Research Scholarships

Departmental Scholarships

The following scholarships/awards/fellowships, which have been made available through the generosity of alumni and other friends of the Chemistry Department, are awarded to chemistry majors and students pursuing the chemistry course degree at UW-Madison. Most of these awards are based on merit. To be eligible, you must complete the departmental application (pdf) for undergraduate scholarships by Feb. 17, 2012.  

Scholarships for research students (for both summer and the academic year): 

• Wayland E. Noland Undergraduate Research Fellowship
• Edward Panek
• Student Support in Chemistry (summer research)
• Edwin M. and Kathryn M. Larsen Fund
• Walter W. and Young-Ja C. Toy Scholarship Fund
• Eugene and Patricia Kreger Herscher Fund
• National Starch and Chemical Foundation
• Alfred Wilds Scholarship

Scholarships for all chemistry majors:

• Student Support in Chemistry
• Ackerman Scholarship Fund
• Alpha Chi Sigma Alumni Endowed Scholarship Fund
• Andrew Dorsey Memorial Scholarship Fund
• Don Brouse Memorial Scholarship 
• Eugene and Patricia Kreger Herscher Fund
• George J. and Arleen D. Ziarnik Scholarship Fund 
• Henry and Eleanor Firminhac Chemisty Scholarship Fund
• Lindsey Theresa Plank Memorial Scholarship Fund 
• Robert Franklin Taylor Fund         
• Karen M. Telander Undergraduate Research Fund

UW-Madison Scholarships and Awards

The following scholarships are campus-wide. Each scholarship requires a separate application based on the award's individual requirements.

Ruth Bleier Scholarship in the Natural Sciences: Established to encourage women to pursue careers in the natural sciences or medicine. Awards are made to women students at UW-Madison who, as of the end of the Spring semester in which she is applying, will have completed her junior year, has demonstrated interest in the natural sciences, and will be enrolled at UW-Madison in the following Fall semester.  Preference will be give to applicants who have had a laboratory research experience. The one-year award will provide a stipend of $1,000, which will be awarded at the end of the Spring semester to be used during the following academic year. Applications are due in December.

Hilldale Undergraduate/faculty Research Fellowships:  The Hilldale undergraduate/faculty research Fellowships support undergraduate research done in collaboration with UW-Madison faculty or research/instructional academic staff. Applicants must be at least junior standing at time of application, must plan a collaborative research project with a UW-Madison faculty/staff, and plan to graduate after May of the application year. Applications are due in February.

Holstrom Environmental Scholarship:  This award supports undergraduate research with an environmental focus done in collaboration with UW-Madison faculty or research/instructional academic staff. Applicants must be at least junior standing at time of application, must plan  a collaborative research project with a UW-Madison faculty/staff, and plan to graduate after May of the application year. Applications are due in February.

Honors Summer Sophomore Research Apprenticeship Grant:  This award is intended to provide students with an introductory research experience in one of their areas of interest. Annually, these grants provide up to 40 students with a stipend of $1,500. Students are expected to work approximately 20 hours/week for 10 weeks over the summer. Applicants must be L&S honors sophomores. Applications are due in February.

Book Store Academic Excellence Award: This award recognizes undergraduate students who have completed an outstanding independent project at UW-Madison. Applicants must be enrolled as an undergraduate, completed an independent project (such as research), and have not previously been awarded this scholarship. Applications are due in March.   

ACS-Hach Land Grant Undergraduate Scholarship: This scholarship is awarded to undergraduate chemistry (biochemistry or related) majors who express an interest in teaching high school chemistry. The Hach Foundation supplies two scholarships worth $6000 per academic year for up to six years.  The awardee must be a full-time undergraduate student, have a minimum GPA of 3.0, be a citizen or permanent resident of the United States and be commited to completing a teaching certification program. Applications are due in August.

National Scholarships and Awards

Each external scholarship requires a separate application based on the award's requirements. This list is not exhaustive. You may also wish to visit the UW-Madison Undergraduate Academic Awards Office for additional information.

Women Chemists Committee/Eli Lilly Travel Awards: A program designed to provide funding for undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral women chemists to travel to a scientific meeting to present the results of their research. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents, and must be a women that has not previously received this award. Preference will be given to the following: 1) any applicant who is making her first presentation at a national or major meeting. 2) Graduate or postdoctoral applicants who have not presented at a national or major meeting since leaving undergraduate school. Applications are due Sept. 15 for meetings between Jan. 1 and June 30. Applications are due February 15 for meetings between July 1 and Dec. 31.   

Priscilla Carney Jones Scholarship: Provides scholarships for female undergraduate majors in chemistry or related disciplines who are beginning their junior or senior year of study. Sponsored by Paul Jones and the Alpha Chi Sigma Educational Foundation, the scholarship is a one-time award on the basis of both need and scholarship. The award amount is subject to available funding, but will be a minimum of $1,500 to defray tuition, books, and lab fees. Applicant must be a rising junior or senior female undergraduate student enrolled full-time at an accredited college or university, majoring in chemistry or chemistry-related science (pre-med students are not eligible) with a minimum overall GPA of 3.25, have completed research or plan to conduct research during undergraduate years, be a US citizen or permanent resident and able to demonstrate evidence of financial need according to an award letter from the  applicant’s institution and estimated unmet need for the upcoming academic year. Application deadline is May 1.   

Charles D. Coryell Award: This award honors undergraduate students who have completed research projects in nuclear or nuclear-related areas. Each year there is a $1000 prize to be awarded to the successful nominee(s). Contributions are judged on the basis of ingenuity, novelty, and potential usefulness. To be eligible, a student must have been an undergraduate at some time during the 12-month period prior to the deadline date for submission of applications for the award. The student may be sponsored by a faculty member at the home institution or by a research director at another institution where the student performed the work.  

Iota Sigma Pi Undergraduate Award for Excellence in Chemistry:  The nominee shall be a senior woman chemistry student in an accredited college or university that grants a four year degree. The nominee may be, but need not be, a member of Iota Sigma Pi. Nomination for the award must be made by members of the institution's faculty, and only one nomination may be submitted by each department. Nominations must be received by February 15 and the recipient will be notified by April 15. The award will be $500, a certificate, and a waiver of dues for one year.  

Undergraduate Research Award in Agriculture and Food Chemistry:  This award recognizes an outstanding undergraduate student conducting research in agriculture and food chemistry.  Students who are a junior or senior undergraduate are encouraged to apply.     

I. M. Kolthoff Enrichment Awards for Undergraduate Students: This award is intended to encourage talented chemistry undergraduate students to pursue further studies in analytical chemistry. Applicants must be US citizens or permanent residents. Preferences are given to those who have not made a previous presentation at a national scientific meeting, prior recipients are not eligible.

Travel Awards for Outstanding Undergraduate Students in Organic Chemistry: This award recognizes outstanding undergraduate students in organic chemistry. Applicants must be a junior, have engaged in fulltime research for at least 1 summer, and have the intent to enter graduate school in chemistry. Preferences will be given to those students who plan to present a poster or paper at a meeting, limit of one award per institution.     

Travel Awards for Undergraduates Traveling to the National Organic Symposium:  This travel award provides $500 in financial assistance to attend the National Organic Symposium. Awardees are selected by the incumbent and future ACS Executive Officers using research experience and letters of recommendation. The recipients should have engaged in at least one significant research project and have the intent to enter graduate school in chemistry. Preference will be given to those who are presenting posters at a National Organic Symposium. Each university department can have only one award recipient. Application deadlines for these awards will be in early March in the year of the National Organic Symposium.     

UNCF-Merck Undergraduate Science research Scholarship Awards:  These awards are intended to help African American undergraduate students who are interested in science to further their science education and potentially pursue science careers. The UNCF-Merck awards provide tuition support and opportunities for research experience in a state-or-the-art research facility for two summers. Each award provides up to $35,000.  Applicants must be a U.S. citizen or permanent U.S. Resident and an African American, enrolled full-time in a four-year college or university, a junior, must have completed two semesters of organic chemistry, a minimum GPA of 3.3, and committed to work as an intern for 2 summers at a Merck research facility.     

Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship: Established by congress in 1986 to honor the career of Senator Barry Goldwater. These scholarships worth $7500 encourage promising students to pursue a PhD and a research career in engineering, mathematics or natural science fields. This is a National scholarship for sophomores or juniors. Applicants must be U.S. citizens, or national or resident aliens intending to obtain citizenship.  Strong applicants have a GPA of 3.75 or above and previous research experience.   

Sigma Xi Grants-in-Aid of Research Program: To support scientific investigations in any field. Applicants must be seeking support for a new research project or a continuation of a previous research project. There are no citizen restrictions for this award.  

External Resources for Scholarship Searches

FastWeb: This service offers a free customized list of financial aid sources via a searchable database of more than 400,000 private sector scholarships, fellowships, grants, and loans from more than 3,000 sources for all levels of higher education and in all sorts of disciplines. Approximately 500 new scholarships are added to the database daily.    

Community of Science Database Search: This site claims to be the “most comprehensive source of funding information available on the Web, with more than 25,000 records, representing over 400,000 funding opportunities, worth over $33 billion.”   

Scholarly Societies Project: This website which was compiled by the University of Waterloo Library provides links to a collection of scholarly society web pages. These web pages often provide information about grant, scholarship, fellowship, and post-doctorate funding via their journals and newsletters.