more experienced professionals who generously offer their advice, experience and guidance. An APTNE student member since 2020, she has attended numerous APTNE events, such as the “Preservation at Home” series and the NYC LGBTQ Historic Sites Walking Tour. She has many glowing professional refences from industry professionals that have worked with her, one calling her “the best hire our firm could have made.” Through her professional organization involvement (APTI and APTNE), and industry experience between undergraduate and graduate school, she is pursuing a thesis topic related to the evaluation of embodied carbon in the structural intervention of existing and historic buildings, understanding the potential to influence what factors are considered standard in preservation design practice. 

Ellie demonstrates a natural ability to engage with and learn from others, quickly pick up on concepts and techniques, and make new connections to help advance the industry. APTNE is honored to award the 2024 Melissa Morrissey Scholarship to Eleanor “Ellie” Phetteplace.

 

Available Scholarships

APTI Annual Symposium Grant

Overview: Each year, APTNE hosts student-member presenters at our Annual Symposium in February or March each year. At our annual symposium, a jury selects one student presenter based on merit of their presentation to attend APTI’s Annual Conference, which includes presentations from leaders in preservation and provides opportunities to engage in one-on-one networking with industry professionals from around the world.
Award: The grant provides reimbursement of costs for hotel, travel and other event-related expenses, up to $1,500.


Melissa Morrissey Scholarship Fund

Overview: The Melissa Morrissey Scholarship Fund was established in 2014 by APTNE to honor the memory of former board member Pat Morrissey’s daughter, Melissa Morrissey, whose professional contributions centered around advancing new technology and ideas. Melissa, like her father and many members of the APTNE community, believed in knowledge-sharing “lessons-learned” and uncovering leading edge ideas that best-serve the end client. Melissa demonstrated immense pride in making unexpected connections between decision makers and free thinkers to reach new and innovative solutions. The scholarship named in Melissa’s honor provides financial support for students who are interested in looking at preservation through a new, technological, or otherwise innovative lens. The scholarship is intended to help with student expenses relating to education, training, or continuing professional development.

Deadline: December 31, 2024
Award: 
$3,000


Jill Verhosek Scholarship Fund

Overview: The Jill Verhosek Scholarship Fund was established in May 2022 by APTNE to honor the memory of our former board member, Jill Verhosek. Jill’s lifelong love of travel reflected her insatiable curiosity for different cultures and places; it led her to explore the world, and its historic buildings, far and wide. She brought a worldwide curiosity and unwavering commitment to her work as a historic preservationist. For many in the APTNE community, Jill demonstrated an unmatched strength and determination to improve the preservation industry through purposeful events, initiatives, and outreach. The scholarship named in Jill’s honor provides financial support for students who are actively advocating and/or promoting curiosity, engagement, and excellence in the field of preservation. The scholarship is intended to help with student expenses relating to education, training, or continuing professional development.

Deadline: December 31, 2024
Award: 
$3,000

 

How to Apply

Scholarship Eligibility Requirements

Candidates must meet the following criteria:

  • Be a student enrolled full-time in a high school, college, or graduate program either demonstrating an inclination towards or enrolled in academic fields related to historic preservation or conservation trades in New York, Northern New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont or Maine; or be a recent graduate (within the last two years) from one of these programs.
  • Be a current APTNE member.  Go to our Membership Page for more information.
  • Have attended at least one APTNE event in the last six months.
  • Special consideration will be given to students actively working towards specializing in fields relating to preservation technology, and to students who demonstrate activities/interests related to one of the above scholarship descriptions.
    .

APTNE reviews applications for geographical and institutional distribution. Past recipients cannot be awarded for two consecutive years.

Applications

Applicant should fill out the standard application form, including up to 250 words describing a personally impactful preservation event, idea, or experience (required), future plans related to the field of preservation (required), intended use for the scholarship funds (required), and include a letter of recommendation (required). 

 

2025 Scholarships: Deadline December 31, 2024

Click Here to Apply

When to Apply

Applications open in March and will be reviewed annually at the end of January for consideration.  To be eligible for consideration during the current cycle, please submit applications no later than December 31, 2024. Applications submitted after this date will be considered for the following cycle.

Applicants will be notified of the APTNE Student Scholarship Committee’s decision within one month of application deadline.

Contact

For more information about APTNE Grants and Student Scholarships, please contact [email protected].

 

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