Each year, the Udall Foundation anticipates awarding 55 scholarships of up to $7,000 each to sophomore and junior level college students committed to careers related to the environment, tribal policy, or Native American health care. Udall applicants must be nominated by the UW. 

Scholarships are offered in any of three categories:

• To students who are interested in conservation, environmental stewardship or environmental policy, have demonstrated commitment to the environment through participation in campus activities or service to community, and are working toward a career that will enable them to address environmental issues on a local, national or global scale;

• To Native American and Alaska Native students who have demonstrated commitment to Native American communities through participation in cultural activities and service to community, and are working toward a career that will enable them to make a difference for their tribe or for Native Americans and Alaska Natives;

• To Native American and Alaska Native students interested in improving health care practice and delivery for Native American communities or contributing to health care policy and research, have demonstrated commitment to Native American communities through participation in cultural activities and service to community, and are working toward a career that will enable them to impact health care for their tribe or for Native Americans and Alaska Natives.

WHO SHOULD BE INTERESTED: Udall Scholars come from all majors and fields of study. Recent Udall Scholars have majored in environmental sciences and policy studies, agriculture, political science, natural resource management, sociology, anthropology, American Indian studies, tribal public policy, history, English, theater, landscape architecture, and public health, to name just a few areas.

Are you working towards positive solutions to environmental challenges or to issues impacting Indian country?
Have you demonstrated your commitment to one of these areas through public service?
Do you inspire and motivate others to take action?
Are you committed to making a difference through civility and consensus building?

Click on the category that best fits your interests and goals to find out more:

To be considered for nomination as a Udall Scholar, a student must adhere to the following criteria:

• Be a matriculated sophomore or junior pursuing a degree at an accredited institution of higher education at the time of nomination. 
• Be a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, or U.S. permanent resident.
• In the case of scholarships in the areas of tribal policy and health care, nominees must be Native American or Alaska Native. For the purposes of the Udall Scholarship Program, a Native American or Alaska Native is any individual who meets one of the following requirements:
  • enrolled in a state or federally recognized tribe or band;
  • One or more of your parents or grandparents was an enrolled member of a state or federally recognized tribe or band
  • You are a permanent U.S. resident or U.S. citizen who is a member of the First Nations of Canada.
• A college grade-point average of at least a "B" or the equivalent is recommended. This is only one of several qualifiers and applicants will also be judged on the basis of other experience.

• sophomore
• junior

• US Citizen
• Permanent Resident

2023-2024 Applications for UW Nomination for Seattle Candidates Open Now

To apply for the Udall Scholarship, you must be nominated. The University of Washington has a Campus application process to identify its nominees. 

**Please note the Tribal Policy/Native Healthcare category is only open to students who: are enrolled in a state or federally recognized tribe or band; OR one or more of your parents or grandparents was an enrolled member of a state or federally recognized tribe or band; or you are a permanent U.S. resident or U.S. citizen who is a member of the First Nations of Canada.

Udall Nomination Form (for Tribal Policy, Native Healthcare or Environment) 

Applicants will be asked to include the following information as a part of the UW campus nomination application process and upload them into the online portal. Please submit short responses, outlining your main points. Don't worry about reaching the word/character count or wordsmithing too much - the summaries should convey your main ideas to the UW Committee. If you are selected as the UW Udall Nominee, you will convert these summaries into your final answers.

1. Career Goals: one-two sentence description of your professional aspirations 
2. Activities Sheet/Resume
3. Activities Short Answers: respond to questions about your community engagement, leadership, future plans and the environmental causes/Native issues you care about.
4. Udall Essay Outline: a summary/plan on how you would answer the prompt and what you would include.
5. List of Recommenders: a list of three current or recent faculty members, advisers, mentors, or others who could write letters of recommendation discussing your potential in the your field of study; intellectual abilities; and/or can attest to your capabilities and commitment to conservation/environmental issues, Native American tribal policy or health care issues. (No letters are required for the UW nomination! This is a list of who you could ask to be your letter writer if you are nominated.)

Are you a Tacoma or Bothell Candidate? Be sure to email your scholarship advisor to begin your application!

UW Seattle applicants are welcome to contact: Chetana Acharya at the Office of Merit Scholarships, Fellowships & Awards; scholarq@uw.edu 

UW Tacoma applicants are welcome to contact: Office of Global Affairs, uwtoga@uw.edu; tacoma.uw.edu/scholar

UW Bothell applicants are welcome to contact: Office of Connected Learning, or Scholarships