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The Beckman Scholars Program, established in 1997, is an invited program for accredited universities and four-year colleges in the US. It provides scholarships that contribute significantly to advancing the education, research training and personal development of select students in chemistry, biochemistry, and the biological and medical sciences. The sustained, in-depth undergraduate research experiences and comprehensive faculty mentoring are unique in terms of program scope, content and level of scholarship awards. The University of Kentucky has been invited to apply for the program twice, and was selected to participate for three years beginning in 2002 and again in 2005. The University hopes to be invited to reapply when its current award is completed.

Being named a Beckman Scholar is an extraordinarily high honor. The process by which a scholar is selected is quite rigorous. The selection is conducted by a committee of research faculty members each with a strong record of mentoring undergraduate researchers. The selection process evaluates 1) the ability of the candidate in both written and oral communication by considering a required research essay and conducting an interview of each finalist; 2) the past achievements of the candidate by reviewing the entire undergraduate transcript, academic honors received, and all previous research experience; 3) the candidate's intellect, character, and potential to excel as a researcher by appraising a required written research plan and at least three letters of support from current and prospective faculty mentors and 4) the candidate's potential for a career in research by evaluating a required written statement of educational and career plans.

To apply to become a Beckman Scholar, a student must be a sophomore or junior at the University of Kentucky, majoring in Chemistry, Biology, or a closely related discipline (such as chemical engineering or agricultural biotechnology), and have already completed at least one semester of research experience.

Message From the Coordinator	Beckman Foundation
In Memory of Arnold O. Beckman	UK Beckman Contact