The Cornaro Scholarship for Graduate Studies

Each year since 1985, Kappa Gamma Pi has awarded one or more Cornaro scholarships for graduate studies to its members! Because eligibility is limited to Kappa Gamma Pi members, all of whom are honors graduates, competition is keen each year and the quality of the recipients is outstanding. The scholarship program is supported by donations made by Kappa members and friends.

The Cornaro Scholarship derives its name from Elena Lucrezia Cornaro Piscopia, the first woman in the world to receive a university degree of any kind. Elena Cornaro, a member of a noble Venetian family, received the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in 1678 from the University of Padua, Italy. It was an accomplishment unparalleled in that unenlightened age, and Kappa Gamma Pi is proud to have named its scholarship in her honor!

As the National Catholic College Graduate Honor Society, Kappa Gamma Pi cherishes the memory of the accomplishments of Elena Lucrezia Cornaro Piscopia and is proud to use her name for the Scholarship for Graduate Studies that we offer our members. Every member of Kappa Gamma Pi is eligible to apply for the Cornaro Scholarship, currently $3000, which provides funding towards the cost of graduate or professional school. The deadline for receiving applications is mid-April and scholarships are awarded each year in June.

Applications for the scholarship are available on-line and by mail from the National Office: kgpnews@aol.com. To be eligible for the scholarship, you MUST be a member of Kappa Gamma Pi, and already accepted into an accredited graduate or professional program. This year, the deadline for receiving applications and letters of reference is April 20, 2009. We commemorate Elena Lucrezia Cornaro Piscopia as a Kappa before our time. She is the Seventeenth Century Model for Today's Kappa!

Apply for the Cornaro Scholarship!

Application (pdf file) or Application (word file)

How did Elena Cornaro - an obscure Italian scholar - achieve international recognition?

This page was last updated on 30 September 2008