Wendell Prize Information

Sophomores who earned a minimum GPA of 3.670 (equivalent to an average letter grade of A-) at the end of their freshman year will be invited to apply for the Wendell Prize. Applications for will be mailed to eligible students in September.

The Jacob Wendell Scholarship Prize, which was established in 1899 by bequest of Jacob Wendell, is awarded annually to a Harvard College student in recognition of scholarship and contribution to the College community, without reference to financial need. The award is made to a member of the sophomore class, chosen by a committee of the Faculty, on the basis of the freshman year record, a piece of written work, and contributions made outside of the classroom.

In order to honor and encourage extraordinary academic achievement as well as contributions to the life of Harvard College, the Wendell Prize is divided into three parts. Two equal disbursements of $5,000 each are made to the Scholar at the start of his or her sophomore-junior and junior-senior summers to support academic or other appropriate projects or experiences endorsed by the Scholar's Allston Burr Resident Dean and approved by the Wendell Prize selection committee. (Should any Wendell Prize recipient have filed plans to complete undergraduate degree requirements in Harvard College at the end of his or her sixth term of residence, he or she may apply to the selection committee for an alternate distribution of summer funds.) An additional $7,000 will be presented to the Scholar at a dinner honoring current and past Wendell Prize recipients in the spring.

 

For additional information regarding the Wendell Scholarship Prize, please call the Prize Office at (617) 495-4780 or email fas-prizes@harvard.edu.