Marshall Scholarships
2026 endorsement application updates: The Marshall endorsement application deadline has been set. Please see the UNC ODS endorsement application deadline page to see the 2026-2027 endorsement application deadline. The process for submitting an endorsement application for the Marshall Scholarship has changed for 2026. See below for updates. Please also email ods@unc.edu or schedule an appointment if you have any questions.
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Marshall Scholarships finance up to 50 young Americans of high ability to study for a graduate degree in the United Kingdom.
Award: The Two Year Marshall Scholarship is tenable for two academic years. The One Year Marshall Scholarship is tenable for one academic year (12 months) and cannot be extended. Almost all Marshal Scholarships are two-year awards, so an applicant should only apply to a one-year Marshall in extraordinary circumstances. The award covers university fees, cost of living expenses, annual book grant, thesis grant, research and daily travel grants, fares to and from the United States and, where applicable, a contribution towards the support of a dependent spouse.
Criteria: In appointing Scholars the selectors will look for candidates who have the potential to excel as scholars, as leaders and as contributors to improved UK-US understanding. Assessment will be based on academic merit, leadership potential and ambassadorial potential.
Applicants must be endorsed by UNC-Chapel Hill in order to apply for the Marshall Scholarship. To be eligible to apply for UNC-Chapel Hill endorsement, applicants must meet with ODS Executive Director Marc Howlett at least twice. Those meetings must occur in the current calendar year, be separated by at least a week, and occur before the endorsement deadline.
Eligibility
To be eligible for a Marshall Scholarship, candidates must:
- be citizens of the United States of America (at the time they apply for a scholarship)
- hold their first undergraduate degree from an accredited four-year college or university in the United States by the time they take up their scholarship in September of the following year
- have obtained a grade point average of not less than 3.7 on their undergraduate degree (Applicants must have a GPA of 3.7 at the time of application)
- Please note that while 3.7 is the minimum GPA to be eligible to apply, most applicants will have a much higher GPA. Applicants with GPAs below 3.8 will have an even more challenging time receiving UNC-Chapel Hill endorsement for the Marshall Scholarship
- Have graduated from their first undergraduate college or university after April 2024.
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- not have studied for, or hold a degree or degree-equivalent qualification from a British University or GCSE or A Levels taken at school in the UK
*Note* please verify eligibility on the Marshall Scholarships website.
How to apply for UNC endorsement
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Please note: the UNC Marshall endorsement application process has changed for the 2026 cycle. The new process follows:
- Meet with ODS Executive Director at least twice. These meetings must occur in the current calendar year, be separated by at least a week, and occur before the endorsement deadline. You can make an appointment here.
- For the endorsement application, you will be primarily working inside of the Marshall Scholarship application portal
Marshall UNC endorsement application (note the specifics on submitting the endorsement application and letters of recommendation).
- Create an account within the official Marshall Scholarship application portal: https://asams.marshallscholarship.org/apply
- Enter the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as your institution
- Select the Marshall region you wish to apply to
- Note: The region may change after endorsement
- Note: Applicant may apply to a region where they have their permanent home address or ordinary place of residence/employment OR that in which they are studying (which for us is the Atlanta region).
- In the main body of the application, be sure to share your application with your advisor. That way ODS can see your application in progress
- At some point before the endorsement application deadline, complete the information for the letters of recommendation writers but do not send them the recommendation link. Recommenders will submit their letters of recommendation during the endorsement application directly to ODS.
Submitting the endorsement application
- Once the Marshall application is complete(with the exception of sending the links to your recommenders) and ready to be reviewed by UNC-Chapel Hill for endorsement, within the Marshall portal under submit application, use the functionality that says “Submit to endorsing institution for review.”
- However, once you submit to endorsing institution for review you are not done.
- Download a PDF copy of your application
- Save the file in the following format “Lastname_Marshall_2026.pdf”
- Submit the endorsement application to UNC and ODS via the following link: https://unc.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_a2XjqJcRx7L9Cv4
Letters of recommendation
- For the letters of recommendation, you will specify who is writing your letters within the Marshall portal
- Do not, however, use the links within the portal to contact your recommenders
- Share the following link with your recommenders to submit their letters to UNC and ODS: https://unc.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_d6cKJZ3Vg160Ygm
- *The Marshall Scholarship has specific requirements concerning who can write your letters; please review those requirements on the website before selecting recommenders*
The complete UNC Marshall endorsement application and the three letters of recommendation must be received by ODS by the endorsement application deadline. Incomplete applications will not be reviewed. The endorsement application deadline is a hard deadline and their are no individual exceptions made for any applicant. Please allow yourself plenty of time to make sure everything is properly submitted by the endorsement application deadline.
Resources for applicants
- Thoroughly read the following Marshall rules and guidelines:
- ODS information sessions and prep-shops
- Schedule a meeting with the ODS executive director to discuss your application and receive advice to consider.
Applicants may apply for multiple scholarship awards simultaneously, including the Rhodes, Marshall, and other scholarships. However, pay careful attention to differences in guidelines for personal statements among other considerations.
