Funding and financial aid
Mary Gates Research & Leadership scholarship funding
Up to $5,000 in student funding, paid as $2,500 across two quarters.
These scholarships supports the student rather than the project itself; it is student funding, not research funding or leadership project funding. The award is $5,000, paid as $2,500 each over two quarters — you choose two quarter from the Winter, Spring, Summer, and Autumn of the following academic year — disbursed through your UW student account during the second week of each funded quarter, by direct deposit or check. A graduating senior with a single quarter of enrollment remaining may request a one-quarter award of $2,500.
Mary Gates Endowment scholarship funds are unrestricted: they are meant to support you as a student, and you can put them toward tuition, rent, or other expenses, with no report or invoices required. Using award funds directly for your project is allowed but not expected.
Receiving other research or leadership project funding is generally not a conflict, since those other sources of funding likely support the work directly rather than the student. Two exceptions apply for the Research Scholarship: students holding a Levinson Emerging Scholars or Washington Research Foundation Fellowship award in a given year are not eligible in that same year for a Mary Gates Research scholarship.
Additional financial considerations:
- Existing financial aid may affect the amount that can be disbursed.
- If your research is conducted through a paid position, you remain eligible to apply for the Research Scholarship, though it is worth checking with your mentor about how the scholarship might interact with your employment status.
How scholarship funding interacts with financial aid
Everyone's financial aid eligibility is different. Receiving additional scholarships can affect your financial aid, but not always. Contact the UW Office of Student Financial Aid (OSFA) to learn more about your situation.
How an award interacts with financial aid varies from student to student. The Endowment team asks the Office of Student Financial Aid to review each awarded student's eligibility, and if your aid package limits how much of the award you can receive, we will work with you and OSFA to determine what changes are required. If you receive financial aid, it is worth checking with an OSFA advisor about how the scholarship might affect your aid package. The Mary Gates Endowment will let awarded scholars know if they are not able to receive the full scholarship funding.
Even when your financial aid restricts receiving any of the scholarship money, the scholarship is still worth applying for. Being named a Mary Gates Scholar is a meaningful recognition in its own right, and it brings you into a community of scholars and alumni, with invitations to events, shared resources, and check-ins with you and your mentor over the award period.
Questions are always welcome at mgates@uw.edu.