U.S. Service and Leadership Awards

For these awards, the Scholarship Opportunities Program seeks undergraduates with the ambition to become practical leaders in their fields. Potential applicants should have demonstrated the capacity and vision for original public or community service and organizational leadership achievements.

Practical leadership may take many different forms; such capacity and vision may be demonstrated through some or all of the following:

  • Founding roles in new organizations or entrepreneurial ventures;
  • Rising, within an existing organization, from the entry level of member or volunteer to a position of significant responsibility and influence;
  • Sustained participation and dedication to achievement of increasingly challenging objectives related to a particular project or cause;
  • Significant, progressively-responsible work or internship experience.

Whatever form your practical leadership may take, you must be able to articulate how you made a unique and measurable impact, separate from other members of the project or organization and others who have held the same or similar roles. The formation of close relationships with supervisors and mentors is also essential to building a competitive profile toward these awards.

Please Note: External scholarship agencies will consider all of your credit-bearing coursework from any college or institution as part of the review process (including CSU, community colleges, private colleges, or other UC campuses/Extension programs, and including units earned while in high school or studying abroad). Grades from other colleges will be included in the calculation of your cumulative (overall) undergraduate GPA for eligibility purposes.

Application Procedures

Pre-Application Opens: Early Oct. 2023 | Due by: November 6, 2023 Noon 

  • Self-enroll and complete SOP-PREP.
  • At the completion of SOP-PREP, you will meet with a Student Advisor and receive links to appropriate Pre-Application forms based on your academic interests and goals.
  • If your Pre-Application is deemed eligible for personalized advising (and endorsement/nomination services if required), you will be assigned an SOP primary advisor, under whose guidance you will work on your application materials for 3 months.
    Morris K. Udall Undergraduate Scholarship*

    The Udall Foundation awards scholarships to college sophomores and juniors for leadership, public service, and commitment to issues related to Native American nations or to the environment. The Udall scholarship honors the legacies of Arizona Congressman Morris K. Udall and of U.S. Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall, whose careers had a significant impact on Native American self-governance, health care, and the stewardship of public lands and natural resources.

    Click here for detailed information regarding eligibility, fields of study, and more!

    Donald A. Strauss Public Service Award*

    The creation of the Foundation’s Public Service Award pays tribute to the vision, ideals, and leadership of Donald A. Strauss, and to his life-long commitment to public service and education. The Foundation promotes the value of public service in the education and preparation of our future leaders. In financing innovative student-generated projects which foster leadership skills, we encourage optimism and an enduring interest in public service.

    A central part of the application package is an original proposal for a community or public service project to be carried out between the end of the sophomore or junior year and the spring of the following year; these proposals are a major focus of the selection process.

    Click here for detailed information regarding eligibility, fields of study, and more!

    Harry S. Truman Scholarship for Public Service*

    The Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation—the federal memorial to our thirty-third President—awards merit-based scholarships to college students who plan to pursue careers in government or elsewhere in public service. Truman Scholars receive up to $30,000 for graduate or professional school, participate in leadership development activities, and have special opportunities for internships and employment with the federal government.

    The Foundation defines public service as employment in government at any level, uniformed services, public-interest organizations, nongovernmental research and/or educational organizations, public and private schools, and public service-oriented nonprofit organizations.

    Click here for detailed information regarding eligibility, fields of study, and more!

    Application Procedures

    Pre-Application Opens: Mid. February 2022  |  Due by: April 11, 2022 at 12:00 Noon

    • Self-enroll and complete SOP-PREP.
    • At the completion of SOP-PREP, you will meet with a Student Advisor and receive links to appropriate Pre-Application forms based on your academic interests and goals.
    • If your Pre-Application is deemed eligible for personalized advising (and endorsement/nomination services if required), you will be assigned an SOP primary advisor, under whose guidance you will work on your application materials for 3 months.
    Knight-Hennessy Scholarship at Stanford University*

    The Knight-Hennessy Scholars program cultivates a diverse, multidisciplinary community of emerging leaders from around the world and guides them to collaborate, innovate, and communicate as they prepare to address the complex challenges facing society.

    Click here for detailed information regarding eligibility, fields of study, and more!

    Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans

    The Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans is a $90,000 merit-based fellowship exclusively for immigrants and children of immigrants who are pursuing graduate school in the United States. Paul and Daisy Soros, Hungarian immigrants and American philanthropists, created the program as a way to give back to the country that had afforded their family such great opportunities.

    Click here for detailed information regarding eligibility, fields of study, and more!

    *Requires UCI endorsement/nomination & campus screening process; deadlines must be met in order to qualify.

    Questions about the campus advising and endorsement (nomination) process may be directed to the Scholarship Opportunities Program at scholars@uci.edu or 949-824-0189.

    SOP is able to advise competitive UCI undergraduate candidates only.