USA-The Beinecke Scholarship Program

The Beinecke Scholarship Program

The Beinecke Scholarship Program was established in 1971 by the Board of Directors of The Sperry and Hutchinson Company to honor Edwin, Frederick, and Walter Beinecke. The Board created an endowment to provide substantial scholarships for the graduate education of young men and women of exceptional promise.

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 graduated course of study. Since 1975 the program has selected more than 370 college juniors from 97 different schools for support during graduate study at any accredited university. Each scholar receives $2,000 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.

Historically, the Beinecke selection committee favored students planning to attend graduate school in the traditional liberal arts disciplines, but also made awards to students planning to attend graduate school in mathematics and the natural sciences. In 1998, the board of The Sperry Fund decided to limit eligibility for the award to students planning to attend graduate school in the arts, humanities and social sciences.

Each year approximately 100 colleges and universities are invited to nominate a student for a Beinecke Scholarship, and 22 new scholarships will be awarded in 2008. Each school invited to participate in the Beinecke Scholarship Program is permitted to make a single nomination each year. Students enrolled at a participating institution who are interested in applying for a Beinecke Scholarship should contact their campus liaison for information regarding the procedure to be followed in selecting the school's nominee.

Conditions of 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 2007-2008 academic year. "Junior" means a student who plans to continue full-time undergraduate study and who expects to receive a baccalaureate degree between December 2008 and August 2009.

• 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.

• 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. An institutional financial aid officer will be required to complete a Financial Data Sheet certifying that the student meets this criterion.. In the selection process, the amount of financial need will not be a major determining factor, nevertheless, preference is given to candidates for whom the awarding of a scholarship would increase the likelihood of the student's being able to attend graduate school.

Nomination Deadlines

• March 1, 2008 ---Deadline for receipt of all nominations.
• May 1, 2008 ---Deadline for announcement of awards.

Nomination Materials
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 March 1, 2008. 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.

Scholarship Conditions
A Beinecke Scholar receives a total of $34,000 in support of his or her graduate education. The initial payment of $4,000 is awarded directly to the student prior to entering graduate school. This award is intended to offset the costs associated with the graduate application process and to pay for travel expenses directly related to the start of graduated school. While in graduate school, a Beinecke Scholar will receive an additional $30,000 in support. These funds are awarded as a supplement to support provided by the graduate school and the award may be spread over up to five years to comply with institutional limits on the total amount of a student's annual award. In the absence of institutional support or limits, scholars may receive a maximum award of $15,000 per year. These funds are sent directly to the financial aid officer of the institution where the student is enrolled and disbursed in accordance with the scholarship policy of the academic institution. In addition, the following policies apply to the award:

• A scholar must be attending an accredited graduate school as a full-time student in good academic standing in order to receive funding.

• A scholar must utilize all funding within five years of graduation.

• 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 or similar scholarship is allowed to postpone receipt of the Beinecke award until the student has completed study under those programs. However, a scholar is still expected to utilize the Beinecke funding within the five-year period following graduation.

• A scholar who is unsuccessful in gaining admission to graduate school may petition the program director for permission to defer funding for an additional year.

More Information www.beineckescholarship.org/