Beinecke Scholarship

• 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
• Plan to enter a research- or creative-focused 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 or clinical psychology 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 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 grantsin- aid. The nominated student will be required to complete and submit a Financial Aid Data Sheet outlining how the student meets this criterion. During the selection process, the amount of financial need will be one of the factors considered, with preference given to candidates for whom the awarding of a Beinecke Scholarship would significantly increase the likelihood of the student’s being able to attend graduate school.
• Applicants should be aware that the Office of the Dean of Student Affairs is involved with the campus review process.  Students with serious social or academic violations, such as those that are included as part of their permanent record at Bowdoin, are advised to consult with the Director of Student Fellowships and Research early in the process.  Students may also consult with their dean for guidance.

• 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?

Bowdoin’s Internal Selection Process. Since Bowdoin is only allowed to nominate one Bowdoin student annually for the Beinecke, the Committee will review the materials listed below to select Bowdoin’s nominee. Please electronically submit the following materials to the Office of Student Fellowships and Research by the “Initial Bowdoin Deadline” (see above):

Materials for Final Consideration.

If you receive Bowdoin’s nomination, it is your responsibility to continue revising and collecting your materials. By the “Final Bowdoin Deadline,” Bowdoin’s nominee must submit the items listed below to the Office of Student Fellowships and Research, which will send all materials directly to the program for further consideration.

• A completed Application Form (found on Beinecke website).
• A current resume.
• A statement of 1,000 words or less from the nominee devoted to describing their research or creative interests for graduate study and career aspirations beyond these studies. The statement should also include a discussion of the most relevant academic, professional, extracurricular, and personal experiences that have influenced or shaped the nominee’s interests and plans. Nominees should include their name and “Bowdoin College” in the header of each page.
• An unofficial academic history from Polaris.
• Three letters of recommendation from faculty members that assess the applicant's intellectual curiosity, character, and potential for advanced graduate study. These letters should be written on letterhead, addressed to the "Beinecke Selection Committee," and signed.
• *Candidates who wish to pursue an MFA degree must submit an artist’s supplement (creative writing samples should be attached to the application PDF, while a hyperlink to a folder containing visual work should be provided at the top of the statement):
  • Creative writers: a maximum of five pages of doublespaced text, though playwrights, poets, and screenwriters should submit the text in the format appropriate to the genre (i.e., not double-spaced, if inappropriate).
  • Visual artists (except filmmakers): a digital portfolio containing up to ten images of current work, with an image resolution of at least 300 dpi.
  • Performing artists (including filmmakers): video sample(s) no longer than five minutes in total.

The items listed above should be saved as PDFs and electronically submitted to Gina Pappas (gpappas@bowdoin.edu).

In addition, students are responsible for filling out a Financial Aid Data Sheet (hyperlinked toward the bottom of the page). Each nominated student must submit this form (completed by the student and certifying that the student qualifies for need-based financial aid) to the Beinecke Program Director by the nomination deadline.

The Office of Student Fellowships and Research will be responsible for gathering the following items required for the nomination package:

• A Certification of Eligibility Form completed by the dean or administrative officer responsible for the nomination
• A letter from the dean or administrative officer summarizing the reasons for the nominee's selection