Arts & Science Award Program

Overview

The Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (AG Bell) offers financial awards for students, ages 6 to 19, to participate in after school, weekend or summer programs focused on developing skills in the arts or sciences. Programs can be offered through museums, nature centers, art or music centers, zoological parks, space and science camps, dance and theater studios, martial arts studios or any other program with a focus on the arts or sciences.

Awards cannot be used for programs that offer academic credit, travel or study abroad, recreational summer camps, sports camps or sports, including figure skating or gymnastics.

Update

Letters were mailed on May 27, 2010, to all eligible applicants to let them know whether or not they were selected to receive an award.

Arts & Sciences Award Program -- 2010 Eligibility Criteria (criteria could be adjusted for the 2011 program)

In order to be eligible for this program, applicants must meet all of the following criteria:

• The child’s bilateral hearing loss must have been diagnosed prior to age seven (during the language-learning years).
• The child’s hearing loss must be in the moderate to profound range.  This means that the child must have an unaided Pure-Tone Average (PTA) of 55 dB or greater in the better hearing ear, in the speech frequencies of 500, 1000 and 2000 Hz.  Children with cochlear implants meet this eligibility requirement.  Children with unilateral (one-sided) hearing loss do not qualify.

Formula for calculating the PTA:
On the unaided audiogram, look at the results for the better hearing ear at 500, 1000 and 2000 Hz and add those three numbers together, then divide that total by three.  The result is the Pure Tone Average.  To be eligible for this award, the child’s PTA must be 55 dB or greater.

• Spoken communication must be the child’s primary mode of communication.
• The child must be at least six (6) years of age and not older than 19 years of age as of December 31, 2010.
• The child must be enrolled in or registered for the forthcoming arts or sciences program selected.
• The child (and primary contact) must reside in the United States, including territories, or in Canada.

      Note: AG Bell membership is not required; however, preference may be given to AG Bell members.