Fields of Study
Eligibility by UCI School: Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences
Applicants must plan to enter a research-focused 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; nor should students applying for professional degrees that emphasize skills and practical analysis such as business, law, public health, public policy, and social work.
Eligibility
To be eligible for nomination 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 current academic year. “Junior” means a student who plans to continue full-time undergraduate study and who expects to receive a baccalaureate degree between December and August of the subsequent (next) academic year.
- Be a U.S. citizen or a U.S. national from American Samoa or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
- Have a documented history of receiving need-based financial aid during his or her undergraduate years. Primary evidence of meeting this criterion is a student’s history of receiving need-based institutional, state, or federal grants-in-aid. Each nominated student will be required to complete a Financial Aid Data Sheet certifying that the student meets this criterion. During the selection process, the amount of financial need will be one of the factors considered, with preference being given to candidates for whom the awarding of a scholarship would significantly increase the likelihood of the student’s being able to attend graduate school.
- Students who are selected to receive the Truman Scholarship will not be awarded the Beinecke Scholarship.
Scholarship Benefits
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 graduate study as soon as possible following graduation from college, and must utilize all of the funding within five years of completion of undergraduate studies. A scholar is allowed to take a one-year leave of absence immediately following graduation, but is normally expected to enter graduate school and begin receipt of the Beinecke funding in the following year. A scholar who receives a National Science Foundation, Marshall, Fulbright, Rhodes, Gates, or similar scholarship is allowed to postpone receipt of the Beinecke award until the student has completed study under those programs.
Competitiveness
SOP recommends achieving a G.P.A. of at least 3.7 and curating a record of original and significant accomplishment in your discipline (such as presentations, publications, exhibits, or performances) before applying to the Beinecke Scholarship. Most nominees participated in the Campuswide Honors Collegium and the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program and were also competitive for invitation to School-based Honors Programs.
