Churchill Scholarship

Churchill Scholarship

Churchill Scholarships support one year of graduate study in engineering, math, or science at Churchill College, Cambridge University.

From the Churchill Scholarship webpage that describes conditions of eligibility: "An applicant for the Churchill Scholarship must be a citizen of the United States, either native-born or naturalized, and must be enrolled in one of the Participating Institutions and due to graduate during the same academic year as the deadline or be a student who has graduated from one of those institutions within the past 12 months before the deadline. Upon taking up the Churchill Scholarship, a Churchill Scholar must hold a bachelor's degree or equivalent."

Additional information including bios of past and current scholars available at this Churchill Scholarship webpage. Students who want to attend Cambridge University should also consider the Marshall Scholarship and the Gates-Cambridge Scholarship.

To compete for a Churchill Scholarship, candidates must be US citizens and be nominated by their home institution. As a nominating institution for the Churchill Scholarship, Indiana University can put forward a maximum of two nominees. There are two stages in applying for the Churchill Scholarship - a mandatory campus nomination and interview stage and, if nominated, the national deadline.

Scholarships for graduate study

To compete for a Rhodes, Marshall, Mitchell or Churchill Scholarship, candidates must meet eligibility requirements set by the scholarship programs. All require that an applicant be a U.S. citizen (See page 10 of the Rhodes brochure for eligibility of other nationalities). Participation in the competitions at the national level requires formal nomination by an applicant's university.

Campus nomination deadline

The next campus deadline for nomination for a Rhodes, Marshall, Mitchell or Churchill scholarship is Monday, September 2, 2024.

A minimum 3.7 GPA (cumulative) is required at the time of the campus nomination deadline.

Students seeking nomination must send a brief email to campus representative Paul Fogleman (pfoglema@iu.edu) stating their intent to apply. (This is not a commitment to completing the application. An indication of your interest in seeking the nomination will aid in planning and organizing the campus review.) 

There are four parts of the campus nomination application. Applicants complete the first two and turn them in as Word or pdf documents to Paul Fogleman by email: pfoglema@iu.edu  Applicants are responsible for requesting recommendation letters. See bullet point 4 below.

1. Required statements. Applicants for the Churchill nomination address the first three prompts. Applicants for the Marshall and Mitchell address the first four prompts. For applicants seeking only the Rhodes nomination, the first statement (personal statement) is optional and the other four statements are required.

  • Personal statement: Describe the academic and other interests and pursuits that have had the greatest influence on your academic and career ambitions. (approximately 750 words)
  • Reasons for studying in the UK or Ireland: Explain why you want to study at the graduate level and how the program of study in the UK or Ireland contributes to your longer-term academic and professional goals. (approximately 500 words)
  • Proposed academic program: Describe your proposed academic program, giving reasons for your choice and for your preferred university. To the extent that they are relevant to your goals, your statement should include mention of specific people; relevant lab and research activity; access to resources and opportunities at the university in the UK or Ireland and beyond. If you are proposing to pursue a research degree, outline the research you wish to undertake. (approximately 500 words)
  • Leadership statement: for applicants seeking the Marshall, Mitchell and Rhodes nomination, candidates should describe a leadership experience. (The following guidelines are adopted from the Schwarzman scholarship application.) Draw from your professional, academic, or personal life when you demonstrated leadership qualities which highlight:

    - skills to inspire a team effort;
    - an ability to meet challenges to reach positive results/change for the better.

    Questions to consider:

    - What was a problem or issue you identified, and why did you choose to act?
    - What was your plan of action?
    - What were the outcomes and impact on the community or purpose?
    - What did you learn and/or what lessons would you pass on to others?
    - How has this experience shaped you as a leader and how does it connect with your vision for future leadership aspirations? (approximately 750 words)
  • Additional Statement for Rhodes nomination:
    Which of the Rhodes Scholar qualities listed below do you display most strongly, and how are other contexts and people helping you to develop the others?

    Qualities:
    - Energy to use one’s talents to the full;
    - Truth, courage, devotion to duty;
    - Sympathy for and protection of the weak;
    - Kindliness, unselfishness and fellowship;
    - Moral force of character and instincts to lead, and to take an interest in one’s fellow human beings.

    From your place in the world, what is humanity’s greatest need?
    (approximately 750 words for both questions).

2. A maximum 2 page CV or résumé listing activities and honors.

3. Transcripts: unofficial IU transcripts will be accessed by the Office of National Scholarships and Awards and added to application materials.

4. For currently enrolled students - three letters of recommendation are required. Two of the three must be from faculty who have taught or supervised you. The third letter can be an additional faculty member or a professional reference. The letters should comment on your work and accomplishments and be sent by email to Paul Fogleman (pfoglema@iu.edu). Please note that only one letter is needed from each recommender in cases where students are seeking nomination for multiple awards. For alumni applicants who wish to provide two professional references contact Paul Fogleman about whether the reference is permitted. Students and alumni who are nominated will need to provide letters for the respective award programs - Churchill (4); Marshall (3); Mitchell (4); Rhodes (5-8).

If you have questions regarding the scholarships or possible programs of study, contact Paul Fogleman in the office of National Scholarships & Awards.

Campus Representative Paul Fogleman pfoglema@iu.edu

Students interested in applying for a Rhodes scholarship need to be aware of a policy for the personal essay which requires applicants to attest that their statement has not been reviewed or edited by anyone else (verbatim description below). In order to meet the Rhodes requirement, applicants will need to inform the campus representative Paul Fogleman (pfoglema@indiana.edu) of their intention to apply for a Rhodes Scholarship and he will advise each applicant accordingly.

All applicants must add the following statement at the conclusion of their personal statement and before their signature:

"I attest that this personal statement is my own work and is wholly truthful. Neither it nor any earlier draft has been edited by anyone other than me, nor has anyone else reviewed it to provide me with suggestions to improve it. I understand that any such editing or review would disqualify my application."