Research and Innovation Office

Extramural Coordinated Funding


UM Submission Instructions: Beckman Scholars Program 2025

Sponsor: Beckman Foundation, Arnold and Mabel
Award Title: Beckman Scholars Program
Amount: $156,000
Funding of $26,000 per Beckman Scholar (2 per year) - 6 Scholars in total over the course of 3 years
UM Deadline: 06/09/2025
Sponsor Deadline: 06/13/2025
Description: The purpose of the Beckman Scholars Program is to help stimulate, encourage, and support research activities by talented, full-time undergraduate students who are pursuing their studies at accredited four-year colleges and universities located in the United States of America. These research activities shall be centered in either chemistry, biochemistry, the biological and medical sciences, or some interdisciplinary combination of these subjects. Candidates for the Beckman Scholars Award must be full-time students throughout the duration of the award.

The research activities performed by Beckman Scholars shall be conducted under the guidance of a full-time, approved science faculty member at the college or university receiving an award. Research activities must be performed part-time (ten hours per week) during one academic year, and full-time over two summers (ten 40-hour weeks each summer) immediately before and after the academic year research experience. The continuity of the research experience is important to the Foundation, and alternatives to this “summer – academic year – summer” schedule will not be considered.

The 2026 Beckman Scholar Awardee institutions will select their Scholars in early 2026 and begin their first award term in the summer of 2026, followed by a second award term beginning in the summer of 2027, and a third award term in the summer of 2028. Institutions who receive the 2026 Beckman Scholars Award will not be considered for new applications until the 2029 program.
Number of Applicants University is Allowed to submit: 1
Additional Requirements: None
Sponsor Guidelines: https://beckman-foundation.smapply.io/prog/beckman_scholars_program/
UM Nominations Process: This is a first-come, first-served opportunity. Contact collabor@umn.edu if interested.
Peer Review Coordination: Research and Innovation Office contact email
Status: Open
Please note: To be considered for peer review and internal selection, faculty must follow the above submission guidelines and meet the UM deadline as set by the office coordinating the peer review for this opportunity.


General Information

  • Each posting has information about the external sponsor and opportunity as well as the internal application instructions.
  • Opportunities can be sorted by column headings; just click on the heading to re-sort by that column.
  • When a link redirects you to another site, it opens in a new browser window.
  • If you know of an opportunity that is not on the list, please contact Kristin Mead.
Internal Requirements

  • Sponsor: Name of funder.
  • Award Title: Funding opportunity nameAmount: Range/Maximum dollar amount awarded.
  • UMN Deadline: Submission deadline for internal proposal as determined by the coordinating office.
  • Sponsor Deadline: External deadline identified by the sponsor.
  • Description: General information about the sponsor and the funding opportunity. Usually describes the purpose of the funding opportunity, overview of what the sponsor is looking for, including distinctive criteria. This is not meant to take the place of the sponsor guidelines; please read the sponsor guidelines before deciding to apply.
  • Number of Applicants University is Allowed to Submit: The maximum number of applications the sponsor will allow the university to submit.
  • Additional Requirements: Identifies any special requirements such as cost sharing, partners, etc.
  • Sponsor Guidelines: Link to the sponsor’s funding opportunity website.
  • UMN Nominations Process: Contains specific internal submission requirements including internal proposal instructions, deadline, eligibility, internal nomination process, contact information.
  • Peer Review Coordination: The name and contact email of the office coordinating the funding opportunity. RIO coordinates most limited submissions, but opportunities coordinated by other offices or programs are also posted on this webpage.
  • Status:
    • Open: UM deadline has not passed and the opportunity is open for application.
    • Forecasted: The funder has not yet formally published the opportunity. The deadline has yet to be determined.
    • Archived: The opportunity has been archived by the funder.
    • Spots Remaining: UMN deadline has passed, with some applicant spots still available. Contact collabor@umn.edu if interested
    • First-Come, First-Served: Applicants accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. Contact collabor@umn.edu if interested
    • Contact Us: The internal deadline has passed, but no applicants were selected. Please contact the office coordinating the peer review for more information.
    • In Review: Peer review process is in progress for the opportunity.
    • PI Selected: The PI(s) have been selected as the official UMN nominees.
    • Closed: UMN is no longer accepting applications.
UMN Selection Process

  • Once the internal deadline has passed, if the number of applicants is less than or equal to the number of spots the university is allowed to send forward, the applicants automatically become the UMN nominee(s).
  • If the status of an opportunity is "First-Come, First-Served", there was not time to hold an internal review. Applicants will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.
  • If there are no applicants, the status will change to "Contact Us". At this point, the opportunity changes to a first-come, first-served opportunity.
  • If there are multiple applicants, the office coordinating the nomination will determine the review criteria and coordinate the review process. The status will change to "In Review".
  • Once the review has been completed all parties will be notified via email.
  • Nominees will be provided with an email from RIO (or the designated coordinating office) indicating that they are the university's nominee. This letter should accompany the nominee's proposal.
  • SPA is notified of the university's nominee(s) and the status is updated to "PI(s) Selected".


*If you have questions about the University's process related to extramural funding opportunities requiring nomination or if you have any technical issues with the site, contact collabor8@umn.edu.

For questions, please contact RIO's Research Advancement group.