To be eligible for a Beinecke Scholarship, a student must:

Have demonstrated superior standards of intellectual ability, scholastic achievement and personal promise during his or her undergraduate career.

Be a college junior pursuing a bachelor's degree during the 2009-2010 academic year. "Junior" means a student who plans to continue full-time undergraduate study and who expects to receive a baccalaureate degree between December 2010 and August 2011.

Plan to enter a master's or doctoral program in the arts, humanities or social sciences. Students in the social sciences who plan to pursue graduate study in neuroscience or mathematics should not apply for a Beinecke Scholarship.

Be a United States citizen or a United States national from American Samoa or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

Have a documented history of receiving need-based financial aid during his or her undergraduate years. Primary evidence of meeting this criterion is a student's history of receiving need-based institutional, state or federal grants-in-aid. An institutional financial aid officer will be required to complete a Financial Data Sheet certifying that the student meets this criterion. In the selection process, the amount of financial need will not be a major determining factor, nevertheless, preference is given to candidates for whom the awarding of a scholarship would significantly increase the likelihood of the student's being able to attend graduate school.