Brown University

United States of America

Bachelors: January 1

Graduate: Deadlines vary for each program

Deadlines may vary for each program. Please visit the program page for specific deadlines.

1. Brown University Beinecke Scholarship

Beinecke Scholarships are awarded to undergraduates in their junior year to support graduate study at a university in the United States or abroad. The program “seeks to encourage and enable highly motivated students to take fullest advantage of graduate opportunities available to them and to be courageous in the selection of graduate study programs.”   This year, twenty Beinecke Scholarships will be awarded to college juniors who have demonstrated unusual ability in fields of study they intend to pursue at the graduate level in masters or doctoral programs.     

Eligibility Criteria/ Scholarship Guidelines

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

Be a United States citizen or a United States national from American Samoa or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

Have demonstrated superior standards of intellectual ability, scholastic achievement and personal promise during his or her undergraduate career.

Brown can nominate one junior to the national competition. Juniors who plan to attend graduate school in the arts, humanities, and social sciences are eligible.

Students in the social sciences who plan to pursue graduate study in neuroscience are not eligible.

Candidates are considered for superior strength of character, intellectual ability, and sense of purpose. They must demonstrate creativity and leadership and are expected to have well-formulated, although not necessarily wholly fixed, ideas about the direction of their future studies and subsequent careers. Financial need is a criterion for selection.

Candidates need to have a documented history of receiving need-based financial aid during their undergraduate years. Preference is given to candidates for whom the scholarship would make a significant difference in their ability to attend graduate school. 

2. Harry S. Truman Scholarship Program

The Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation awards scholarships to college juniors (at the time of application) who have outstanding leadership potential and intend to pursue careers in public service. One or more scholarships will be available to a qualified resident nominee in each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and considered as a single entity, the Islands: Guam, Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

Eligibility Criteria/ Scholarship Guidelines

Brown can nominate four candidates for this scholarship each year.

Juniors planning a career that has a public service component and who are United States citizens or United States nationals from American Samoa or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands are eligible to apply.

Criteria for selection are a strong desire to be a “change agent,” outstanding potential for leadership, and academic performance. The candidates are judged on the basis of analytical ability, leadership, communications skills, independence, initiative, sensitivity to others, demonstrated interest in government and/or community service, prospects of performing well in graduate school, and commitment to a career in public service.

A variety of disciplines can lead to public service careers; for example, engineering, mathematics, physical sciences, biology, and environmental studies, as well as fields such as history, political science, government, public health, public administration, economics, and international relations. Authentic leadership and commitment to making a difference as well as an imaginative approach to conceiving of these things are desirable qualities for students interested in this award.