Keasbey Scholarship

Every other year, Bowdoin can nominate two seniors to compete for a Keasbey Scholarship, which supports up to two years of graduate study at the University of Oxford, Cambridge, or Edinburgh. To be eligible, students must be planning to graduate in an odd year (e.g., 2027, 2029) and apply in the fall of their senior year.

The Keasbey Foundation selects students from twelve of the top colleges and universities on the East Coast and are selected on a rotating basis from the following institutions: Amherst, Bowdoin, Brown, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Haverford, Middlebury, Princeton, Swarthmore, Wesleyan and Yale.

Each year, six of these colleges are allowed to nominate two candidates for consideration by the Keasbey Foundation. Bowdoin's cohort includes Dartmouth, Harvard, Haverford, Middlebury and Wesleyan. Students do not apply directly to the Keasbey Foundation: they apply through their college or university.

All of the nominated students are interviewed by the trustees of the Keasbey Foundation in Philadelphia at the law offices of Morgan Lewis in early December. Awards are announced by mid-December.

Express Interest in Applying:

March - April 2026

Initial Bowdoin Deadline:

10/1/2026 at noon

Campus Interview: 10/9/2026

Final Bowdoin Deadline:

11/9/2026 at noon

Official Deadline: 11/12/2026

Campus Contact: Cindy Stocks

*Information derived from

http://keasbeyfoundation.org/

The Foundation urges nominees to consider carefully whether their proposed course of study is more appropriate for a one-year program than for a two-year program. Nominees may also apply to study for a second BA degree. The Foundation does not permit a deferral of the scholarship or a break in the study once the scholar has matriculated.

Please be reminded that Bowdoin’s Honor Code applies to the fellowship application process.

The successful candidate will demonstrate academic excellence, active participation in extracurricular activities, leadership abilities, and the promise of personally and intellectually benefiting from two years of study in Britain.

Applicants for a Keasbey Scholarship must be a citizen of the United States and must be a member of the graduating class of their college or university.

A married Scholar may not hold the scholarship. Therefore, a nominee should not expect to marry before completing two years of study abroad. If the Scholar marries, the scholarship is forfeited.

The Scholar may not have another scholarship, such as a Rhodes, Marshall, Mellon or a fellowship grant for foreign study from his or her own college.
The Keasbey Scholarship may not be deferred or interrupted.

This following statement from the Keasbey Foundation provides insight into the mission of the Keasbey Scholarship.

In view of Miss Keasbey’s admiration for Great Britain and the distinguished persons its educational system has produced, she was obviously interested in promoting Anglo-American relations through the selection of American Keasbey scholars who would be exposed to the British educational institutions. The exceptional records of American Keasbey scholars not only academically, but also in their participation in their college and university activities, such as theater, music, social work, debate and athletics, have created a wide acceptance for American Keasbey scholars who have returned to the United States with a deep appreciation for the experience that the Keasbey Foundation has made possible for them and a better understanding of the heritage all Americans have from Great Britain.

Endorsed candidates are responsible for applying to the graduate or undergraduate program at Oxford, Cambridge, or the University of Edinburgh prior to their December interview in Philadelphia. Given that in recent years competition for the Oxford and Cambridge graduate programs, in particular, has grown more intense, it has become more important for US students to apply to Oxford and Cambridge early, and to establish contacts with potential advisors and graduate directors. In some cases, it may make sense for students to apply to at least two different programs at the same time.
For information on how prior study abroad experience in the UK will impact your application, and more detailed information about what the Keasbey Foundation is looking for in a competitive candidate, please click here.
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.

Materials for the Final Application. If you receive Bowdoin’s nomination, it is your responsibility to continue revising and collecting your material and to remind people writing your recommendations of all dates and deadlines. By the “Final Bowdoin Deadline,” nominees must provide the items listed below to the Office of Student Fellowships and Research:

A completed Keasbey application cover sheet
A curriculum vitae
An official transcript of the nominee’s academic grades, including official transcripts from any study abroad experiences
A four-page, double-spaced Academic Interest and Proposed Course of Study Statement. This statement should summarize the areas of the nominee’s major academic interest and the course of study proposed to be taken in Great Britain. This will require some research on the part of the nominee and, preferably, prior discussion with faculty members who have had experience with educational institutions in Great Britain so that the proposed course of study abroad will have a relationship to what the nominee has done as an undergraduate and to the nominee’s career objectives. This is particularly important if the successful nominee hopes to do at least some work in Great Britain at what would be considered the graduate level here, such as to read immediately for the M.Phil., B. Phil., or M. Sc. degree.
Three letters from faculty members with whom the nominee has worked closely saying, in substance, that the candidate is believed to be capable of academic work which should result in the nominee’s obtaining a good Honors degree in his or her field of interest.

The applicant should save the first four items listed above as PDFs and electronically submit them to Gina Pappas (gpappas@bowdoin.edu).

The Office of Student Fellowships and Research will be responsible for gathering the following and sending all materials directly to the Foundation for further consideration.

A letter addressed to the Trustees by a senior administrative official who knows the nominee personally and who is generally familiar with the nominee’s academic qualifications. The letter should include a description of the nominee’s extracurricular activities and leadership qualities.

Finalists are required to apply to the undergraduate or graduate program they propose to attend in the UK prior to the scheduled interview in Philadelphia.

Samuel Lewis '19 A political theory and classical studies major and economics minor from Edgemont, New York, Sam will continue studying political thought and intellectual history in an MPhil program at the University of Cambridge as a Keasbey Scholar. After Cambridge, Sam hopes to attend law school and become a federal prosecutor. At Bowdoin, Sam was the president of the Peucinian Society and taught Latin to elementary school students at Harriet Beecher Stowe with the Aequora program.
Haley Miller '16 As one of two students in the country to receive the Keasbey Scholarship this year, Haley will continue exploring the overlap between their Chemistry and Religious Studies majors while pursing a M.Sc. in Science and Religion at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. In addition, Haley plans to pursue a second M.Sc. in Art in the Global Middle Ages with support from the Keasbey Memorial Foundation. Haley is interested in using analytical chemistry to analyze medieval art in order to better understand the interactions between different medieval religious groups or to help repatriate objects displaced by current religious conflict in the Middle East.
Katie Kinkel '13 Katie earned an English major with a concentration in creative writing at Bowdoin, and in her final year completed a book of original poems as an honors project. In the fall 2012 semester, she was one of two students awarded the Keasbey Memorial Foundation Scholarship to continue her study of writing and poetry at the University of Oxford. Under the Keasbey Scholarship, Katie proposed two years of study at Oxford’s Master of Studies (MSt) program in creative writing, where she would have been instructed in a variety of creative and poetic traditions and been encouraged to build upon her developing skills as a writer. Though Katie was delighted to have this opportunity through the Keasbey Foundation, she ultimately declined the Keasbey scholarship after being awarded a position and scholarship at the University of Iowa’s Writers’ Workshop, which she will attend this fall.
Tenzing Lama '10 One of only two Keasbey Scholars named in the country during 2009-10, Tenzing will earn an M.Sc. degree in pathology at the University of Oxford, researching the molecular mechanisms of the antigenic variation process in parasites. After two years at Oxford, Tenzing plans to return to the U.S. and enroll in an M.D./Ph.D. program with a special focus on infectious diseases. His long-term goal is to become a physician-scientist.

Keasbey Scholarship

Benefits

Eligibility

Initial Application

Final Application

Meet a Recent Recipient