Our mission is to foster the intellectual and personal growth of students from all backgrounds who are applying for nationally competitive awards. By incorporating faculty, staff, and administrators into the recruitment, endorsement, and advising processes, ONSF engages the entire university community in promoting the campus fellowships culture and celebrating the excellence of UConn students.
What We Do
The Office of National Scholarships and Fellowships (ONSF) advises and mentors students at the University of Connecticut who are competing for prestigious, nationally-competitive scholarships and fellowships. ONSF is part of UConn Enrichment Programs and is open to all graduate and undergraduate students at the University, including students at the regional campuses.
In addition to advising students about nationally competitive awards, ONSF nominates and prepares candidates for scholarships that require or encourage institutional endorsement or review – e.g., the Rhodes, Marshall, Goldwater, Udall, Truman, Churchill, and Boren scholarships, as well as the various awards administered through the Fulbright U.S. Student Program.
We also support students applying for prestigious competitions that do not require nomination, such as the Gates Cambridge, the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, and many more. Students are encouraged to visit ONSF early in their college careers to consider their options.
What are national scholarships?
National scholarships are highly competitive, prestigious awards that provide support for a wide range of enriching experiences, including study abroad, graduate study (and sometimes undergraduate study also), federal employment, language learning, teaching, research, and public service.
You may have heard of some national scholarships – the Rhodes, Fulbright, and NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program awards are among the best known – but many students aren’t aware that there is a wide range of prestigious national scholarship programs for freshmen, sophomores, juniors, seniors, graduate students, and recent graduates.
What are the benefits of competing for national scholarships?
Applying for a national scholarship is a challenging experience. While we certainly hope that many of you will learn about, apply for and ultimately receive national scholarships, we want to emphasize that competing for these awards can be a rewarding experience in itself, whether you are ultimately selected or not. Working closely with our staff, the experience of applying for a national scholarship should help you:
- Clarify your academic, career and personal goals;
- Become more aware of your strengths, interests, and commitments;
- Improve your writing skills and enhance your self-presentation;
- Get a better sense of the most appropriate graduate or professional study paths for you; and
- Gain an experience for learning and personal growth that is not normally possible in the classroom.
The experience of applying for a nationally competitive scholarship can help you reflect on and make well-informed decisions about academic plans, internships, study abroad, service activities, work and graduate or professional study.
Who can apply for national scholarships?
The foundations and agencies that award these scholarships are looking for students (with or without financial need) who are developing strong interests and goals – academic and extracurricular – and who want to take advantage of every constructive opportunity that will help them reach their objectives.
Just as each national scholarship offers a different kind of opportunity, each is also looking for a different range of strengths and interests in its applicants. If you develop a strong academic record, are thoughtful about your choices and devote yourself to activities you care about, you may well find one or more scholarships opportunities of interest to you.
The Office of National Scholarships & Fellowships can help you search for awards that fit your goals well.
A Note About Bias
We recognize that implicit biases can shape evaluations in both individual and group settings. Research shows that the following may reduce the impact of such biases: recognizing that biases exist; having clear selection criteria and keeping such criteria at the forefront of all stages of the evaluation process; using evaluative rubrics; and encouraging ongoing conversations about program criteria in order to explore how existing criteria may impact decision making. We are committed to implementing these bias mitigation strategies across ONSF’s programs and processes to ensure the competitions we administer and promote are open to all UConn students.