Who is eligible and what are the selection criteria?
Eligibility: Applicants must have demonstrated superior standards of intellectual ability, scholastic achievement and personal promise during their undergraduate career (a GPA of at least 3.7 is expected); be a college junior pursuing a bachelor’s degree (“junior” means a student who plans to continue full-time undergraduate study and who expects to receive a baccalaureate degree between December 2024 and August 2025); plan to enter a research-based master’s or doctoral program in the arts, humanities or social sciences no later than one year after graduation from college; have a history of demonstrated financial need; 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 their undergraduate years. (Scholars who receive an NSF, Ford, Rhodes, Gates or similar scholarship may postpone receipt of the Beinecke funding within the five-year period following graduation. Truman Scholars cannot also accept the Beinecke.)
Beinecke's four primary selection criteria:
- Evidence of academic success and relevant academic background: Does the transcript show evidence of high
academic achievement? Does the coursework prepare the candidate for the planned field of study? Is there other
evidence of high-level performance (e.g., merit scholarships, academic prizes, artistic creations, research
publications)?
- Clarity of research/creative focus: Are the research questions/creative impact and career path well-defined,
coherent, and well thought through? Does the candidate’s writing give evidence of higher-order thinking skills and the ability to express thoughts clearly and without jargon?
- Knowledge and fit of proposed graduate programs: Has the candidate proposed graduate programs that are
appropriately ambitious and a good fit for their scholarly and career plans?
- Quality and breadth of recommendations: Are the recommendations excellent and from people who know
the candidate and can make informed comparisons with other students? Can any of the recommendations speak to the relevance of the proposed research/creative work, the suitability of the proposed courses, and the ability of the candidate to undertake and excel at scholarly research/creative work?