The Donald A. Strauss Scholarship is an opportunity for rising juniors and seniors involved in public service. Stanford has been invited to forward three nominees to Donald A. Strauss Foundation.
The creation of the Foundation pays tribute to the vision, ideals, and leadership of Donald A. Strauss, and to his life-long commitment to public service and to education.
The Foundation promotes the value of public service in the education and preparation of our future leaders. In financing innovative student-generated projects which foster leadership skills, we encourage optimism and an enduring interest in public service. The Foundation annually awards $10,000 scholarships to no fewer than 10 and no more than 15 California college sophomores and/or juniors who tend to have extensive records of community and public service. A central part of the application package is a proposal for a project to be carried out between the end of the sophomore or junior year and the spring of the following year; these proposals shall become a major focus of the selection process.
Eligibility and Selection Process
Eligibility
The Foundation will award scholarships to full-time students at our pre-selected four-year California colleges or universities who have:
- have demonstrated an interest in public service
- outstanding leadership potential
- developed and can demonstrate effective communication skills
- the desire to “make a difference” in local, regional, national or international communities
- one or two years remaining until graduation
- a GPA in the upper 1/3 of his or her class
- submitted an innovative, original, public service project proposal
- Campus orientation requirements: contact Hilary Douglas
Selection Process
We strongly encourage students to discuss ideas for projects with fellowships program staff at the Haas Center well before the application deadline. Developing and writing a funding proposal takes time, so start the application process early and consult with professors, advisors and others regularly. Counselors at BEAM, Stanford Career Education can provide you with assistance to develop your résumé. The Hume Center for Writing and Speaking is an excellent resource for students wishing to have their statements reviewed prior to the deadline. For those who seek assistance, a series of workshops is offered in January to help students develop their applications.
The Strauss Scholarship is not administered by the Haas Center; therefore, the application is different from other undergraduate fellowship applications. To apply, please follow the instructions provided by the Strauss Foundation. Note: Strauss Trustees require that page limits on all materials be strictly observed.
Applications are reviewed by a campus screening committee to determine which three applicants are nominated by Stanford University and submitted to the Strauss Scholarship Foundation for consideration. The Foundation Trustees make the final decision about scholarship recipients near the end of spring quarter. On-campus interviews will take place on Thursday, February 18th.
More information and sample proposals are available from the Strauss Foundation.
Application
Submission deadline for application materials, including unofficial transcript and recommendation, is February 9, 2016, at 5 pm (PST). All documents are time stamped upon receipt. Application materials received after the posted deadline are not accepted.
- Applications are available from the Strauss Foundation. Please note that the application is not an online form.
- Download an official transcript from Axess and include a hard copy with your application submission packet.
- Deliver a paper application to the Haas Center by the Stanford deadline: February 9, 2016, at 5 pm PST. On-campus interviews will take place on Thursday, February 18, 2016.
A complete Strauss Fellowship application packet includes the following components:
Only full-time undergraduate students in their sophomore or junior year, and enrolled at one of the 15 pre-selected colleges or universities, may apply for a Donald A. Strauss Public Service Scholarship. Applications will not be accepted directly from candidates. The Foundation invites the selection committee from each eligible institution to nominate and submit the project proposal applications of three students.
Application materials must include:
- An official transcript from all colleges attended
- A minimum of two and a maximum of three letters of recommendation from individuals who are well acquainted with the students work (academic or service); these can be from a current academic institution, organizations (including community or public service organizations), former professors, employers, community representatives, etc.
- An Application Summary that lists:
- the college or university's name.
- the applicant's permanent and campus contact information: name, addresses, phone numbers, email address.
- GPA, major, interests and hobbies.
- The Project title and a one-paragraph executive summary of the proposal.
- A one-page resume
- include current and past community service.
- include current and past community service.
- A one-page personal essay (not a restatement of the resume)
- The Project Proposal
- Each applicant will submit a proposal for a community or public service project that would be accomplished between the end of his or her sophomore or junior year and the spring of the following year.
- The proposal document should be limited to 4 pages, typed and double-spaced.
- A signed copy of the Acceptance Agreement acknowledging the responsibilities of a Strauss Scholar
Visit the Strauss Foundation for detailed information related to application submission.
Contact Information
For more information, contact Hilary Douglas.
