Marshall Scholarship
> Intent-to-Apply Deadline: July 17, 2025 (Google Form; see instructions below)
Important: A college endorsement is required to apply. Only applicants who submit an Intent-to-Apply form by the deadline will be considered for college endorsement. No exceptions will be made.
For applicants who submitted an Intent-to-Apply form by the deadline:
> Campus Deadline: August 17, 2025
> Campus Endorsement Decision: Early September
For endorsed applicants:
> National Deadline: September 16, 2025
Eligibility requirements:
- Be citizens of the United States of America (at the time they apply for a scholarship);
- (By the time they take up their scholarship i.e. September 2026) hold their first undergraduate degree from an accredited four-year college or university in the United States;
- Have obtained a grade point average of not less than 3.7 on their undergraduate degree at the time of application (rounded GPA’s are not accepted);
- Have graduated from their first undergraduate college or university after April 2023;
- Not have studied for, or hold a degree or degree-equivalent qualification from a British University or GCSE or A Levels taken at school in the UK.
Award summary: The Marshall Scholarship supports Americans of high ability to study for a degree in the United Kingdom (UK). Up to 50 scholars are selected each year to study at the graduate level at a UK institution in any field. Candidates are selected who have the potential to excel as scholars, leaders and as contributors to improved UK-U.S. understanding. Assessment will be based on academic merit, leadership potential and ambassadorial potential.
The Marshall Scholarship is extremely competitive (~3% acceptance rate). Read the bios of recent recipients to familiarize yourself with some of the exceptional experiences that led them to be competitive for the award.
There are five possible pathways of study:
One-year pathway
(1) 1 x one-year master’s degree (minimum 10-month programme)
Two-year pathways (including Master’s and Doctoral)
(2) 2 x one-year master’s degree (at the same or different universities, pursued consecutively)
(3) 1 x two-year master’s degree (at one university)
(4) PhD/DPhil degree (at one university, typically 3 years in the UK)
– For Marshall Scholars who enter as PhD/DPhil candidates, the Commission provides three years of guaranteed funding subject to academic progress
(5) 1 x one-year master’s degree + start PhD/DPhil in Year 2 (at the same or different universities).
– In this scenario, the Commission will guarantee two years of funding, and may provide a third year of funding on a discretionary basis. To complete their PhD/DPhil, Marshall Scholars may need to secure external funding thereafter
Award conditions:
A Marshall Scholarship provides funding for one or two years for master’s degree programmes, or up to three years for doctoral study, at any UK university. The scholarship pays for university fees, living expenses, annual book grant, thesis grant, research and daily travel grants, fares to and from the U.S. and, where applicable, partial support of a dependent spouse.
Application process: online
Application requirements: Applications are made in one of eight regions in the United States. Candidates may apply in the region of their home address or in the region of current residence/employment/study.
- Online application
- Letters of recommendation (3): Applicants should identify recommenders in the following order: the preferred recommender, a general recommender (who should have taught or supervised the applicant), and a leadership recommender; two of these recommenders must be located in the U.S.
- Short answer on post-scholarship plans
- Personal statement
- Academic Proposal
- Leadership Statement
- Official transcripts
- Institutional letter of endorsement
More information: https://www.marshallscholarship.org/apply/eligibility/
Campus representative: Dr. Jess Hernandez, Director for Fellowships and Grants (hernand2@whitman.edu)
Campus nomination required: Yes
National committee interview: Yes
Students and recent alumni interested in applying for the Marshall Scholarship are required to submit a completed intent-to-apply form by the intent-to-apply deadline (see deadline at the top of this page).
Note: Late submissions of the intent-to-apply form will not be accepted; no exceptions will be made.
Intent-to-apply form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1LEciLz9Svbk1yz9uKfA4K8XLeA1v9n5pGTovNqClmCE/preview
Applicants that submitted an Intent-to-Apply form by the deadline will be invited to register on the Marshall Scholarship website.
Application materials are described in the information guidance:
- 2026 Rules for Marshall Scholarship Applicants
- 2026 Marshall Scholarship Application Statement Prompts
All application materials, except the letters of recommendation, must be uploaded to the Marshall portal by the campus deadline; late applications will not be accepted.
Letters of recommendation must be emailed by the letter writer directly to Dr. Jess Hernandez, Director for Fellowships and Grants at hernand2@whitman.edu.
The Campus Endorsement Committee will review application materials and make their final decision about endorsing each candidate. Applicants will be notified via email by the Director for Fellowships and Grants.
Committee decisions are final. Whitman endorsement is not guaranteed.
It is the responsibility of the Endorsed applicant to:
- continue refining their application materials
- ensure that all letters of recommendation are submitted through the Marshall portal
- register an institutional endorser that will submit an institutional endorsement letter on their behalf; the email address to use is hernand2@whitman.edu
- hit 'Submit' by the national deadline