The Jefferson Scholarship is a full merit scholarship established in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Founded at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

, it is considered amongst the most prestigious scholarships in the world. Named after the

Founding Father The following list of national founding figures is a record, by country, of people who were credited with establishing a state. National founders are typically those who played an influential role in setting up the systems of governance, (i.e. ...

of the United States,

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...

, the scholarship provides four years of fully-funded study at the

. In addition to covering all tuition, books, room and board, the scholarship also provides scholars finances for summer enrichment, independent research and study abroad. Around 30 scholars are selected annually from a direct application pool of 6,000 nominating schools, each able to nominate one student. Scholars have included 22

Rhodes Scholars The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...

and

Marshall Scholars The Marshall Scholarship is a postgraduate scholarship for "intellectually distinguished young Americans ndtheir country's future leaders" to study at any university in the United Kingdom. It is widely considered one of the most prestigious sc ...

Pulitzer Prize Winners Pulitzer may refer to: *Joseph Pulitzer, a 20th century media magnate * Pulitzer Prize, an annual U.S. journalism, literary, and music award *Pulitzer (surname) * Pulitzer, Inc., a U.S. newspaper chain *Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, a non-pr ...

and others.

History of the Scholarship

Official Presidential portrait of Thomas Jefferson (by Rembrandt Peale, 1800)(cropped)

The first Jefferson Scholarship was endowed in 1981, named after the benefactor of the University of Virginia, Thomas Jefferson. The program has grown since with the support of benefactors and endowments. As of 2017, the endowment size was $418.8m, supporting 139 scholars. The scholarship exceeds $333,000 for out-of-state scholars.

Selection criteria

The mission of the Jefferson Scholars Foundation is to identify, attract, and nurture "individuals of extraordinary intellectual range and depth who possess the highest concomitant qualities of: Leadership, Scholarship, and Citizenship. Scholars are nominated as the most accomplished student at their respective school, and then compete through a series of interview rounds from local to regional, national and the finals, which are held in

Charlottesville, Virginia Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen Ch ...

. There are currently 70 nominating regions, with over 6,000 schools eligible to nominate a student, and a pool of students exceeding 800,000. In 2020, over 2,100 high schools nominated students, and 34 selected, leaving the programme with a sub 2% admit rate from those nominated.

Enrichment programmes

Institute for Leadership & Citizenship

The Leadership and Citizenship institute is a two week seminar for all Scholars, taking place at the end of their freshman year. It is held on the grounds of the University of Virginia, and consists of workshops, group discussions and personal exploration, and is designed to foster and develop the characteristics of leadership and citizenship in Scholars.

Travel Studies

Following their sophomore year, Scholars are encouraged to partake in foreign travel and study, and invited to undertake a self-designed exploration into a topic of personal interest. Many Scholars also take the opportunity to study at one of the university's partners for a semester.

Exploratory Fund

The Exploratory Fund, as an initiative of the Foundation, provides seed funding for projects and concepts Scholars have. Developed as a means to support the innovation of Scholars, the Foundation encourages Scholars to build projects that serve societal and cultural development. New commercial or philanthropic enterprises within or outside the University can also apply for funding consideration.

References

{{Authority control Scholarships in the United States University of Virginia Thomas Jefferson