Beinecke Scholarship

About the Beinecke Scholarship

The Beinecke scholarship program provides funding for graduate study to academically distinguished degree-seeking juniors who plan to enter a research-focused master's or doctoral program in the arts, humanities, or social sciences and have a documented history of receiving need-based financial aid during their undergraduate years.

Each Beinecke scholar receives $5,000 immediately prior to entering graduate school and an additional $30,000 while attending graduate school. 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 graduate course of study in the arts, humanities, and social sciences.

The be eligible to apply for the Beinecke scholarship applicants must:

• Be a degree-seeking undergraduate who plans to continue full-time study and expects to receive their baccalaureate degree between December 2025 and August 2026
• Plan to enter a research- or creative-focused master’s or doctoral program in the arts, humanities, or social sciences
• Be a U.S. citizen or U.S. national from American Samoa or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
• Have a documented history of being eligible to receive need-based financial aid during their undergraduate years, with a slight preference for Pell Grant recipients. Other evidence of meeting this criterion is a student’s history of receiving need-based institutional, state, or federal grants-in-aid. Students who are nominated by the campus committee will be required to complete and submit a financial aid data sheet.

Note: Students in the social sciences who plan to pursue graduate study in neuroscience or clinical psychology should not apply for a Beinecke Scholarship.

Campus Nomination Process

Overview: Interested applicants from William & Mary should upload the following application components to W&M's Beinecke application Box folder  by the campus deadline:

• A completed application form
• A current CV (no minimum length)
• A 1,000-word statement describing your research or creative interests as they relate to graduate study and your career aspirations beyond these studies. This should also include a discussion of the most relevant academic, professional, extracurricular, and personal experiences that have influenced or shaped the your interests and plans.
• An unofficial transcript
• Candidates interested in pursuing an MFA must submit an artist's supplement aligned with the field in which they will be studying

In addition to these materials, applicants must arrange for three letters of recommendation to be uploaded to W&M's Beinecke application box folder by the campus deadline. Recommendations should come from faculty members that can speak to your intellectual curiosity, character and potential to succeed in advanced graduate study.

The application instructions, as well as all components and necessary forms, are available on the Beinecke Scholarship website.

Application Format: Applications are submitted to Beinecke on behalf of nominees by the Assistant Director for Fellowships in the Office of Undergraduate Academic Affairs.

Deadlines and Timeline: 

• Sunday, February 16 by 11:59 p.m. EST: Campus Deadline. All application components, including letters of recommendation, are due in W&M's Beinecke application Box folder.
• Mid-February through mid-March: Applications are reviewed by the Beinecke campus committee. Interviews with applicants may be scheduled if necessary.
• Mid-March: Applicants who have been nominated by the campus committee will have a short window to edit their materials before submitting their applications in time to meet the national deadline.

Nominations: William & Mary is limited to nominating one student for the Beinecke Scholarship each year.

National Application Process

The Beinecke national deadline usually falls in late March. A more detailed deadline will be posted once Beinecke makes it available.

All students must meet the campus deadline (posted above) in order to be eligible for endorsement by the national deadline. Learn more about the Beinecke Scholarship including a complete description of the program, past winners, and the eligibility requirements for applicants.