Scholarships at University of Chicago

The Earl R. Franklin Research Fellowship supports University of Chicago psychology majors conducting psychological research during the summer with a stipend of $4,000 to $6,000 intended for living expenses. Priority goes to third-year students who plan to continue the project as a senior honors thesis, and recipients may not hold simultaneous research funding unless approved by the Psychology Department’s undergraduate committee. Applicants submit a three-to-four-page research proposal, one-page personal statement, transcript, and advisor recommendation to Anne Henly by the published March deadline. Selection weighs the proposal, recommendation strength, overall GPA, and psychology course grades.

The Quad Summer Undergraduate Research Scholars Program offers competitive grants to University of Chicago College students who dedicate the summer to faculty-mentored research or creative inquiry at UChicago or another U.S. research institution. Recipients receive a $5,500 stipend intended for the student rather than lab supplies or research materials, along with CCRF programming and advising. Scholars present their summer work at the annual University of Chicago Undergraduate Research Symposium. Applicants must demonstrate a faculty-driven project and meet the program’s eligibility, benefits, and time-commitment expectations before the published summer application deadline.

The Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship prepares University of Chicago sophomores for doctoral study in the humanities and qualitative social sciences through faculty mentoring, cohort seminars, structured summer research, and graduate-school preparation. Each year the university admits up to five sophomores who begin the two-year fellowship the summer after second year. Fellows receive two term-time stipends of $4,000, two summer stipends of $4,500, up to $800 annually in scholarly development funds, and graduate school preparation grants of up to $1,300, along with ongoing academic guidance and community-building activities.

The John Crerar Foundation Science Writing Prize for College Students is an annual University of Chicago competition recognizing excellence and clarity in undergraduate science writing. Open to any actively enrolled College student regardless of year or major, the contest asks for an original 2,500-to-3,000-word essay on a published science, medicine, or technology topic with a strong bibliography and broad readability. First prize is $1,500, second prize is $500, and third prize is $300. Submissions are judged by faculty, graduate students, a UChicago librarian, and a Crerar Foundation representative, and entries may be submitted electronically to crerar-prize@lib.uchicago.edu.

The Race, Diaspora, and Indigeneity 2nd/3rd Year Paper Prize awards $500 annually to a University of Chicago second- or third-year undergraduate for the best paper on race, diaspora, or indigeneity from any major. Submissions may be analytic essays, empirical research, or creative work up to fifteen double-spaced pages in English and must be nominated by a course instructor. The prize reflects the department’s transdisciplinary lens and encourages early undergraduate research in race, diaspora, and indigeneity before the BA thesis stage.

Children (including legally adopted children) of currently active, sworn municipal, county, or state firefighters or police officers in the United States and Puerto Rico who qualify for admission to the University of Chicago College may be considered for the National Police and Fire Scholarship. Students whose parent was killed or injured in the line of duty or is mandatorily retired are also eligible. Select recipients receive up to full tuition for twelve academic quarters (four years). Scholarship notifications are typically released in mid-April. UChicago also meets 100 percent of demonstrated financial need for students who apply for aid. Submit the Common App or Coalition application with the UChicago Supplement, and upload the completed Police and Fire Certification Form (student and verification sections) to the UChicago Account by November 1 for Early Action or Early Decision I, or by January 2 for Early Decision II or Regular Decision.

The Janel Mueller Undergraduate Thesis Prize, formerly the Napier Wilt Prize, recognizes University of Chicago undergraduates in English who complete the finest BA Projects. Faculty advisors nominate students whose critical or creative BA Projects are judged strongest by the department, and awards are announced in Spring Quarter. The prize may be divided among multiple recipients when both critical and creative projects excel. Nominees are evaluated through the English department’s BA Project review process rather than through a separate student-initiated application, making faculty nomination the entry path for consideration.

The Richard P. Taub Thesis Prize honors the founder of the University of Chicago undergraduate Public Policy Studies program and is awarded each May to three PBPL majors whose BA theses reflect original, extensive research and exceptional writing. Faculty select winners from the graduating Public Policy thesis cohort as part of the program’s annual honors process. The prize recognizes sustained thesis work rather than a standalone essay competition, and recipients are chosen based on the quality and depth of their policy research projects completed in the major.