Beinecke Scholarship
The Beinecke Scholarship provides scholarships for juniors eligible for need-based financial aid who are planning to pursue a research-focused master’s or doctoral degree in social sciences, humanities, or the arts, with a slight preference for Pell Grant recipients. Each scholar receives $5,000 before they begin their graduate studies, and a total additional $30,000 for support of graduate study. Applicants should have a strong academic record at Penn and must have a documented history of being eligible to receive need-based financial aid during their undergraduate years. Other evidence of meeting this criterion is a student’s history of receiving need-based institutional, state, or federal grants-in-aid.
Beinecke Scholars have gone on to receive major fellowships such as the Rhodes, Marshall, and Fulbright Scholarships.
Information on ELIGIBILITY for the Beinecke Scholarship at https://beineckescholarship.org/how-to-apply/
Information on REQUIRED APPLICATION MATERIALS for the Beinecke Scholarship at https://beineckescholarship.org/how-to-apply/required-materials/
Penn Application Deadline (including all application materials and recommendation letters) must be submitted at CURF's Beinecke Nomination Request no later than February 27, 2026, 4:00 pm Eastern US Time.
Penn’s Application Process
The Beinecke Scholarship accepts nominations from institutions – students may not apply independently. To apply to Penn’s nominee, you must complete the following steps by Penn’s Internal Deadline of no later than February 27, 2026 @4:00 pm Eastern US Time.
- Schedule a meeting with Michaile Rainey https://calendly.com/michaile-upennto discuss your eligibility and potential recommenders. (See IMPORTANT NOTES about Recommenders below.) The most successful candidates are those who start the application early.
- Start a Beinecke Nomination Request form for the Beinecke Scholarship.
- FIRST IMPORTANT NOTE about Recommenders: Request recommendation letters via the CURF Beinecke Nomination Request form.
Recommendation letters for the Beinecke Scholarship must be written by faculty in the applicant's field (or a closely allied field) who have taught you and/or supervised your research. Beinecke recommendation letters should be from “Standing Faculty” (i.e., faculty whose Penn webpage lists them as Professors, Associate Professors, or Assistant Professors. Most departments have a section listing these faculty separately. Let Michaile Rainey know if you are having difficulty identifying 3 standing faculty members to write for you, OR if you are unsure whether your potential recommenders are standing faculty members. - SECOND IMPORTANT NOTE about Recommenders: SEND THE BULLETED QUESTIONS BELOW TO YOUR RECOMMENDERS and ask each of your recommenders to review the information on writing a strong recommendation letter for you at Recommendation Information for Referees. Beinecke recommendation letters should focus primarily on the nominee’s academic strength, intellectual curiosity, and potential for advanced graduate study in their field. In particular, Beinecke recommendation letters should address:
- How does the candidate’s academic ability in their field compare to their peers?
- Why is the candidate’s specific focus of research unique or important?
- How is the candidate particularly well-suited to pursue their specific research (academic strength, research experience, other factors)?
- Why are the graduate schools and specific departments identified by the candidate a good fit for the candidate and their research interests?
- Upload your completed Beinecke Application Form (which you need to download from the Beinecke website), resume, unofficial transcript from Path@Penn (and other institutions, if you are a transfer student), and personal statement on the nomination request form.
- If you do not receive an email confirming your submission within 4 hours, please IMMEDIATELY. email curf-ncf@curf.upenn.eduto make sure CURF has received your submission.
- Nominated students will receive further instructions.
Contact Information
Michaile Rainey: michaile@upenn.edu
Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships
College Hall G08/9
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Details:
Location
USA, United Kingdom, International (Not UK), Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, Middle East
Type
Graduate Study
Eligibility
Junior