Application

All GSPS student programs are cohort-based graduate school preparatory programs.

The TRIO-McNair program has specific eligibility requirements, whereas EIP-Scholars is open to all students affiliated with the Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity at UW-Seattle campus.

The TRIO McNair Program is a federally funded program with specific eligibility requirements. Participants must be first-generation college students and come from a household designated as low-income. McNair scholars must be interested in participating in undergraduate research and research-based graduate degree pathways that lead to doctoral degrees (PhD). For more information, see our McNair Scholars website: https://www.washington.edu/omad/gsps/trio-mcnair-scholars/

The Early-Identification Program Scholars supports students broadly interested in graduate school, including non-research master’s degrees and doctoral programs. For more information, see our EIP-Scholars website: https://www.washington.edu/omad/gsps/eip/scholars/

The EIP-Scholars Exploration pathway is a one-year program designed for first-year undergraduate students who have 2 to 3 years remaining at UW-Seattle. This program helps students learn more about what graduate school entails and how it aligns with their educational goals. For more information, see our EIP-Scholars website: https://www.washington.edu/omad/gsps/eip/scholars/

All three applications have short-answer essay questions. Unless otherwise noted in the directions, the answers should be between 3 and 6 sentences and provide a direct response to the prompt. While the answers can be typed directly into the text boxes on the application form, we recommend writing them in a Word or Google doc and then using the copy/paste functions.

To preview the applications, we recommend opening the application form and previewing each question.

The short answer questions will cover the following topics:

1. Graduate School Interest / Aspirations. What are you interested in studying and why? We are looking for answers that tell us about what you find interesting about graduate school and how it connects with your academic interests and goals. It is not necessary that you know exactly what you want to study.
2. Research Interests / Aspiration. What are your research interests for either your undergraduate, graduate, or professional career? If you have already conducted undergraduate research, tell us about that experience. If you are not interested in conducting research and are applying for either of the two EIP-Scholars programs, this question is optional.
3. Experiential Learning / Community Engagement Interests. What is your current or past engagement in experiential learning, and the impacts that you made through that involvement, and how does it align with your academic and professional goals? Answers can include opportunities such as studying abroad, community volunteering, civic engagement, leadership activities, or internships.
4. Community Engagement. What are your goals for making an impact in a community? This can occur during your undergraduate, graduate, or professional career, and may be achieved through research, academics, or your professional pursuits.
5. Scholarly Inspiration. Tell us about a scholarly experience that has inspired you to pursue graduate school and/ or scholarly research. This could be a university course, faculty member, mentor, book, article, recorded talk, lecture, event, or other media that you have engaged with. What made it inspirational for you, and how it has influenced your current academic work and future graduate school or career goals.
6. Educational Journey (For EIP- Scholars Exploration Application only). In 6-8 sentences, describe your personal educational journey. We want to hear your story and what shapes your interests and motivates you to pursue your academic goals.

Personal Statement Essay Prompt

The 1-page personal statement essay should be well-written and answer the prompt about your educational journey. The written Personal Statement Essay is only for TRIO-McNair and EIP-Scholars applications, not the EIP-Scholars Exploration application, which has a short answer version.

We recommend that you have your paper edited and use one of the UW Writing Centers, either at Odegaard or the Instructional Center. This essay should be written in Word or Google Docs and saved as a PDF before uploading to the Application Form.

Describe your personal educational journey. We want to hear your story and what shapes your interests and motivates you to pursue your goals.

For example:

• What are your current and future educational interests?
• What factors influenced the development of these interests? These can happen inside or outside the classroom.
• If applicable, what is your family’s educational background, and how has that influenced your educational journey?
• What is your academic plan (major(s), minor(s), etc.), and how does this plan of study connect to your educational and research interests?
• What is your projected timeline for completing your degree and attending graduate school?
• What do you enjoy about your current academic work, and what do you hope to learn and achieve from your fields of interest?
• Finally, include information about your academic successes and challenges.

This Essay should be one page maximum, single-spaced, in 11- or 12-point font, with 1-inch margins. Upload a PDF copy of your essay.

Based on the written application, applicants will be selected to participate in a 30-minute in-person interview with the GSPS team in mid-February. This interview will focus on your written responses and provide applicants with an opportunity to ask questions. Invitations to schedule an interview will be sent out during the second week of February.

Instructions

**This information will only be collected for students who apply for the TRIO-McNair Scholars Program**

As part of your application, you will be asked to report the income that either you or your parents/guardians filed with the U.S. IRS this past year. This is required to confirm program eligibility.

Additionally, we require two signed eligibility verification forms: one for first-generation status and one for household income. These electronic DocuSign forms will be sent after the application closes on January 26, 2026.

If you are considered a dependent for FAFSA, the income verification form must be signed by your parent or guardian. The contact information for your parent or guardian is collected as part of the TRIO-McNair application and will be sent via DocuSign.

If you have any questions about eligibliity or the required documentation, please reach out to the UW TRIO McNair program at uwmcnair@uw.edu.

Why is this information necessary?

As a federally funded TRIO program, the McNair Scholars Program is required to provide documentation of a student’s eligibility for the program to the U.S. Department of Education and implement the TRIO regulations that state two-thirds of the students served must meet federal low-income guidelines. The information on taxable income that is collected will only be used to determine or verify TRIO Student Support Services program eligibility. The U.S. Department of Education provides more information about TRIO and eligibility requirements online at Dept. of Education TRIO Income Eligibility.

Information Privacy

Applicants’ demographic information, personal or family income levels, family degree attainment, and citizenship status are all retained electronically by the UW McNair Scholars program for the duration of the grant. The UW McNair Scholars program assures that all family income and student information collected are kept secure and confidential using University of Washington-approved and maintained systems. This information is never provided to any State or Federal agency other than the Department of Education.