Important: Please prepare application materials ahead of time as some scholarships may require an essay, budget, letter(s) of recommendation, etc. Click on the page for each scholarship below for full details on submission requirements.

Scholarships & Funding Opportunities for Honors Students

Honors Scholarships

Thesis Funding

Rolling Deadline – Apply at any time!

    • Charlie Slavin Research Fund
      The Charlie Slavin Fund was established with a gift from Charlie’s wife, Nancy Hall, and many of Charlie’s family, friends and colleagues from across the country after his unexpected death in 2012. This fund provides support for undergraduate research (e.g. field work, surveys, laboratory experiments, library research, analysis, travel, equipment) being conducted by students in the Honors College.

         Spring (Application Required) 

    • Charles V. Stanhope ’71 Study Abroad Fellowship
      Funds for Honors College Students studying abroad.  There is typically one $1000 award each year.
    • Rezendes Global Service Scholarship
      Honors College Students who wish to make a difference, both locally and globally.  These scholarships enable a student to take part in a service opportunity far from America’s shores.  Past recipients have traveled to Ireland, Ghana, Peru, and Tanzania.

Spring Direct Award (No application required)

    • Carolyn Reed Pre-Medical Thesis Fellowships
      One award of $2500 will be offered to a student devoted to improving the world through active research and establishing an academic background that will enable them to become world-class physicians. Their research is intended to make a positive difference in the lives of others both through their discoveries and as a stepping stone to their future careers.
    • Rendle A. Jones ’65 and Patricia K. Jones ’65 Thesis Fellowship
      One award of $2000 will be offered to support a thesis student focusing their research on exploring legal service in the public arena through the history of the law or current affairs related to public health and human services, community development and conservation, or policy issues on a wide range of topics.
    • Thomas E. Lynch ’38 Thesis Scholarship
      $1500 Lynch Thesis Fellowships will be awarded to Honors College students in the process of writing their theses in any discipline. Thomas E. Lynch graduated from the University of Maine in 1938 with a degree in electrical engineering, and in 1983, he was awarded the Alumni Association Career Award.  His trust graciously established funds for these honors thesis fellowship awards.
    • Barbara A. Ouellette Honors Thesis Fellowship
      One award, up to $500 will be awarded to a University of Maine Honors thesis student from any discipline. Preference will be given to students with financial need.
    • Steven F. Cohn Honors Thesis Fellowship
      One award, up to $500 will be awarded to provide support to undergraduate students who are sociology majors in the Honors College for their Honors thesis or capstone research project in the field of sociology.
    • Honors College INBRE Fellowship Awards in Comparative Functional Genomics
      Thesis, Pre-Thesis, and Summer Research Fellowships are available to Honors College students who are working on Honors theses in biomedical research in comparative functional genomics with INBRE research scientists at the University of Maine. 

Travel Funding

Rolling Deadline – Apply at any time!

    • Bill and Betsy Pullen Leitch* ’55 Conference and Study Abroad Fund
      The Honors College can help students with grants of up to $500 for travel to disciplinary conferences to present on their research and help with funding for study abroad. These awards are made possible by a generous donation from Bill Leitch in honor of his late wife, Betsy Pullen Leitch ’55. (Deceased)

UMaine Scholarships

These are more opportunities open to students at The University of Maine.  We offer this information and guidance as a service to any students who are considering applying. Please note the season of the deadline for each, and visit the respective websites for more information.

  • CUGR Research and Creative Activities Fellowships (Fall Deadline for Academic Year Fellowships, Spring Deadline for Summer Fellowships)
    CUGR Fellowships provide financial support for undergraduate UMaine students for meaningful faculty-supervised research and creative activities. Academic year fellows receive a $1200 award, and summer fellows receive a $3300 award.
  • Global Perspectives for Humanities Explorations Fund (Fall Deadline)
    This fund provides $1500 for study abroad in the Spring or Summer of the year following the Fall application.
  • Inez Boyd Environmental Research Award (Spring Deadline)
    The Penobscot Valley Chapter of Maine Audubon invites University of Maine undergraduate and graduate students to apply for the Inez Boyd Environmental Research Award (IBERA). The award is in the amount of up to $1,500 and is targeted to support research activities that focus on Maine’s native plants and animals.
  • Maine State Society of Washington, Foundation Scholarship (Spring Deadline)
    Each scholarship is in the amount of at least $1,000, and is awarded to full-time students who have completed at least one year of undergraduate courses at a four- or five-year degree granting, non-profit institution of higher learning in the State of Maine.  
  • Margaret Chase Smith Maine Policy Scholars (Spring Deadline)
    The Maine Policy Scholars program is a year-long research scholarship in which a student from each of the seven University of Maine System campuses, working closely with a faculty advisor, examines an issue of public policy relevance to Maine and delivers a final report and presentation. Winner receives $5000 toward tuition, additional $1000 research expense reimbursement is also available.
  • Margaret Chase Smith Public Affairs Scholarship (Spring Deadline)
    Each academic year the MCS Public Affairs Scholarship is awarded to one or two UMaine undergraduates who propose an independent research project relevant to public policy in Maine. The amount of the scholarship is $3,500 per academic year.
  • McGillicudy Fellowships Spring/Fall (Calendar Year) (Fall Deadline for Calendar Year Fellowships, Spring Deadline for Academic Year Fellowships)
    The McGillicuddy Humanities Center Undergraduate Fellows program offers junior and senior humanities students the support needed to concentrate on their coursework and develop research projects, work collaboratively with a select group of peers, participate in interdisciplinary humanities programs, and gain professional skills. Fellows will receive $4000 each per semester for two consecutive semesters.
  • Nickerson University of Maine Memorial Scholarship Fund (Spring Deadline)
    This fund endows merit-based scholarships to be awarded to those juniors and seniors majoring in political science who are residents of the State of Maine, who have demonstrated scholarship of the highest order, and who have the greatest potential to serve the public unselfishly. For the 2019-2020 academic year, Nickerson scholarships are expected to cover the full cost of in-state tuition at the University of Maine.
  • Sandy and Bobby Ives Research Award (Spring Deadline)
    Full-time UMaine students can apply for a grant of $500 to support research, conference travel, or ethnographic fieldwork training relating to the fields of ethnography, oral history, folklore, or regional studies of Maine or the Maritime Provinces of Canada.
  • The Servant Heart Scholarship Fund (Spring Deadline)
    This scholarship fund is intended to benefit students who connect public service with their academic work and who apply practical solutions to real world problems.  Applying students must exhibit their devotion to community service by having been recently involved in an outreach project. The 2020 scholarship program will include 4 scholarships of $2,500 each.
  • Killam Fellowships (Early Spring Deadline)
    The Killam Fellowships Program supports undergraduate students to participate in a binational residential academic exchange program with Canada. Fellows are provided with a cash award of $10,000 US ($5,000 US per semester), and more.

National Scholarships

All of these opportunities are open to all students at The University of Maine, many through the Office of Major Scholarships.  We offer this information and guidance as a service to any students who are considering applying.