The Churchill Scholarship
As the establishment of a new college in Cambridge was becoming a reality, Sir Winston Churchill met with American friends to ask them to create a mechanism for young American to study at the college. Among those friends was Lewis W. Douglas, a graduate of Amherst College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who served as the U.S. Ambassador to Great Britain from 1947 to 1950. Carl Gilbert, chairman of the Gillette Company, was the first chairman of the Foundation.
The first Churchill Scholarships, three in number, were awarded in 1963 and funded one year of study. Shortly thereafter the Scholarships were available either for one-year programs or for doctoral studies at Cambridge. In the early 1980’s the Foundation decided to support only one-year programs in order to increase the number of Churchill Scholars. In its early years the Foundation also made small travel grants to Churchill Fellows, distinguished senior faculty who would spend one year at the College. Eight of the Churchill Fellows won the Nobel Prize.
The Winston Churchill Foundation awards at least thirteen Scholarships and hopes to increase that number to fifteen soon. The one-year awards lead to the Masters of Philosophy (MPhil), the Certificate of Post-Graduate Study (CPGS in different fields), the Certificate of Advanced Study (CAS in theoretical or applied mathematics), and a Diploma (in Computer Science).Participating Institutions (Please click here.)
Eligibility
Applicants for a Churchill Scholarship must be citizens of the United States and must be a senior who is enrolled in one of the institutions participating in the Scholarship Program competition or a student who has recently graduated from one of those institutions. Upon taking up a scholarship, a Churchill Scholar must be between the ages of 19 and 26, hold a bachelor's degree or its equivalent, and may not have attained a doctorate.
The criteria for the selection of Churchill Scholars include the following:
Exceptional academic achievement in all disciplines, but especially in the major, as indicated by course grades (previous Scholars have had a grade point average of at least 3.7).
A capacity to contribute to the advancement of knowledge in the sciences, engineering, or mathematics by pursuing original, creative work at an advanced level as demonstrated by awards and prizes and by letters of reference. Applicants in the sciences and engineering will show extensive laboratory experience, internships, or other related work, while applicants in mathematics will show substantial independent work or other projects.
Scores on the Graduate Record Examinations. (Please note that the GRE Subject Test is no longer required.)
Outstanding personal qualities.
The Winston Churchill Foundation of the United States is committed to a policy against discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, gender, marital or parental status, race, color, religion, national origin, or disability or any other characteristic protected by law.
The Award
At least thirteen Churchill Scholarships, tenable for nine or twelve months, depending on the academic program, are offered annually.
The Churchill Scholarship is worth between $44,000 and $50,000. It covers all University and College tuition and fees (currently about $25,000). In addition, students receive a living allowance of £10,000 if enrolled in a nine-month academic program and £12,000 if enrolled in a full-year academic program. They also receive an allowance of up to $1,000 for travel to and from the United Kingdom. The Foundation also offers the possibility of a Special Research Grant of up to $2,000; this grant may cover travel for presentations at international conferences, short stays at another university or institute for special research, and other activities. Married students should consult with the Foundation about the possibility of additional support.Applications
The next deadline for applying for a Churchill Scholarship is Wednesday, November 12, 2008. The deadline is a date of receipt, not a postmark date.
Instructions are available by clicking here.
The form for the letters of reference is available by clicking here.
Registration and the online application is available by clicking here.
All questions about the Churchill Scholarship Program or the Winston Churchill Foundation of the United States should be directed to the Foundation (info@winstonchurchillfoundation.org). Any technical questions about the online application should be addressed to Mr. Vijay Renganathan ((vrenganathan@iie.org). You may contact him via email by clicking his name.
The local campus representative for the Winston Churchill Foundation should send all the completed application materials are to:
The Churchill Scholarship Program
U.S. Student Programs
Institute of International Education
809 United Nations Plaza
New York, NY 10017-3580
(212) 984-5442
The next deadlines for applying for a Churchill Scholarship are:
November 12, 2008
November 10, 2009
November 9, 2010
November 8, 2011
November 13, 2012
These deadlines are dates of receipt of the application. They are not postmark deadlines. Please note that the deadline for the submission of the application for the Churchill Scholarship varies from campus to campus. Please be sure to check that date with your campus representative.
Other Conditions
Except for reasons of health or other emergency, a Churchill Scholar makes a commitment to complete the program of study for which he or she is admitted, including such requirements as completion of a thesis and sitting for written or oral examinations. Failure to fulfill this commitment will require the refund of funds expended on the student's behalf.
Each Scholar must submit two narrative reports describing his or her academic work and the Cambridge experience, one in January and the second upon completion of the academic program.
Limit of Liability: The Winston Churchill Foundation of the United States has no responsibility for bodily injury, sickness, accident, or death of Churchill Scholars, whether traveling to or from, or while residing in, the United Kingdom or otherwise. The purchase of health, accident, or other insurance against any such risks is at the option of the Scholar but is strongly recommended by the Foundation.
Programs of Study
The University of Cambridge offers a vast and rich array of programs of study. Applicants for the Churchill Scholarship are urged to study the University’s Web site thoroughly. The fields of study and the departmental structures do not exactly match those of American colleges and universities, so it is essential that applicants explore the many possibilities open to them. For example, recent Churchill Scholars with interests in medicine have followed programs in the Departments of Biochemistry, Chemistry, Epidemiology, Genetics, Medical Sciences, Molecular Biology, Oncology, Pharmacology, Pathology, and Physiology.
This list includes most, but not all, of the fields of graduate study available to Churchill Scholars. Please feel free to explore these links, as well as the links imbedded within them. Be sure to explore only the links for graduate education. You may wish to begin with the following sites offering general information: the Graduate Studies Prospectus and the International Office for Students from Overseas.
Churchill Scholars may enroll in one of the following programs:
(Please select from the links below for additional information.)
Master of Philosophy
Anatomy (not in the Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience)
Biochemistry
Biological Anthropology
Biological, Medical and Veterinary Sciences
Bioscience Enterprise
Chemical Engineering
Chemistry
Computational Biology
Computer Speech, Text and Internet Technology
Developmental Biology
Engineering
Environment and Development
Environment, Society and Development
Epidemiology
Genetics
Geographical Information Systems and Remote Sensing
Geographical Research
Micro and Nanotechnology Enterprise
Modeling of Materials
Pathology
Pharmacology
Physics
Physiology, Development and Neuroscience
Plant Studies
Polar Studies
Statistical Sciences
Zoology
Certificate of Post-Graduate Study
Engineering
Genetics
Pathology
Physics
Certificate of Advanced Study
Mathematics (Part III of the Math Tripos)
Pure Mathematics
Applied Mathematics
Diploma