The Center for Life Beyond Reed

Churchill Scholarship Internal Application Instructions

The Churchill program requires you to obtain an endorsement from Reed College to be considered for one of their scholarships. The process below outlines how to apply for that endorsement from Reed.

Spend some time on the Cambridge postgraduate admissions course directory website looking at some of the course offerings and identifying which might be a good fit, as well as on the Churchill Scholarship websitewhich has a listing of eligible programs. If nominated by Reed, you will also need to apply to Cambridge separately to be based at Churchill College (in the UK system, colleges are more residential/social, so Churchill College is not an academic entity, but rather where your life would be based). You should begin your application to Cambridge during the internal application process so that you're prepared should you be nominated by Reed.

Internal Application Deadline

September 20th, 2023 at 12:00 PM noon, Pacific Time

Application Steps

Go to the Churchill Scholarship website and follow the application instructions to create an account and sign in to the electronic platform.

Churchill Scholarship Website

A complete internal application consists of the following items:

  • A completed online application, including:

    • A one-page Proposed Program of Study

    • A two-page Academic and Research History

    • Your transcript (you can order a free copy of your Reed transcript via these instructions)

    • Correspondence with a potential lab supervisor (if applicable)

You do not need to add your recommenders to the online portal, and you do not need to submit your application. CLBR staff will can see your application and will download a pdf of it after the deadline.

Internal Letters of Recommendation

For the initial review, you will need to request two recommenders who are directly familiar with your academic or research work to send internal letters to clbrfellowships@reed.edu, briefly outlining why they support your nomination for the committee.

  • The final application requires you to include four recommenders, so have two other people in mind should you be nominated by the committee. Formal letters of recommendation will not be required unless you are nominated by Reed's committee.

Make sure to give your recommenders several weeks notice and read our guidance on requesting letters of recommendation.

Waiver

You will need to complete this online waiver form as the final step in submitting your internal application.

Waiver Form

Applicants submitting application materials electronically by email will generally receive a confirmation within 24 hours. If you do not receive a confirmation during this time, please follow up with the Center for Life Beyond Reed at clbrfellowships@reed.edu to ensure that the application was successfully submitted.

Next Steps

You should hear back within a week whether or not you've been selected for an endorsement by the committee and Reed College.

If you are endorsed you can then continue to work on your application. A member of the fellowships & awards committee will need to meet with you to get context for the endorsement letter which will be included with your application. You'll need to reach out to your recommenders to let them know you've been endorsed by Reed, and that they'll need to submit recommendations for you in the Churchill's application portal prior to the national deadline. You have the ability to send them reminder emails from within the application portal.

Apply to Cambridge early. Because Cambridge has rolling admissions, it's highly recommended that you apply in early October by the deadline for the Gates Cambridge Scholarship. We recommend also applying to the Gates Cambridge Scholarship and/or applying to funding sources available through Cambridge.

Churchill applicants are normally notified of the results by late December with public awards announcements by early February.

Churchill Homepage