Documentation Requirements for Restricted Scholarships

Restricted Scholarships are scholarship funds that are designated to support particular kinds of students, such as students from a particular city or students with a particular academic interest. As the steward of the endowment funds from which restricted scholarship awards are made, the Committee on General Scholarships is required to ensure that all recipients of scholarship funds meet the terms set forth by the donor and accepted by the University.

If you are nominated for a Restricted Scholarship by your financial aid office, you may be asked to provide paper documentation certifying your eligibility for a scholarship from the fund.

In most cases, candidates will not have to submit the documentation paperwork unless they are selected as a finalist for an award, and they will be notified if documentation is required. However, the Committee asks all candidates who are making their eligibility known to their Financial Aid Officer to be confident that they can meet the documentation requirements before they submit their name for consideration.

The paper documentation requirements for each type of scholarship are as follows:

Scholarships based on residency
Residency generally means long-term residency. Applicants should be able to prove that they have lived in the area for a significant portion of their life, usually that they have grown up in the area. Students who live in an area during the period of college, graduate school, or other training are not likely to be eligible for residency-based awards.

Scholarships based on residency in the "region" or "area" of a particular city are restricted to students from that city's metropolitan area. For example, funds restricted to students from the Boston region would not be available to students from Springfield, Massachusetts.

Documents that can be used to show a history of long-term residency include combinations of: birth certificates; school transcripts that show the student's address at the time of attendance or letters from school authorities verifying dates of attendance and the student's address at that time; letters from clergy verifying membership or affiliation at a house of worship and the family's address, public records listing the student's family; tax returns (the first page will suffice); driver's licenses, etc. The documentation must demonstrate a significant length of time in residency.

Scholarships based on ancestry
A genealogical study completed by an accredited or certified genealogist and a birth certificate are required.

Scholarships based on graduation from particular secondary schools or colleges
For scholarships requiring graduation from a particular high school, a diploma with the individual's name will suffice. A transcript indicating the individual's name and graduation date is also acceptable, but both together are not necessary. For scholarships requiring graduation from particular colleges, a transcript is required.

Scholarships based on geographic ancestry
Copies of the main pages of the student's ancestors' passports from their native countries are required. Documents in a foreign language must be accompanied by an official translation.

Scholarships based on surname
A birth certificate or adoption certificate is required to document surname.

Scholarships based on citizenship
A copy of the students main passport page will document citizenship.

Scholarships based on religious memberships
Letters from leaders of churches or synagogues or copies of documentation from those institutions will serve to document religious membership.

Candidates will receive notice in early April if paper documentation is required. All documentation will be due by April 30, 2005. Please do not send documentation unless such paperwork is requested.

Dolores Zohrab Liebmann Fellowship

The Dolores Zohrab Liebmann Fellowship was set up for the purpose of funding advanced education and graduate study grants, as well as for independent research or study projects, which must be carried out entirely in the United States of America. The Dolores Zohrab Liebmann Fund invites Harvard University to nominate three graduate students each year as part of a national search effort. These fellowships are to be awarded only to candidates who have outstanding undergraduate records, have demonstrated a need for financial assistance, are citizens of the United States, are enrolled in accredited colleges and universities in the United States and have received baccalaureate degrees. The competition is open to Harvard graduate students at GSAS, HBS, HLS, HMS, and KSG enrolled full time in a degree program.

The amount of each Fellowship will cover the cost of tuition and a stipend to be allocated towards room, board, living expenses and income taxes. The stipend for the 2006-2007 academic year was $18,000. Fellowships are awarded annually and are limited to a maximum of three years.

Application forms and guidelines can be obtained by contacting: