Beckman Scholars Program

The Beckman Scholars Program is undergoing a major revision to the program and will relaunch with an Open Call on Friday, February 14, 2025.  The program will no longer be by invitation only.  Please be patient while we make these changes.

The Beckman Scholars Program is a 15-month mentored research experience for exceptional undergraduate students in chemistry, biological sciences, or interdisciplinary combinations thereof.

• Must have a Science Department with either a Biology, Chemistry, or both majors offered.
• Each institution may only submit one application for consideration for an award. If there are multiple campuses please submit a separate application for each campus applying.
• Must be a 501(c)(3), or similarly qualifying, non-profit organization.
• Accredited four-year college or university.
• Service academies and government laboratories, such as NIH or federally funded national laboratories, are not eligible institutions.

Click here for answers to frequently asked questions.

• Institutional award spans three years.
• Six Student/Mentor pairs per Institution.
• Receive $21,000 per Student/$4,800 per Mentor

At the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation, we acknowledge, appreciate and support the fundamental roles that justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI) have in scientific progress and innovation. We seek applicants from all backgrounds in our programs and strive to ensure a fair and equitable process for selection of awardees, recognizing that excellent science is not the exclusive endeavor of one group of people, but of all.

The Foundation evaluates all aspects of the Scholar experience in the review process.

Read our full statement here.

In 2023 the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Affirmative Action specific to university admission processes; some states broadened the reach of this ruling to apply to scholarship and grant selection processes. Those universities which are prohibited by state law from utilizing equity and diversity in selection processes may still apply to the Beckman Scholars program. Reviewers are instructed by the Foundation to review these applications in keeping with the University’s policy on non-discrimination and compliance with State law.

Recent updates to the Beckman Scholars Program and application include:

• Removal of the minimum GPA requirement for Scholar candidates
• Equal emphasis on merit, diversity (except where prohibited by law), equity, and inclusion during Scholar Selection
• Scholar eligibility for undergraduate students with DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) recipient status
• Expanded college/university invitation list
• Streamlined online portal procedures to make applying easier
• Institutional reporting on student body and faculty demographics with a look at 5-year trends
• Mentor CVs that include a personal statement section
• Mentor statements that include plans for intellectual development of Scholars, a safe Scholar environment within the lab, and use of novel teaching or mentoring methods to support success for Scholars from all backgrounds
• Program proposal section prompts related to DEI and Sustainability
• Additional instructional guidance in the application portal for completing the Institutional Data Sheet as well as the Sustainability section of the proposal
• Updated Code of Conduct clause within the award terms and conditions
• The COVID-19 Impact Statement task was removed from the application, starting with the 2025 Beckman Scholars Program.
• The 2026 Beckman Scholars Program application will be an Open Call for any institution that meets the eligibility criteria (Awardees in Year 1 and 2 may not submit a new application, only those in Year 3).
• In 2023 the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Affirmative Action specific to university admission processes; some states broadened the reach of this ruling to apply to scholarship and grant selection processes. Those universities which are prohibited by state law from utilizing equity and diversity in selection processes may still apply to the Beckman Scholars program. Reviewers are instructed by the Foundation to review these applications in keeping with the University’s policy on non-discrimination and compliance with State law.

The Beckman Scholars Program application is now an Open Call to all eligible institutions.

INSTITUTIONS: Please send your questions to the Program Administrator via email to bsp@beckman-foundation.org

STUDENTS: The Beckman Scholars Program does not issue awards directly to individuals; it is an institutional award program. If you are an undergraduate student in the area of chemistry, biochemistry, biology, or other science discipline, contact your institution's department chairs or research support office for more information.

Generative artificial intelligence tools, such as ChatGPT or AI, are evolving into essential software in the researcher’s toolkit. Just as graphing and statistical software aid in data analysis and presentation, AI tools can assist authors in their work. The Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation supports the use of these tools as supplementary resources when used in an ethical and responsible manner. Accountability lies with the human authors, who remain responsible for the proper application of AI and the critical review and reporting of its output. All awardees and applicants are expected to comply with best practice in research and publishing ethics, take full responsibility for any errors made by an AI tool, and are expected to cooperate with questions relating to the accuracy or integrity of any part of their work, including data analyses and representation.

Beckman Scholar Jade Kang is shown (at top) conducting undergraduate research in the lab of Professor Anne Murphy at Georgia State University, where she studied the long-term effects of perigestational morphine exposure on neurogenesis, gliogenesis, and adult learning and memory in male and female rats.

Jade Kang:

“Working in Dr. Murphy’s lab, I explored a variety of lab techniques including immunohistochemistry, imaging, rat handling, and data analysis in my project studying the effects of perinatal morphine exposure. While I loved being at the bench, learning the process of research itself, I found the most joy in interpreting and sharing my results with other people at regular lab meetings, journal club presentations, and research symposiums both in and out of Georgia State University. At Georgia State, I intend to amass a broad range of lab techniques, working in fields from computational and organic chemistry to immunohistology and neuroscience, so I can best tackle my questions for addiction sciences in my future studies. Since the Beckman program, my interest in aging has expanded to developmental science. I plan to pursue a Ph.D. studying questions in addiction science. I aim to combine biochemistry, immunoendocrinology, and neuroscience into my future. The Beckman Scholars Program has helped me not only whittle down my research interests, but also broaden my career options.”

Scholars: If you are preparing a research poster or slideshow presentation and wish to include the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation logo and/or the Beckman Scholars Program logo, they are available for download in .png format below.

• Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation Logo - stacked/vertical orientation
• Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation Logo - horizontal orientation
• Beckman Scholars Program Logo

Beckman Scholars: If you are graduating and would like the Foundation to send you BSP Honor Cords, please email your request to admin@beckman-foundation.org. Include your full name, current mailing address, phone number, and the date of your graduation ceremony.

Please allow 2-4 weeks for delivery; while supplies last.

Congratulations, Graduates!

Every April, the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation celebrates Beckman Scholars and their research with an online campaign during Undergraduate Research Week. The campaign features Scholar- and Mentor-submitted content in addition to program-related content produced by the Foundation which is shared on social media platforms like Instagram, X, and LinkedIn. To view past content, search using the following tags and hashtags:

• 2024 Campaign: #URW2024, #BeckmanScholar, #BSPMentor, #undergraduateresearch, #BeckmanScholars, @CURinAction
• 2023 Campaign: #URW2023, #BeckmanScholar, #BSPMentor, #undergraduateresearch, #BeckmanScholars
• 2022 Campaign: #URW2022, #BeckmanScholar, #BSPMentor, #undergraduateresearch, #BeckmanScholars
• 2021 Campaign: #URW2021, #BeckmanScholar, #undergraduateresearch, #BeckmanScholars

Current Beckman Scholars and BSP Mentors: We invite you to submit content for next year's celebration. Send your quotes, images, and videos to pr@beckman-foundation.org for consideration. Some helpful tips:

• QUOTES - Quotes should be 40 words or less. Your quote can be about your Beckman-funded research, time in the lab, future career plans, experience as a Beckman Scholar or BSP Mentor, why you think undergraduate research opportunities make a difference, or a thank you to your BSP Mentor.
• IMAGES - Horizontal, color jpeg images (less than 1MB) are preferred and should be sent as email attachment(s). Include photo credit and a brief caption. Your image can be a selfie, in the lab, from your research, with your Mentor or other Beckman Scholars, or spotlight your campus.
• VIDEOS - Videos should have a vertical orientation, be no more than 30 seconds long, and submitted as .mp4 or .mov files. Send as an email attachment or with a download link that does not require sign-in/password. Your video can be a tour of your lab or campus, a quick introduction to you or your research, a shout out to your Mentor, words of encouragement, or a celebration of your academic accomplishments.

The Foundation has a database of Awarded Scientists that is searchable by Scholar name, award program, award year, discipline, or institution. Below is a list of BSP Awardee Institutions for the most recent three years.

2024 Beckman Scholars Program Awardee Institutions

Arizona State University

California State University, Dominguez Hills

Chapman University

Emmanuel College

Georgia State University

Illinois Wesleyan University

Rutgers, University of New Jersey, Newark

Santa Clara University

University of Chicago

University of San Diego

University of the District of Columbia

University of Utah

University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh

Wellesley College

2023 Beckman Scholars Program Awardee Institutions

California State University, East Bay

Fort Lewis College

Louisiana State University

Miami University

Mount Holyoke College

Oklahoma State University

Pomona College

Smith College

Tufts University

University of California, Irvine

University of Michigan

University of Richmond

University of Rochester

Washington University in St. Louis

2022 Beckman Scholars Program Awardee Institutions

Barnard College

Binghamton University (SUNY Binghamton)

Indiana University (IUPUI)

Macalester College

Ohio State University

Trinity College

Trinity University

University of Arizona

University of California, Los Angeles

University of California, Santa Barbara

University of Kentucky

University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Vanderbilt University

Vassar College

Overview of the Beckman Scholars Program

2009 Beckman Scholar Abigail Knight, PhD

2016 Beckman Scholar Nathanael Kazmierczak

2017 Beckman Scholar Audrey Short

Amherst College Professors Helen Leung and Mark Marshall discuss the Beckman Scholars Program

2016 Beckman Scholar Zachary Nimmo and 2017 Beckman Scholar Christopher Travis

2019 Beckman Scholar Vennela Mannava presents her research at the 2020 Beckman Symposium

2019 Beckman Scholar Catherine Weibel presents her research at the 2020 Beckman Symposium

2021 Beckman Scholar Anthea Bell takes us inside the Horch lab at Bowdoin College

2021 Beckman Scholar Connor Bowerman offers a glimpse inside the Akimov lab at Texas A&M University

2021 Beckman Scholar Christina McBride gives a tour of the Charkoudian lab at Haverford College

2022 Beckman Scholar Shruti Venkatesh offers a look inside the Bishop lab at SUNY Binghamton

2022 Beckman Scholars Emily Scheib and Liam Shanahan from The Ohio State University interview 2010 Beckman Scholar Nicholas Jarjour, PhD