About Academic Awards
Campus-wide awards, national or international fellowships, and nationally competitive scholarships are an excellent way to financially supplement your studies while further showcasing (and building) skills to help you stand out as a law school applicant. These types of awards and scholarships are awarded primarily based on academic achievement.
Where to Begin
There are three main places to begin looking for academic award and scholarship opportunities:
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UW-Madison’s Undergraduate Academic Awards Office (UAA)
Staff from this office are dedicated to helping you find both on-campus opportunities and national/off-campus opportunities. Get support to find options that match your goals and interests, navigate the scholarship application process, develop your essays, and prepare for national scholarship interviews.
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Wisconsin Scholarship Hub (WiSH)
After researching campus wide scholarships for UW-Madison, the next step is to logon to the Wisconsin Scholarship Hub. You will be prompted to fill out a “general application” which is a series of questions to filter a list of departmental or campus wide scholarships for which you might qualify.
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Institute for Regional and International Studies (IRIS)
This is the best place to start searching for international fellowship or grant programs. This campus unit can help you apply to the Fulbright U.S. Student Program, which is designed to give recent B.S./B.A. graduates and young professionals opportunities for personal development and international experiences.
Campus Wide Awards
Review UAA’s Campus-wide Awards page for the most up to date information.
- Bascom Hill Society Scholarship—One-year scholarship for a student with a distinguished record of service, leadership and academic achievement, and demonstrated financial need
- Herfurth-Kubly Award—Two $2,000 awards recognizing outstanding seniors
- Hilldale Research Fellowship—Approximately 97-100 awards funding student/faculty collaborative research in any field
- Holstrom Scholarship—Approximately four awards funding student/faculty collaborative environmental research
- Ginsburg Family Awards—awards recognizing juniors and seniors who excel in leadership and service, while maintaining academic excellence
- Newman— For civic minded undergraduates with at least one year of undergraduate study left
Nationally Competitive Awards
Review UAA’s Nationally Competitive Awards page for the most up to date information.
- Beinecke—For juniors to fund graduate study in arts, humanities and social sciences
- Churchill—For seniors or recent grads to fund one year of graduate study in science, technology, engineering or mathematics at Cambridge University
- Fulbright—For seniors or recent grads to fund academic opportunities for personal development and international experience
- Goldwater—For sophomores or juniors to fund undergraduate study for students in math, science and engineering
- Marshall—For seniors or recent graduates to fund two years of (graduate) study in any field at a university in the UK
- Mitchell—For seniors or recent graduates to fund one year of (graduate) study in any field at any university in Ireland or Northern Ireland
- Rhodes—For seniors or recent graduates to fund two years of (graduate) study in any field at Oxford
- Truman—For juniors to fund graduate study in public service field
- Udall—For sophomores or juniors to fund undergraduate study in environmental studies, tribal policy or tribal health care
Other questions about pursuing awards and scholarships? CPLA highly recommends meeting with staff in the Undergraduate Academic Awards Office.
Spring 2025 note: At the direction of the current U.S. Administration, several federally funded fellowship programs have been paused or are at risk of being defunded. This article from ProFellow, U.S. Fellowship Programs Paused and Next Steps for Applications, is one resource for staying informed and exploring alternatives. The Center for Pre-Law Advising remains dedicated to supporting pre-law students and alumni as we navigate the evolving federal funding landscape together.