About

Applications are open to US citizens and permanent residents 18 or younger — no minimum age, no grade requirement — submitted in one of three category tracks: STEM, Humanities (music, literature, philosophy), or Outside the Box. Visual and performing arts, photography, film, and community service projects are not eligible. Two-person teams may apply. Each submission requires two nominators who are not family members and must demonstrate that the work is the applicant's own. Judges — independent domain experts — evaluate submissions on scope and quality of the work, its significance as assessed by specialists, and the applicant's depth of knowledge in the field. Fellows are announced by July 15 and invited to an awards reception in Washington, D.C. that September, with travel and lodging provided.

The standard is what distinguishes this scholarship from every other pre-college research award. The Davidson Institute is explicitly looking for work at or near the graduate level — not strong high school science fair projects, not polished portfolios, but original contributions that experts in the field would recognize as meaningful. A student whose research has already earned recognition at Regeneron STS or been published in a peer-reviewed context is the profile this scholarship was built for. The prize amounts reflect that seriousness: $100,000 at the top tier is among the largest scholarships available to any student at any level.

The Davidson Fellows Scholarship is the right competition for someone who has already completed genuinely original work and wants it evaluated against the most rigorous standard available to a pre-college student.