Beinecke Scholarship

This information is provided as a resource only. Case Western Reserve University cannot verify the accuracy, availability or requirements for any listing.

About

The Beinecke Scholarship Program was established in 1971 by the Board of Directors of The Sperry and Hutchinson Company to honor Edwin, Frederick, and Walter Beinecke. The Board created an endowment to provide substantial scholarships for the graduate education of young men and women of exceptional promise. 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. Since 1975 the program has selected more than 759 college juniors from more than 123 different undergraduate institutions for support during graduate study at any accredited university.

Eligibility

To be eligible for a Beinecke Scholarship, a student must:

• 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 master’s or doctoral program in the arts, humanities or social sciences.
• 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 receiving need-based financial aid during his or her undergraduate years. An institutional financial aid officer will be required to complete a Financial Data Sheet certifying that the student meets this criterion. During the selection process, the amount of financial need will be one of the factors considered with preference being given to candidates for whom the awarding of a scholarship would significantly increase the likelihood of the student’s being able to attend graduate school.

Application Timeline & Procedure

1. Connect with the Undergraduate Advising Support Office (scholarshipsandfellowships@case.edu), preferably during your sophomore year but ideally no later than Nov. 1 of your junior year, to discuss your goals and plan to compete in this scholarship process.
   1. CWRU can only nominate one candidate each year, so there is an on-campus preliminary screening.
2. In order to be considered for nomination for the Beinecke Scholarship, you must submit the following materials as one PDF doc prior to the campus application deadline:
   1. A completed online application form
   2. A statement of no more than 1,000 words describing your background, interests, plans for graduate study, and career aspirations. This statement should include a discussion of some of the experiences and ideas that have shaped your interests, plans, and aspirations.
   3. Transcripts: unofficial transcripts will suffice.
   4. A current cv or résumé (2 pages max).
   5. Note: Candidates who wish to pursue an MFA degree must submit an artist’s supplement.
3. Three letters of recommendation must also be submitted and sent directly from the letter writer to scholarshipsandfellowships@case.edu prior to the campus deadline.
   1. Letters should be written by faculty members who know you and your work well, and who can speak to your intellectual curiosity, character, and potential for advanced graduate study in your chosen field.
4. After your online application has been received, you will receive a separate invitation to electronically submit an official Financial Data Sheet as part of your application. This form should be completed by a CWRU financial aid officer and needs to be submitted prior to the campus deadline.
5. Following the campus application deadline, the scholarship selection committee will host interviews for selected applicants before making an endorsement decision.
6. If selected as the endorsed candidate, you will have the opportunity to finalize your application in advance of the national deadline in March. 

Return to National Fellowships and Scholarships