The Beinecke Scholarship

UCI Deadline: 1/09/2017 Noon (Due to SOP)

What
A scholarship given to Junior-level students with a history of receiving need-based financial aid who plan to enter a master’s or doctoral program in the arts, humanities or social sciences. The scholarship program seeks to encourage and enable highly motivated students to pursue opportunities in these fields. The ideal candidate is one for whom receiving the Beinecke would increase the likelihood of their being able to attend graduate school.

Who is Eligible
Eligibility for the 2017 Beinecke scholarship requires meeting the following criteria:

• Junior class standing during the 2016-17 academic year; students must plan to receive a baccalaureate degree between December 2017 and August 2018
• U.S. citizenship or citizenship in American Samoa or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
• Demonstration of superior intellectual ability, scholastic achievement and personal promise as an undergraduate
• Intent to enter a master’s or doctoral program in the arts, humanities or social sciences. Note: Students in the social sciences who plan to pursue graduate study in neuroscience should not apply for a Beinecke Scholarship.
• Demonstration of a documented history of receiving need-based financial aid during their undergraduate years

Please note that 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). Grades from other colleges will be included in calculation of your overall GPA for eligibility purposes.

Selection Procedure
UCI may nominate one student annually for Beinecke Scholarship consideration. To vie for UCI nomination, submit a complete application package to the SOP office by the UCI deadline. The package must contain:

• a completed Application Form
• a Financial Aid Data Sheet completed and signed by a counselor at UCI’s Office of Financial Aid (102 Aldrich Hall). Either print the document and bring it to the counselor for his/her manual completion or have the counselor download, complete, print, and sign the form.
• a Curriculum Vitae (read our Curriculum Vitae Handout for information on creating one)
• a Personal Statement of 1,000 words or less – consult the Beinecke 2016 Program Announcement for content details
• 3 faculty letters of recommendation asserting your intellectual curiosity, character, and potential for advanced graduate study.
• an official transcript from each institution at which you’ve completed undergraduate coursework

Artist’s Supplement: If the applicant is planning to pursue a graduate degree in creative writing, studio art, film, music performance and/or theater and dance, they are encouraged to submit a sample, portfolio, or external evaluation of their work to supplement the standard nomination package.

UCI’s Beinecke faculty screening committee will review all applications and endorse one (1) junior. That student will receive a letter of support from the dean of the Division of Undergraduate Education and a completed Certification of Eligibility Form. SOP staff will mail the endorsed application materials to the Sperry Fund for evaluation and funding consideration.

Your faculty can submit their recommendations by email, campus mail (zot code 5695), or drop them off in person at our office (193 ASL, in the Writing Center). Please remind them to include their signatures on their letters. Your application materials do not have to be submitted as hard copies, electronic copies will be sufficient.

Winners will be announced May 1st.

*Application materials are available here.*

Who Wins
The Foundation will award 20 new scholarships in 2017 from an applicant pool from over 125 nominating schools. Most winners are near the top of their class academically and often plan to pursue careers in college teaching and/or research (but not secondary school teaching). The Scholarship Committee looks for individuals with intellectual ability, scholastic achievement, and personal promise, as exhibited during the undergraduate years.

Since 1975 the program has selected more than 570 college juniors from 100 different schools for support during graduate study at any accredited university.

Finances
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. The award may be spread over up to 5 years to comply with institutional limits on the total amount of a student’s annual award and scholars must utilize all of the funding within five years of completion of undergraduate studies. In the absence of institutional support or limits, scholars may receive a maximum award of $15,000 annually.

World Wide Web
Further information and applications are available at the Beinecke website.

For applications and more information, contact the Scholarship Opportunities Program at 824-0189. We are located within the Center for Excellence in Writing & Communication, on the first floor of Ayala Science Library (Building 520).

SOP is able to advise competitive undergraduate candidates at UC Irvine only.