Scholarships at Northwestern University

James Alton James Scholars are Weinberg College juniors recognized as top performers in the social sciences at Northwestern University. The annual college award honors exceptional scholarship among enrolled Weinberg undergraduates in social science departments and is presented alongside Weinberg's parallel honors for humanities, fine arts, and natural science juniors. Faculty and college administrators select recipients based on academic merit within the social sciences division. The award is part of Weinberg's longstanding tradition of recognizing student excellence before the senior year and does not require a separate student application.

The Robert M. Cumnock Scholarship is presented by Northwestern's School of Communication to an outstanding first-year student at the annual Honors Convocation. The award honors Robert M. Cumnock, who founded Northwestern's School of Oratory in 1878 and believed oratory was an art rather than a science, and who was responsible for construction of Annie May Swift Hall. Recipients are selected by School of Communication faculty for excellence in communication studies during the first year. The scholarship is one of several class-year honors the school presents alongside awards for sophomores, juniors, and seniors at convocation each spring.

The James H. McBurney Scholarship recognizes an outstanding junior in Northwestern University's School of Communication at the annual Honors Convocation. The award honors James McBurney, dean from 1942 to 1972, under whose leadership the school achieved widespread recognition while reinforcing cohesion among its communication disciplines. School of Communication faculty nominate and select recipients based on junior-year excellence in coursework, creative work, and engagement with the school's academic community. It is one of several named class-year honors presented each spring alongside awards for first-year, sophomore, and senior students.

The Harold B. Gotaas Award encourages exemplary engineering research among McCormick School undergraduates at Northwestern University. Presented at McCormick convocation to a graduating senior who demonstrated excellence in undergraduate research, the award memorializes Dr. Harold B. Gotaas, a civil engineer who became dean of Northwestern Engineering in 1957. Only graduating McCormick seniors may apply, and applications are due each spring; the 2026 deadline is Wednesday, May 6. Recipients are selected based on the quality and impact of their undergraduate research rather than coursework alone.