Daniel M. Sachs Class of 1960 Graduating Scholarship
Sachs Scholarship at Worcester College, University of Oxford, and
Sachs Global Scholarship
Website: www.princeton.edu/sachs
Deadline: October 28, 2013
Adviser: Mr. David Loevner, dloevner@princeton.edu, (908) 947-0134
Fields of Study:
- for the Sachs Scholarship at Worcester College, University of Oxford: open within the range of subjects offered at the University of Oxford
- for the Sachs Global Scholarship: open
Description: The Daniel M. Sachs '60 Graduating Scholarship is intended to enlarge each recipient's experience of the world by providing two Princeton seniors with the opportunity to study, work, or travel abroad after graduation.
Daniel M. Sachs ’60 (.pdf) was a distinguished student and a fine athlete who intended to enter politics. Following his untimely death in 1967, Dan’s friends, family and classmates commemorated his qualities of character, intelligence, and commitment by endowing a scholarship meant for students of broadly comparable intentions. The Scholarship’s core concern is to encourage the development of individuals whose life’s work is likely to benefit the public interest. Students majoring in the sciences, engineering, and the humanities may fit that description as ably as those in departments more directly concerned with politics. Similarly, an intention to pursue the public interest in education, law, science, or medicine may be as strong a basis for an application as intended participation in fields traditionally identified with the public interest, such as politics, civil service, international affairs, and journalism.
Two Sachs Scholarships generally will be awarded each year, with one scholar named in each of the following tracks:
- The Sachs Scholarship at Worcester College, University of Oxford, where Sachs continued his own education after Princeton, allows the Sachs Scholar to read for any appropriate degree from the University of Oxford. The Scholarship assures tenure of two years at a stipend sufficient for university and college tuition and a generous allowance for other expenses.
- The Sachs Global Scholarship enables study at any foreign institution or the pursuit of an independent program of the Scholar’s own devising. Proposals for the Sachs Global Scholarship must involve study, research, or work outside the United States and Canada. Tenure as a Sachs Global Scholar is limited to one year. The stipend will be set in accordance with anticipated needs up to a maximum of $45,000. Candidates should demonstrate that they have access to the institutions, milieux, or circumstances in which they intend to carry out their programs, and also that they have the requisite foreign language proficiency.
Criteria for Selection:
The process of selection is not a competition in which applicants are ranked by order of merit, but rather an attempt to identify those members of the graduating class whose tenures of the Scholarship would be most in keeping with Dan Sachs’ qualities, and in whose prospective careers the Scholarship would be most likely to have consequences of value to the public. If no candidates present proposals that seem appropriate, the committee may opt not to award one or both of the Scholarships.
Application Procedure:
Seniors may apply for either the Sachs Scholarship at Worcester College or the Sachs Global Scholarship, but not for both.
Those who wish to apply should address a letter to the Sachs Scholarship Selection Committee setting forth how they would use the Scholarship if they were to be selected. A résumé of extracurricular pursuits in outline form and an official transcript of the candidate’s academic record at Princeton (and other universities, if applicable) must be included with the letter. Precise instructions for submitting digital and hard copies of the letter and its attachments will be provided at a later date; please check back closer to the application deadline.
Candidates are encouraged to request letters of recommendation from members of the faculty or other persons who know them well and can speak to the merits of their proposal; no more than three letters may be submitted. Referees should mail or deliver their letters directly to the Committee at the campus address above; only those referees located outside the US may submit their letters by e-mail.
Letters of candidacy including supporting documents (both digital and paper copies) must be received no later than close of business on October 28, 2013. Letters of recommendation may be submitted by your referees after this date but whether they can receive consideration by the Committee will depend on their date of receipt. The candidates whose proposals are most appropriate and whose records demonstrate their potential will be interviewed on campus on December 6-7, 2013.
Specific Requirements:
Candidates for the Sachs Scholarship at Worcester College should note that, while Worcester College, like other Oxford colleges, generally supports only a specific selection of Oxford degree programs, Worcester has agreed to admit any Sachs Scholar regardless of his or her chosen field of study. However, a Scholar’s experience at Oxford may be enhanced if the chosen field is one that is generally supported by Worcester (consult http://www2.admin.ox.ac.uk/progstudy/).
Study at Oxford other than at Worcester College can be supported by the Sachs only under the aegis of the Sachs Global Scholarship and thus only for one year. Unless it is uniquely suited to a candidate’s plans, a proposal for the Sachs Global Scholarship to pursue an Oxford program is unlikely to receive favorable consideration.
Sachs Global Scholarship proposals that involve study at established institutions are as welcome as proposals for independent projects. In either case, the proposal should contain as much specific detail as possible, including a description of what the candidate expects to be doing on a day-to-day basis, an estimated budget, and anticipated living arrangements. Please note that the Sachs Global Scholarship is intended to enable the recipient to engage in a transformative intellectual experience; it will not fund projects that are primarily humanitarian in nature except in cases where they are incidental to a research or artistic endeavor.
Additional Information: Informational meetings for seniors interested in the Sachs Scholarship will be held in September on a date to be announced. See also Answers to the Most Frequently Asked Questions (.pdf).