The Beinecke Scholarship Program for US Citizens

Deadline: 25 February 2011
Open to: US citizens pursuing their graduation in the field of arts, humanities and social sciences
Scholarship: a total of $34,000

The program seeks to encourage and enable highly motivated students to pursue opportunities available to them and to be courageous in the selection of a graduate course of study in the arts, humanities and social sciences. Since 1975 the program has selected more than 470 college juniors from more than 100 different undergraduate institutions for support during graduate study at any accredited university.

Each scholar receives $4,000 immediately prior to entering graduate school and an additional $30,000 while attending graduate school. There are no geographic restrictions on the use of the scholarship, and recipients are allowed to supplement the award with other scholarships, assistantships and research grants. Scholars are encouraged to begin graduated study as soon as possible following graduation from college, and must utilize all of the funding within five years of completion of undergraduate studies.

Eligibility

To be eligible for a Beinecke Scholarship, a student must:

• Have demonstrated superior standards of intellectual ability, scholastic achievement and personal promise during his or her undergraduate career.
• Be a college junior pursuing a bachelor’s degree during the 2010-2011 academic year. “Junior” means a student who plans to continue full-time undergraduate study and who expects to receive a baccalaureate degree between December 2011 and August 2012.
• Plan to enter a master’s or doctoral program in the arts, humanities or social sciences. Students in the social sciences who plan to pursue graduate study in neuroscience should not apply for a Beinecke Scholarship.
• Be a United States citizen or a United States national from American Samoa or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

Application process

The Beinecke Scholarship Program only accepts nominations from the institutions listed on our web site. click here to review the list. Interested students enrolled at these institutions MUST contact their campus liaison for information concerning the nomination process.

Each nomination must include the following materials:
* A Certification of Eligibility Form completed by the dean or administrative officer responsible for the nomination and a Financial Data Sheet completed by a financial aid officer certifying that the student qualifies for need-based financial aid.
* A completed Application Form.
* A current resume.
* A personal statement of 1,000 words or less from the nominee describing his or her background, interests, plans for graduate study and career aspirations. The statement should include a discussion of some experiences and ideas that have shaped those interests, plans and aspirations.
* A letter from the dean or administrative officer summarizing the reasons for the nominee’s selection.
* Three letters of recommendation from faculty members that assess the nominee’s intellectual curiosity, character and potential for advanced graduate study.
* An official copy of the nominee’s transcript.
* Other material considered directly relevant to the nominee’s application.

Students who are enrolled at colleges and universities eligible to nominate a student for a Beinecke Scholarship should click here for downloadable application and eligibility forms as well as information regarding the application process.

An original and four copies of the nomination package should be submitted by the dean or designated administrative officer in a single mailing to arrive no later than February 25, 2011.

The official webpage.