College of Arts & Sciences
Department of Biology
Department of Biology

Awards and Honors

Rhodes Scholarship

The Rhodes Scholarships are the oldest and most celebrated international fellowship awards in the world. Each year 32 young students from the United States are selected as Rhodes Scholars.  Rhodes Scholars are chosen not only for their outstanding scholarly achievements, but for their character, commitment to others and to the common good, and for their potential for leadership in whatever domains their careers may lead. 

Barry Goldwater Scholarship

This award honors former Senator Barry Goldwater through the operation of an education scholarship program.  It is financed by a permanent trust fund endowment, and is designed to encourage outstanding students to pursue careers in mathematics, the natural sciences, and engineering. Selected colleges and universities are invited to submit up to 4 candidates for the national competition.

Fulbright Scholarship

The Fulbright US Student Program is the largest exchange program offering opportunities for students to undertake international graduate study, advanced research, or teaching worldwide.  It was established in 1946 to promote goodwill between countries through the exchange of students and ideas.  Approximately 8000 grants are awarded annually by the Fulbright Program. 

Churchill Scholarship

The Scholarships from the Winston Churchill Foundation of the United States support students to spend a year at Churchill College, University of Cambridge, England for advanced study in engineering, mathematics, and the biological and physical sciences. In 2013, only fourteen scholarships were awarded nationally.

Gates Cambridge Scholarship

The Gates Cambridge Scholarship program was established in 2000 by the Bill and Melindda Gates Foundation to the University of Cambridge to support post-graduate studies.  Scholarships are awarded to students with outstanding intellectual abilities, leadership potential, and a commitment to improving the lives of others.

British Marshall Scholarship

The Marshall Scholarship supports young Americans of high ability to study for a degree in at a university in the United Kingdom. The scholarship provides for two years of undergraduate or graduate study in any discipline, leading to the award of a British university degree.

Clarendon Fund Scholarship

The Clarendon Scholarship, from the University of Oxford, is good for up to three years of post-baccalaureate study toward a master’s degree or Ph.D. in any subject area. Students must be from overseas.

Clare Boothe Luce Scholarship

The Clare Boothe Luce Program stands alone as the single most significant source of private support for women in science, engineering and mathematics. Clare Boothe Luce, the widow of Henry R. Luce, was a playwright, journalist, U.S. Ambassador to Italy, and the first woman elected to Congress from Connecticut. She appreciated, however, that many women face obstacles in their chosen professions. In her magnificent bequest establishing this program, she sought to encourage women to enter, study, graduate, and teach in the sciences (including mathematics) and engineering.

Beckman Scholarship

The Beckman Scholars Program recognizes outstanding undergraduate research by providing scholarships that contribute significantly in advancing the education, research training and personal development of select students in chemistry, biochemistry, and the biological and medical sciences.  

George J. Mitchell Scholarship

The George J. Mitchell Scholarship is named for former senator George J. Mitchell (D- Maine), who helped broker peace in Northern Ireland, and provides for a year of graduate study at a university in Ireland.

National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowships

The NSF supports research through the awarding of highly competitive Graduate Research Fellowships. Undergraduate students who plan to attend graduate school apply for these prestigious awards.

Undergraduate Research Fellowships and Awards

Many research societies seek to encourage participation of undergraduates in research through the sponsorship of research fellowships.

Boren Awards

Boren Scholarships, an initiative of the National Security Education Program, provide unique funding opportunities for U.S. undergraduate students to study less commonly taught languages in world regions critical to U.S. interests, and underrepresented in study abroad. Boren Scholars represent a vital pool of highly motivated individuals who wish to work in the federal national security arena and for the federal government.  

Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship

The Gilman Scholarship Program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs is an undergraduate program for U.S. citizens of limited financial means to enable them to study abroad, thereby internationalizing their outlook and better preparing them to thrive in the global economy. 

Georgetown University Honors

Coakley Medal

This medal is the highest award in the University and is in honor of Lieutenant Hank Coakley, ’41, who died in the service of his country in World War II. This medal was founded to encourage and reward leadership and to keep alive Hank’s great love for Georgetown and is awarded annually to the senior who manifested the qualities of Catholic leadership in all phases of his or her college life.

Katherine Kraft Medal

This award was established in memory of Katherine Kraft, by her daughter Mrs. Cornelia Kraft McKee, and is to be awarded each year to the graduating student who best exemplified the Jesuit ideals in his or her collegiate life. The recipient must have manifested a spirit of humility, cooperation, and perseverance, combined with leadership, sportsmanship, sacrifice and courage in overcoming difficulties.

Distinguished Service

This award is presented from time to time, at the discretion of the College Dean, to a member of the senior class who has distinguished himself or herself by his or her dedication in service to the ideals of the College.

Lambert H. Spronck Medal

The Spronck Medal was founded in 1963 by the students of the College in memory of Lambert H. Spronck (C’1963). It is awarded to that student who has, throughout his or her college career, combined good scholarship with significant contributions to extracurricular activities, and who has manifested a spirit of giving completely to whatever Georgetown project or activity he or she is engaged in. The recipient must be respected and admired by the students, faculty, and administration of Georgetown.

Louis McCahill Award

Mr. Eugene McCahill and Mr. Francis McCahill founded this medal in 1960 in memory of their brother, Louis, who died in the service of his country in the first World War. It is awarded to the student of the graduating class who has shown perseverance and determination of a high order in pursuing his or her educational objectives at Georgetown.

Edward L. Mahoney Medal

This medal was founded by Dr. Edward P. Luongo and Mrs. Virginia P. Luongo and is awarded annually to the pre-medical student of the senior class who has accomplished outstanding achievement in the Humanities.

Thomas Francis Graham Award

This award is presented at the discretion of the Dean of the College and was founded by the Graham family in honor of their father, Thomas Francis Graham, CAS ’49. This honor is bestowed on a graduating senior who has demonstrated throughout his or her college career concern of others, academic achievement, sportsmanship as a member of an intercollegiate team, and dedication to the educational and spiritual goals of Georgetown University.

Dr. Michael Barrette Medal

This medal was founded by James C. Shannon, Jr. (C’50) to honor the memory of Dr. Michael Barrette (C’50, D’54). It is awarded annually to the pre-medical or pre-dental student whose academic record is outstanding and who by his or her co-curricular activities and interests has contributed to the educational goals of the College.

The Horace Medal

This medal was founded by personal friends in memory of Reverend John J. Murphy, S. J., at one time Prefect of Discipline and Professor of Moral Philosophy at the College. The medal is awarded to a student of the College for proficiency in both oral and written translation of the odes of Horace. The candidate, on the day of the examination, will present in writing an original verse translation of one other code of his choice.

Sigma Xi Medal

This award is given by the Georgetown University Chapter of Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society, to undergraduate science students (Biology, Chemistry, Physics) who exhibit outstanding research.

GUROP Summer Fellowship Award

The University awards two summer fellowships to students who have previously participated in the Research Opportunities Program.

Georgetown University Student Research Day Award

The Undergraduate Research Conference showcases undergraduate research from Biology and the School of Nursing & Health Sciences; this conference is sponsored by the SNHS.  Since 2010, many biology undergraduates, particularly those doing bio-medical research, have joined in these proceedings.  Prior to 2006, Biology undergraduates participated in Student Research Days, sponsored by the School of Medicine, that showcased the scientific research efforts of students and postdoctoral fellows at Georgetown University.  Biology undergraduate students competed with masters students from the GU Medical School in the Bachelors/Masters Division.

George F. Baker Scholar

The Bakers Scholars Program provides a select group of juniors and seniors in Georgetown University College of Arts & Sciences with a unique opportunity to connect their studies to the world of business.

Department of Biology Honors

Chapman Medal

This award is named in honor of the former Chair of the Department of Biology, Prof. George Chapman, who initiated the Senior Thesis and dedicated himself to research and education. This medal is awarded to the undergraduate student with the most outstanding research project.

Biology Medal

This medal is awarded to the senior(s) who exhibit the highest degree of industry, perseverance, leadership, maturity, and promise in the field of Biology.

Taylor-Weber Memorial Scholarship

This alumni-endowed prize is for the student or students who enter the senior year with the highest academic record among majors and is named for two outstanding teachers in the Department’s history.

Zukowski-Kolleng Undergraduate Research Scholarships in Biology

The Zukowski-Kolleng Undergraduate Research Scholarships were made possible through generous gifts from Dr. Mark M. Zukowski, a 1971 graduate of the Biology Department, and Dr. John Kolleng, a 1977 graduate. Their fond memories of their senior theses and the role they played in their careers underlie their commitment to today’s undergraduate student researchers.