Students at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University are eligible to be considered for scholarships granted by the Department of Economics.

Information on scholarships is typically available by early spring semester. Eligibility requirements are listed below and applications can be accessed here.

Scholarship recipients are then selected by two faculty members from the Department, and formal presentation of the awards occurs during the Celebrating Scholarship and Creativity Day celebration.

Applicants will be considered for all the scholarships for which they are eligible. Eligible students must be Economics majors who have earned or are currently enrolled in at least eight credits in economics courses at CSB/SJU. No student may win a second scholarship in the same category, i.e. only one Merrill per student.

The intent is to award the higher dollar scholarships to the recipients deemed most qualified. Academic achievement is the prime consideration in making these awards. However, extracurricular and service activities will be considered as important factors. Students will need to upload an unofficial copy of their transcripts (PDF) to the application form.

The following table summarizes scholarships available to Economics majors:

Two or three Charles E. Merrill Scholarships have been made available through a grant from the Charles E. Merrill Trust to reward students for excellence. One or two of these awards will be made to Economics majors who will graduate from Saint John’s during the following academic year, and the other to an Economics major who will graduate from Saint John’s during the two academic years hence.

One Dennis Watkins Scholarship has been made available through a grant to reward students for excellence. This award will be made to an Economics major who will graduate from the College of St. Benedict during the following academic year.

The Joseph M. Friedrich Annual Scholarship Fund for Economics will be awarded by the Department of Economics and will be based on academic merit.  This scholarship will be available to CSB and SJU students who are in good academic standing, plan to complete a major in Economics, and will be juniors or seniors. Rising juniors will have a chance to be awarded this scholarship if they maintain their academic record.

Joseph M. Friedrich served as a faculty member of the economics department from 1967 to 2009 when he retired as an economics professor emeritus. In those 42 years the most significant change was the integration of the departments of economics, ultimately resulting in the creation of a single department with a single set of faculty teaching students from both the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University. However, the financial aid given to the students remained mostly awarded separately by either the College or the University. The objective of this scholarship is to provide one source of merit awards available to economics students of both institutions.

Recipients will be required by the College of Saint Benedict to write a letter of appreciation to the donor.

The Karl C. Fruth Memorial Scholarship Fund was established in memory of Karl C. Fruth (class of 1986) by Terence Fruth, father of Karl C. Fruth. This scholarship is intended to encourage students at CSB/SJU to pursue a rigorous academic program in preparation for graduate or professional education at schools of repute. This scholarship is available to CSB or SJU students who are completing their sophomore year and are planning to major in Economics. Junior recipients who have maintained a minimum GPA of 3.0 are eligible to renew their award if they continue in the Economics major and their academic performance indicates that they are candidates for graduate or professional education.

Fr. Gervase Soukup has been made available in alternating years among SJU Accounting, Economics or Global Business Leadership majors with need.

One Women in Economics Scholarship has been made available from the College of Saint Benedict Endowed Fund contributed to by faculty and alums of the Department of Economics. The scholarship is available for students of the College of Saint Benedict who are in good academic standing and plan to complete a major in Economics. Scholarship recipients are only eligible to receive this scholarship once.