Eligibility

To be eligible to receive a Beinecke Scholarship, a student must be a college Junior, a citizen of the United States and have a documented history of receiving need-based financial aid as an undergraduate student. See the eligibility section of the Beinecke website for further information.

Deadlines

  • 5:00 p.m. Central Time on January 10, 2025: Pre-Application Form due
  • 5:00 p.m. Central Time on February 14, 2025: Draft of application materials due to fellowships@carleton.edu
  • 5:00 p.m. Central Time on March 21, 2025: Final application materials and faculty recommendations due for Carleton nominee

Purpose

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. Please note that it is increasingly the case that only students with very high GPAs, significant financial need, and extraordinary records of accomplishment (including presentations or publication) in their field of interest are selected for the Beinecke Scholarship.

Awards

Each scholar receives $5,000 immediately prior to entering graduate school and an additional $30,000 in non-replacement funds (meaning that these funds supplement but do not replace funding provided by a graduate program) while attending graduate school.

Application process

If you wish to apply for a Beinecke Scholarship, please read How to Apply at the Beinecke website and submit a Pre-Application Form by 5:00 p.m. Central Time on January 10, 2025.

Applicants should submit the following materials as a single PDF to fellowships@carleton.edu by 5:00 p.m. Central Time on February 14, 2025. Please include “Beinecke” in the subject line.

  • Application Form
  • Current resume
  • Personal statement of 1,000 words or less from the nominee describing your background, interests, plans for graduate study and career aspirations. The statement should include a discussion of some experiences and ideas that have shaped those interest, plans and aspirations.
  • The names and contact information for three faculty members (at Carleton or elsewhere) who have agreed to write a letter of recommendation. The nominee’s recommenders will be asked to submit recommendations by March 21, 2025, at 5:00pm Central Time (and may also receive feedback on drafted letters, if they wish) .
  • A transcript. An unofficial transcript ordered via the Hub is fine at this point. If nominated, we will ask for an official transcript which will be submitted with the application materials.

Interview and Nomination process

Once a nominee is chosen and all applicants are notified of the outcome, Director of Student Fellowships Marynel Ryan Van Zee will work with the nominee to revise the application. All documents, including the official transcript and letters of recommendation, must be submitted to Marynel no later than 5:00 p.m. Central Time on March 21, 2025. She will submit the official application with all supporting documents by the Beinecke Foundation deadline.

Campus Liaison

Marynel Ryan Van Zee, Director of Student Fellowships, Laird 131, x4300 / mryanvanzee

Official Website

Beinecke Scholarship

Past Recipients

2013 Recipient: David B. Williams ’14

2012 Recipient: Muira McCammon ’13

2008 Recipient: Mya Dosch ’09

1994 Recipient: Peter Nichol ’95

1990 Recipient: Kevin Baird ’91

1985 Recipient: Barbara Falkowski ’86