Frequently Asked Questions

This is the Autumn quarter in which you are applying for a Mary Gates Leadership and/or Research Scholarship. While being actively engaged in your project during this quarter is not a requirement, all the work related to your project you have done so far and are doing this quarter can count as preparation for the project you are proposing. 

These are the two quarters in which you would like to receive the scholarship money. When students apply in Autumn quarter for a Mary Gates Scholarship, they may select two quarters from the following: Winter, Spring, Summer and Autumn of the following academic year. The disbursement for each quarter will be a maximum of $2,500, for a total award of $5,000.

Any undergraduate student from any of the three UW campuses (Bothell, Seattle and Tacoma), who is pursuing a Bachelor’s degree and is planning to conduct a research and/or leadership project is eligible to apply. Applicants from any major and at any stage of their undergraduate academic career are welcome to apply.

Learn more about the Mary Gates Research Scholarship here.

Learn more about the Mary Gates Leadership Scholarship here.

Yes, it is possible to apply for research and leadership scholarships at the same time; however, you may only receive the financial award for one Mary Gates scholarship at a time.

Seniors graduating at the end of the Autumn application quarter are not eligible to apply.

Graduating seniors who have at least one quarter left in their undergraduate degree after the Autumn application quarter are eligible to apply. However, they may not select quarters of award past their graduation quarter. If a senior is planning to graduate at the end of Winter quarter, they can indicate in the application that they are only requesting one quarter of award (for a maximum $2,500 award).

If you are just entering UW as a student, you should obtain unofficial transcripts from your former institution and you will be able to upload them in the application portal. If you have been at UW for more than a quarter, your unofficial UW transcript will include grades and transcripts from previous institutions.

Post-baccalaureate students are eligible to apply for a Mary Gates Scholarship as long as they are officially enrolled in an undergraduate degree program. If they are enrolled in some additional classes before, for example, applying to medical school or a graduate degree program, then they would not be eligible.

The Mary Gates Leadership and Research Scholarships are meant to support individual students as they work on their projects. Therefore, each student who would like to be considered for a scholarship needs to apply separately if they are part of a research or leadership group. In the application, students have the opportunity to talk about collaborations while making sure they clearly describe their individual roles and contributions. Each application will be reviewed separately and whether it is awarded or not depends on how well it aligns with the selection criteria.

Mary Gates Scholars must fulfill the full-time enrollment requirement during the quarters in which they receive the scholarship. Full-time enrollment equals 12 credits in Autumn, Winter and Spring. Full-time enrollment is not required for Summer quarter, but you must be enrolled for at least 1 credit if you choose Summer as one of your quarters of award. Mary Gates Scholars and their mentor(s) are required to fill out a mid-quarter survey for each quarter in which they receive the scholarship. Finally, each Mary Gates Scholar will be required to present their project at either the annual Undergraduate Research Symposium (Research Scholars) or the Spring CELEbration (Leadership Scholars). Both events take place in May at the UW Seattle campus.

Every case will be different depending on your financial aid package and eligibility. We ask the Office of Student Financial Aid to review each award recipient’s eligibility for scholarship money. For the amount that the Office of Student Financial Aid approves, the money will be disbursed either as direct deposit (and go directly to your bank account) or as a check that will be mailed to you, so that you may use the money as you wish in support of your educational expenses. 

Exception: If the Office of Student Financial Aid tells us you cannot receive any or only a portion of the money, they will sometimes be able to replace a loan with the balance or portion of the scholarship money you were not eligible for otherwise. If you receive financial aid, it is important that you check with the Office of Student Financial Aid for advising and to see how receiving this award could affect your financial aid package.

It may. The Mary Gates Endowment checks all scholarship amounts with the Office of Student Financial Aid, which determines how much each student is eligible to receive based on their financial aid package. We encourage all students who receive financial aid to check in with an advisor in the Office of Student Financial Aid to determine the impact the scholarship may have and to possibly request an adjustment (if applicable). If you are selected for a Mary Gates Scholarship and you are not eligible to receive the full award amount, we will inform you. 

We think you should! While we understand that students can really benefit from the monetary award that comes with a Mary Gates Scholarship, we think that the scholarship is also a recognition of your potential as a researcher/leader and a remarkable achievement in your undergraduate career. Even if you may not be able to receive the monetary award, you will have the honor of being named a Mary Gates Scholar. You will join a community of fellow Scholars and alumni. We will invite you to join our events and we will share resources and opportunities that may be of interest to you and your fellow Scholars. We will also check in with you and your mentor during your period of award to make sure you are making the progress you were hoping to achieve.

The funds from the scholarship are unrestricted, are meant to support you as a student, and you can use them to pay for your tuition, rent or other expenses; we don’t require a report or invoices. The goal for the scholarship is to be impactful, support you while you engage in your project and enhance your educational experience. You are not expected to use the funds specifically for your project, but you may do so if you decide that you want to allocate part of your scholarship to support your project directly.

Yes! The full-time enrollment requirement applies only to the quarters in which you receive the monetary award.

Yes! We encourage you to apply even if you are not planning to enroll full-time during one of your quarters of award. However, if you are selected, we may need to adjust your scholarship amount based on the credits for which you are enrolled. For example, a student who enrolls for 6 credits during a quarter of award may be eligible to receive up to $1,250 for that quarter.

Yes! If you have accommodation for a reduced credit load, we will follow those guidelines when we check your full-time enrollment. If you are selected to receive a Mary Gates Scholarship, please inform us of your DRS accommodation and so we can work with you.

If your plans change you may be able to change your funding quarters within the academic year in which you were awarded. However, this is only possible if you continue to be actively engaged in your project in your new quarter(s) of award and if your mentor can confirm they can mentor you according to this new timeline. Please contact us at mgates@uw.edu to discuss a quarter change.