Beinecke Scholarship
Application period: September to late March
Campus deadline: Friday, January 30, 2026
National deadline: Last Friday of March
NOTE: Interested students must participate in the campus nomination process to be considered for the award.
Google Form to apply through Whitman College
Eligibility requirements:
- Superior standards of intellectual ability, scholastic achievement, and personal promise as an undergraduate
- Junior in college (Dec '25 or May '26 graduate)
- Plan to enter master's or doctoral program in the arts, humanities or social sciences (excludes neuroscience); does not need to be immediately after graduating
- U.S. citizen or U.S. national from American Samoa or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
- Documented history of being eligble for need-based financial aid as an undergraduate (slight preference for Pell Grant eligibility)
Award summary and conditions: The Beinecke Scholarship 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. The award is for $35,000 in support of graduate education to supplement support from graduate school. Eligibility is limited to students planning to attend graduate school in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. Each school participating in the Beinecke Scholarship Program is permitted to make a single nomination each year.
Application requirements:
- Application form
- Current curriculum vitae (CV)
- Personal statement (1,000 words max.)
- Unofficial transcript
- Letters of recommendation (3)
- Financial Aid Sheet (the nominee will email this sheet to the director of the Beinecke Scholarship Program)
Campus representative: Dr. Jess Hernandez, Director for Fellowships and Grants
Campus interview: No
Campus nomination required: Yes, Whitman may nominate one student. After the campus deadline, a campus committee will review and discuss submitted applications. They can decide whether or not to nominate a student.
National committee interview: No
National selection process: Approximately 125 colleges and universities are eligible to nominate a student for consideration for a Beinecke Scholarship. 20 scholarships are awarded each year. Program director and three senior college/university administrators comprise the selection committee.