Application Planning

Timeline overview for application process:

• Summer and fall before applying:

  • Visit the official Beinecke website: to learn more about the Scholarship and the application process.

  • Explore Career Education’s Graduate School resources, including a handy Getting Started worksheet.

  • Talk with a member of the Wellesley Fellowships team, for honest advice, feedback, and encouragement; book a Fellowships advising appointment via Handshake or attend Fellowships Virtual Pop-ups (listings in Handshake). 

  • Talk with faculty and research mentors about your academic interests and about applying for the Beinecke.

  • Identify reference-writers and request references. (Not sure whom to ask? The Fellowships team is glad to help brainstorm!)

  • Start writing. Give yourself time to try several drafts and to seek feedback from faculty mentors and the Fellowships team.

• October 28, 2024: Optional Priority Draft Deadline for fellowships and scholarships with winter/spring deadlinse- submit drafts by this deadline via the form here to guarantee a draft review appointment before the campus deadline.

• 12:00 pm (noon) on February 26, 2025: Campus application deadline.

  • Submit application materials (see checklist below) through this form.

  • Letters should if possible be submitted by this deadline (please ask that they be submitted via this link - should they have any difficulty with the online form, please ask them to email their letters to fellowships@wellesley.edu).

• February/March: 

  • A campus committee will review applications and typically interview short-listed applicants before selecting the one application to be forwarded to the national Beinecke selection committee.

  • All applicants will be able to receive feedback, and the nominee will be able to use this to finalize her application in advance of the national deadline in February.

• March 29, 2024: The Beinecke national deadline. The nominee will need to submit the final version of their application early enough to allow Wellesley to forward materials to the Foundation by the national deadline.

• April: The new class of Beinecke Scholars is typically announced.

Eligibility

Who is eligible?

• College juniors pursuing a bachelor’s degree during the academic year of application;
• Students planning to enter a research-based doctoral program (or a creative master’s program, e.g. an MFA) in the arts, humanities or social sciences;
• United States citizens; or United States nationals from American Samoa or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands; and
• Students who have a documented history of receiving need-based institutional, state, or federal financial aid during their undergraduate years, with a strong preference for Pell Grant recipients.

What makes a strong applicant for this fellowship?

• Demonstration of superior standards of intellectual ability, scholastic achievement and personal promise in your undergraduate career.
• Excitement about your field, and
• the ability to convey thoughtful ideas about your potential future academic research questions/creative impact and career path - but working on the application is a great way to clarify your thinking about that future!

Please don't decide you're not a good candidate for the Beinecke before you've spoken with the Fellowships team!

How do I apply?

Wellesley applicants for the Beinecke Scholarship must first apply for Wellesley’s nomination: Wellesley is allowed to nominate just one candidate for the Beinecke Scholarship each year. Before proceeding with your application, you are warmly encouraged to discuss your plans and aspirations with Wellesley’s Fellowships team. Smart and capable as you are, you don't have to go it alone: we'd love to talk things over, offer feedback on drafts, and more!

Application checklist

• Request three letters of recommendation from faculty members who have taught you in classes related to the proposed graduate degree and/or supervised appropriate academic research or arts projects. Please give your recommenders this link to allow them to submit their letters - should they have any difficulty with the online form, please ask them to email their letters to fellowships@wellesley.edu.

Submit the following, via the online form found here:

• Completed official application form (find the official form via the Beinecke website)

• Personal statement (1,000 words maximum) describing your 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 your interests and plans.

• Current cv or resume (2 page max)

• Unofficial copies of your Wellesley transcript (the version you can access online is fine) and any relevant non-Wellesley transcripts (e.g. transfer or study abroad)

• Optional portfolio for candidates in the arts (something like what you’d submit as part of an application for the proposed MFA; please contact fellowships@wellesley.edu to discuss this further)

• Financial Aid Data Sheet (find the official form via the Beinecke website)

• Wellesley Fellowships office signature document (please print, sign & date this form, then submit a scanned pdf or other image of the signed document along with your application materials) 

Questions?
Email fellowships@wellesley.edu or call Caitlin Roberts-Donovan at 781.283.2347.  Have questions as you're working on your application?  Drop in virtually to Pop-Up Fellowships Advising (see Events listings in Handshake), and/or book a Fellowships advising appointment via Handshake.