Research
The Mary Gates Research Scholarship supports University of Washington undergraduates who are engaged in — or preparing to begin — research under the guidance of a UW-affiliated faculty mentor. It is a competitive award meant to ease the financial weight of that work, giving students time to focus and go deeper into a discipline or project, in whatever form that scholarly work takes.
What counts as research
Research is understood broadly — every major, every field, and many forms of scholarly and creative work.
The Endowment welcomes applications from every major and every field. Research is understood broadly: the Council on Undergraduate Research defines undergraduate research, scholarship, and creative inquiry as a "mentored investigation or creative inquiry conducted by undergraduates that seeks to make a scholarly or artistic contribution to knowledge." Mary Gates Research scholarships embrace the creative and systematic process of asking questions and discovering new knowledge through undergraduate research and are open to any student regardless of major, year, or prior experience.
In practice, undergraduate research looks different from one discipline to the next. Research might happen in a laboratory or an art studio, on a theatre stage or in a medical center, in the library, at a computer, in an archive, or out in the field. Curricular design, creative work, and other forms of scholarship all belong. Some students collaborate closely with a mentor who serves as a principal investigator; others shape their own questions while a mentor offers guidance and support along the way.
Who can apply
Any matriculated UW undergraduate at all three UW campuses.
Any matriculated undergraduate pursuing a bachelor's degree at one of the three UW campuses — Bothell, Seattle, or Tacoma — may apply, provided they plan to conduct research under a UW-affiliated faculty mentor.
- Applicants are welcome from any major and at any stage of their academic career, whether already underway or still in the planning stages, and you do not need to be working with faculty yet to be eligible.
- The scholarship can support research connected to a capstone, an Honors thesis, or an independent study; what matters is a clear sense of the research project you intend to conduct during the funded quarters and the mentorship supporting you.
- Full-time enrollment is required only during the quarters in which you receive the award, not during the Autumn quarter when you apply.
- You can hold the financial award for only one Mary Gates scholarship at a time, though you may apply for more than one during and award cycle.
- Previous Research Scholars may apply for a second award, which reviewers evaluate against some additional criteria.
- No one may receive a third award of the same type, and the combined maximum across Research and Leadership Scholarships is three.
Timeline
The application runs once a year in Autumn quarter.
The Endowment runs a single application cycle per academic year, with the application deadline in Autumn quarter.
Questions are always welcome at mgates@uw.edu.