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Scholarships & Financial Aid

You have financial options with your college planning, and we're here to help you find the best options for your situation.

Ideally, paying for your education is a long-term process of building and using a collection of savings, institutional aid, free money, and — if necessary — loans. However, there are many avenues for financing your education.

Find out how the University's financial aid and scholarships can help the financial pressure.

Criminal Justice Scholarships

These are the scholarships available to criminal justice majors. For more information about how to apply for these scholarships, contact us.

Hayden & Debra Groth Endowed Scholarship

Students must be eligible to enter his/her sophomore, junior, or senior year; preference may be given to a non-traditional student; have a least a 3.0 GPA; must be enrolled full-time and majoring in Criminal Justice in the College of Liberal Arts. Award is $1,250 per academic year.

Background: Debra Groth was born in Corpus Christi, Texas and moved to Lafayette with her family where she graduated from Lafayette High School. She attended both the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (then University of Southwestern Louisiana) and LeToumeau University where she earned a Bachelor's degree in Business Management. She was a 28-year employee of the Marathon Oil Company where she supervised and managed human resources in domestic and overseas venues.

Hayden Groth is a Texas native. He graduated from Lafayette High School and earned a Bachelor's degree from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (then University of Southwestern Louisiana). He also graduated from the Northwestern University Traffic Institute in Evanston, IL in 1976. He attended the Paul M. Hebert school of Law at LSU. He attained the rank of sergeant in the Louisiana State Police before moving on to a consulting career in engineering and litigation.

Hayden and Debra reside in their home on the shores of Lake Sam Rayburn in East Texas. They are both nationally certified litigation mediators and maintain active roles in their religious and civic
communities. Hayden retired in 2011 and Debra retired in 2015. Hayden and Debra Groth set up this endowed scholarship in 2018 to benefit undergraudate criminal justice students at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette for many generations of students to come.

Kirstin E. Honoré Memorial Scholarship

Students must be admitted to the University, enrolled as a full-time student, and classified as a sophomore, junior, or senior persuing an undergraduate degree in Criminal Justice; must have at least a cumulative 3.5 GPA to be eligible; must submit a formal essay (500 words max) describing why they desire a career in the field of criminal justice and believe they are deserving of this scholarship award.

Background: This scholarship was established by Byron and Nicole Honore in memory of their beloved daughter, Ms. Kirstin Elizabeth (Libby) Honore, who passed away suddenly in July 2019 while enrolled at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Kirstin loved attending UL Lafayette and valued the opportunities the university provided to develop her both academically and personally, as well as encourage her passion to make a difference in the world. Kirstin exhibited many wonderful qualities in her short life-compassionate, fun loving, hardworking, scholarly and servant leadership. In an effort to keep her legacy and generous spirit alive, on an annual basis the Honore family will provide a $1,500 scholarship to a qualifying student emolled at the UL Lafayette majoring in criminal justice.

Kirstin Elizabeth "Libby" Honore was born January 31, 2000. A native of Baton Rouge, LA, she attended Sacred Heart of Jesus School from pre-K through eighth grade, where she was an honor
student, recipient of the SHS Brotherhood/Sisterhood Award, served as Mardi Gras queen and SHS cheerleader. Kirstin attended St. Joseph's Academy in Baton Rouge, where she graduated in 2018 with First Academic honors. While at St. Joseph's Academy, Kirstin was actively involved in extracurricular activities such as Mu Alpha Beta Club, Science Club, French Club, and SJA Student Ambassador. She received several honors and awards while at St. Joseph's, including 4-year Academic Letter Award, SJA Service Award and Academic Award for Theology.

Kirstin was also a servant leader at school and within the Baton Rouge community spending much time volunteering at Catholic Charities, Council on Aging, Cancer Services, St. James Place, Jefferson Manor Nursing Home and YMCA of Greater Baton Rouge. She also served as a Junior Usher at Greater King David Baptist Church.

Upon graduating from St. Joseph's, Kirstin was excited to attend the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (ULL) in fall 2018, where she desired to major in Criminal Justice with an emphasis in Forensic Science. Kirstin loved being a Ragin' Cajun and became very involved at the SPRUCE lab, where she was able to further her passion for the field of criminology by engaging in applied research with the National Institute of Justice's National Missing and Unidentified Persons System. She was also a student worker within the Office of Undergraduate Admissions and enjoyed helping to organize and participate in ULL Preview Days for prospective new students. In spring 2019, Kirstin was named to the Dean's List for her academic accomplishments.

Application Form

To apply, use this web form. Fall 2023 applications are due soon and will continue to be accepted as applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until scholarships are awarded.