Awards Requiring UNC Endorsement

Please notify the Office of Distinguished Scholarships (ods@unc.edu) if you wish to apply for one or more of these awards. Please note that these are hard deadlines and no individual exceptions will be made regarding endorsement application deadlines. The deadlines are publicly posted on this website multiple months prior to the actual deadline. Incomplete endorsement applications will not be reviewed by their respective awards committees. The only exception to this is the Fulbright US Student Program as that award has a non-competitive endorsement process.

April 9, 2026 update. ODS has begun to set the endorsement application deadlines for the 2026-2027 application cycle. If there’s a specific date below that is the official endorsement application deadline for the 2026-2027 cycle. If there’s a general range of dates then it hasn’t been set yet, but you can use the range as a guide. Again, the endorsement application deadlines are hard deadlines with no individual exceptions. If you have any questions, please email ODS at ods@unc.edu or schedule an appointment.

Beinecke Scholarship

Open to third-year students

Endorsement application deadline: Typically late February
Final application deadline: Typically late March

Boren Awards

Open to enrolled undergraduate and graduate students

Endorsement application deadline* Typically late December or early January –note endorsement is recommended but not required for Boren Awards
Boren Fellowships (graduate students) final application deadline: Typically late January
Boren Scholarships (undergraduate students) final application deadline: Typically late January

Churchill Scholarship

Open to fourth-year students and alumni from the previous academic year

Endorsement application deadline: Typically early-to-mid September
Endorsed students must apply to Cambridge by typically mid-October
Final application deadline: Typically early November

Fulbright U.S. Student Program

Open to graduating seniors, master’s students, doctoral candidates, and alumni.

Endorsement application deadline (most applicants): Wednesday, August 26, 2026 (11:59 pm eastern)
Endorsement application deadline for UK or Ireland Fulbright awards: Wednesday, August 19, 2026 (11:59 pm eastern)
Final application deadline: Tuesday, October 6, 2026 (5:00 pm eastern)

James C. Gaither Junior Fellows Program

Open to fourth-year students and alumni from the previous academic year

Endorsement application deadline: Typically mid-to-late November
Final application deadline: Typically mid-January

Goldwater Scholarship

Open to second- and third-year students

Endorsement application deadline: typically late November or early December
Final application deadline: Typically late January

Marshall Scholarships

Open to fourth-year students and recent alumni

Endorsement application deadline: Tuesday, July 28, 2026 (9:00 pm ET)
To be eligible to apply for UNC endorsement, applicants must meet with ODS Executive Director Marc Howlett at least twice before the endorsement deadline.
Final application deadline: Typically mid-September

McCall MacBain Scholarship

Open to fourth-year students and alumni

Endorsement application deadline: Thursday, August 13, 2026 (9:00 pm ET)
Final application deadline: typically late September

Michel David-Weill Scholarship

Open to graduating seniors only

Endorsement application deadline: Typically early-to-mid October
Final application deadline: typically mid-October
The endorsee must also apply to a Science Po master’s program no later than typically mid-November

Rhodes Scholarship

Open to graduating seniors and recent alumni

Endorsement application deadline for US and Canadian applicants: Tuesday, July 28, 2026 (9:00 pm ET)
To be eligible to apply for UNC endorsement, applicants must meet with ODS Executive Director Marc Howlett at least twice before the endorsement deadline.
Final application deadline: for US applicants: Typically or October. Final application deadline for Canadian applicants is typically late September.
Other competitions have final deadlines that may be much earlier than the US competition; check with ODS regarding endorsement for non-US competitions

Truman Scholarship