Scholarships & Fellowships

If you are a 1st or 2nd year student, you’re in the planning stages. You might want to use some of the resources on this site to think about what you want to do in the future. 

Think about how various parts of your U-M education - not just your curriculum, but also your co-curriculars like research, leadership activities, volunteering, internships, and global experiences - are preparing you for those future plans. 

It may be helpful to “look down the field” at some scholarships and fellowships you might apply for in junior or senior year. 

• What are the selection criteria?  
• What would you want to say about your academics, leadership, and service activities at that point? 

Review our Resources tab for advice about applications, essays, interviews and more. We hope these resources allow you to think about how some of these ONSF opportunities might provide building blocks or “prototype activities” for your future plans and applications. 

Finally, look at the STEM Research Career Award and Udall Scholarship which are open to sophomores as well as juniors. Even if you don’t win in sophomore year, completing an application may help you prepare to be more competitive in junior year.

If you’re a rising junior, our Getting Started section provides a comprehensive overview into ONSF programming. When you're ready, check out Applying to ONSF Programs for a birdesye view into what is required during a U-M nominated application process. 

Consider applying for one of the following scholarships. They are not only valuable experiences in themselves, but will also help you plan and prepare for applications in your senior year.

If you’re interested in public service careers:

Look at the Truman and Udall Scholarships.  “Public service” can be construed either narrowly as working for local, state, or federal government; or broadly as working for the public good in any field.  

• The Truman Scholarship for students who want to pursue public service careers in any field.  
• The Udall Scholarship is for any students who want to pursue careers related to sustainability and the environment; or for students with Native American heritage who want to work in tribal policy or healthcare.

If you’re interested in STEM research: 

You should look at the U-M STEM Research Career Award.

• We use the U-M STEM RCA application to select a recipient for the U-M award as well as our nominees for the Goldwater and Astronaut Scholarships. Note: These are for career researchers (PhDs and MD-PhDs) rather than for practitioners (MD, MPH, and engineering master’s students). 

If you’re interested in humanities or social science research careers:

You should look at the Beinecke Scholarship. 

• This is the humanities and social science research equivalent of the Goldwater. Highly-motivated humanities and social science researchers are encouraged to apply! Note: To be eligible, you must qualify for need-based financial aid.

If you’re a graduating senior, many of the options above are still open for you to apply!

ONSF works with programs in nearly every post-graduate capacity, whether you're looking for a service opportunity, public policy internship, or graduate degree. Check out individual scholarship and fellowship pages to see which opportunities accept post-graduate applicants.