TL;DR
The Davidson Fellows Scholarship awards $100,000, $50,000, or $25,000 scholarships to applicants aged 18 or younger whose work demonstrates exceptional depth, originality, and potential significance. You can apply in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, Literature, Music, Philosophy, or Outside the Box, but the standard is unusually high: Davidson looks for work at, or close to, the college graduate level. The application is free, and selected Fellows receive travel and lodging for required recognition events. If you want to build the independent project you would eventually submit to a competition like Davidson Fellows, explore the Horizon Academic Research Program.
If you have spent months or years developing an independent project, you may be looking for scholarships that recognize the quality of your work rather than only your grades or extracurricular activities. The Davidson Fellows Scholarship is for applicants aged 18 or younger who have completed significant work in areas including science, technology, engineering, mathematics, literature, music, and philosophy. If you are still developing your research experience, explore summer research programs for high school students to find ways to build your skills.
What is the Davidson Fellows Scholarship?
The Davidson Fellows Scholarship is an annual scholarship competition for young people who have completed a significant piece of work before turning 19. The scholarship focuses on the quality, depth, originality, and potential significance of your project or portfolio.
Your submission could be a creative application of existing knowledge, a new idea with substantial implications, an advancement that others could replicate or build upon, an interdisciplinary discovery, or an exceptional performance. The common thread is the level of accomplishment and the depth of your understanding.
The current categories are Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, Literature, Music, Philosophy, and Outside the Box. Technology submissions can include areas such as programming, AI, robotics, and hardware. Literature submissions require a portfolio, while Music submissions are accepted from composers and instrumentalists.
There are also clear boundaries. Community-service projects and literature reviews are not eligible. Davidson also excludes several arts areas, including photography, film, dance, theater, and visual arts. Research involving human or animal subjects may have additional requirements.
Most importantly, Davidson says it looks for work that is at, or close to, the college graduate level and is not intended for novice-level work.
Davidson Fellows Scholarship: Program Overview
| Detail | What you should know |
| Scholarship amount | $100,000, $50,000, or $25,000 |
| Application cost | No application fee |
| Age requirement | 18 or younger as of the application deadline |
| Citizenship/residency | U.S. citizens or permanent residents residing in the U.S., or eligible applicants stationed overseas because of active U.S. military duty |
| Teams | Two-person teams are allowed |
| Categories | Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, Literature, Music, Philosophy, Outside the Box |
| Application | Two-stage online process |
| Recognition events | Washington, D.C. |
| Notification | Applicants are notified on or before July 15 each year |
The official Davidson eligibility requirements are based on age rather than grade level, so you do not have to be a high school senior. There is no minimum age. Both members of a two-person team must meet the eligibility requirements, and team applications must be cleared with Davidson before you begin the application.
The application has two stages. First, you submit a short description of your project or portfolio so Davidson can determine whether it is eligible. Davidson says this initial review generally takes one to two business days. Once approved, you move to the full application, submit your category-specific materials, provide information for your two nominators, and complete the required parent approval forms.
You can submit only one project. If you are applying as a two-person team, Davidson requires you to contact the program before beginning the application.
How selective is the Davidson Fellows Scholarship, and what does “acceptance” actually mean here?
Davidson does not publish the total number of applications it receives or an official acceptance rate. So, unlike a college, there is no official percentage that tells you your chances of being selected.
What Davidson does publish is the number of Fellows it chooses. In 2026, it selected 21 Fellows across 19 projects, who received scholarships of $100,000, $50,000, or $25,000, alongside 22 Honorable Mentions.
So, the better way to understand Davidson’s selectivity is to look at how few Fellows it selects and what it expects from their work. Judges look at the quality and scope of your project, its significance, and how deeply you understand the field.
Some third-party sources estimate that Davidson receives around 500 to 1,000 applications each year. If those estimates are accurate, that would put the selection rate somewhere around 2% to 4%. But Davidson itself does not publish these numbers, so they should not be treated as an official acceptance rate.
For you, the important part is this: meeting the age and eligibility requirements does not mean you are on a standard admissions path. Davidson is looking for work that it considers significant, not simply applicants who meet the basic requirements.
What does it actually cost to apply, and what do Fellows receive?
There is no application fee for the Davidson Fellows Scholarship. The larger financial question is what you receive if your project is selected.
Davidson currently awards three scholarship levels: $100,000, $50,000, and $25,000. The scholarship is intended for qualified tuition and related educational expenses at an accredited institution, and the award can remain available for up to 10 years.
Selected Fellows must attend the required recognition events with a parent or guardian. Davidson states that travel expenses and lodging are provided by the Institute. Recognition events are held in Washington, D.C.
Award tiers at a glance
| Award amount | What it requires | Category examples |
| $100,000 | Selection as a Davidson Fellow at the highest scholarship level based on the quality and significance of the submitted work | STEM, Literature, Music, Philosophy, Outside the Box |
| $50,000 | Selection as a Davidson Fellow with the second scholarship level | STEM, Literature, Music, Philosophy, Outside the Box |
| $25,000 | Selection as a Davidson Fellow with the third scholarship level | STEM, Literature, Music, Philosophy, Outside the Box |
The scholarship amount is determined by the judges as part of the selection process.
What makes a Davidson Fellows project competitive?
Davidson’s standard is easier to understand when you focus on the work itself.
A strong project needs to show depth. You should understand the relevant field well enough to explain what is already known, what you investigated, what you contributed, and why your work matters.
It also needs substance. A theoretical idea without testing or evidence can be difficult for judges to evaluate. Davidson specifically says that projects without data demonstrating proof of concept are generally not eligible when the work depends on testing. Literature reviews alone are also not accepted.
The strongest submissions usually have several layers:
- A clear and meaningful problem or question
- Original thinking or a creative application of existing knowledge
- Appropriate methods, experimentation, analysis, or execution
- Evidence supporting the conclusions
- A clear explanation of what you contributed
- An understanding of the project’s limitations
- Potential significance beyond a standard classroom assignment
For STEM work, that might mean experimental research, computational analysis, engineering design, AI research, mathematical work, or a tested prototype. In Literature, Music, and Philosophy, the evidence of depth will look different, but the underlying expectation remains high.
If you are still trying to identify the right research question, our guide on how to choose a research topic as a high school student can help you think through that process.
What skills can you develop while working toward the Davidson Fellows Scholarship?
Davidson is not a taught program with classes or workshops. The skills develop while you produce the kind of advanced work the scholarship recognizes.
1. Advanced research and subject knowledge
For a STEM project, you may need to formulate a research question, understand existing literature, choose a methodology, conduct experiments or computational analysis, and interpret your results.
The level of specialization can become significant. A technology project might require programming, machine learning, robotics, or hardware development, while a scientific project could involve laboratory techniques, statistical analysis, or computational modeling.
2. Technical and computational skills
Your technical toolkit depends on your project. You might use programming, statistical analysis, machine learning, modeling, data visualization, prototyping, laboratory techniques, or specialized equipment.
The important question is whether the method helps you answer your research question effectively.
3. Independent problem-solving
Davidson allows work completed with mentors, university laboratories, and research programs. You still need to demonstrate that the submitted work is your own creation and that you understand the work deeply.
That means you should be able to explain your own intellectual decisions, troubleshoot problems, interpret unexpected results, and distinguish your contribution from the work of a mentor or research group.
4. Academic and technical communication
A technically strong project still needs to be understandable to expert reviewers. You need to explain your objective, methods, results, limitations, and significance precisely.
This can build research writing, technical documentation, evidence-based argumentation, and presentation skills.
5. Evaluating the significance of your own work
One of the hardest parts of advanced research is understanding what your work actually contributes.
You should be able to ask: What is genuinely new here? What can my evidence support? What are the limitations? Could another researcher reproduce or build on this work?
Those questions can help you move from simply completing a difficult project toward producing work that has a defensible contribution.
What Do Students Say About the Davidson Fellows Scholarship?
Past Fellows’ accounts give you a useful picture of what producing Davidson-level work can actually involve.
2025 Fellow Hannah Cairo describes repeatedly developing approaches to prove or disprove the Mizohata-Takeuchi conjecture and discovering problems with some of those approaches. Her mentor helped her identify where her reasoning had gone wrong. That experience shows how much iteration can sit behind a finished project. Read Hannah Cairo’s Fellow profile.
2025 Fellow Elizabeth Hanechak developed a microbial system aimed at breaking down plastic waste. Her work involved genetic modification, microbiology, enzyme engineering, and microalgae. She has described the scholarship as recognition of the work and sacrifice behind the project, as well as motivation to continue developing it. Read Elizabeth Hanechak’s Fellow profile.
2024 Fellow Yifan Ding traced his gene-therapy project back to an idea he encountered in ninth-grade biology. He eventually spent hundreds of hours developing and testing a molecular switch designed to regulate gene expression. His account also acknowledges that the findings require independent validation. Read Yifan Ding’s Fellow profile.
How does Davidson Fellows compare to other top scholarships and competitions students consider alongside it?
Davidson Fellows overlap with several major national opportunities, but the competitions serve different purposes.
Regeneron Science Talent Search is an individual research competition for high school seniors. Regeneron ISEF is a science and engineering competition reached through affiliated science fairs and allows individual and team projects. National YoungArts covers the arts and evaluates submitted artistic work across multiple disciplines.
| Program | Award amount | Categories covered | Team applications allowed |
| Davidson Fellows | $25,000, $50,000, or $100,000 | STEM, Literature, Music, Philosophy, Outside the Box | Yes, 2 people |
| Regeneron STS | Up to $250,000; 300 Scholars also receive $2,000 | Science, mathematics, engineering, and related STEM research | No |
| Regeneron ISEF | Top award $100,000; many other awards and prizes | 22 STEM categories | Yes, up to 3 people |
| National YoungArts | $250 to $10,000 | Visual, literary, and performing arts disciplines | No, individual applications |
The Davidson team rules allow two-person teams, with both members required to meet eligibility requirements. The scholarship is split evenly between team members.
Regeneron STS is specifically for individual research. Its current rules state that team research is not eligible.
Regeneron ISEF allows teams of up to three people, and more than 1,600 finalists qualify through affiliated fairs each year. Its top award is currently $100,000, while category and special awards add millions more in prizes.
National YoungArts serves a different audience, focusing on artistic achievement. Current award winners receive between $250 and $10,000, with winners with distinction eligible for additional awards and National YoungArts Week.
The right comparison depends on what you have actually produced. A finished mathematical proof, AI system, literary portfolio, scientific investigation, musical composition, or engineering invention may fit Davidson. A STEM research project developed for a science fair may have a clearer path to ISEF, while a scientific research project submitted individually by a high school senior may fit STS.
Is the Davidson Fellows Scholarship Right for You?
The Davidson Fellows Scholarship makes the most sense if you have already moved beyond exploring a subject and are producing original, technically advanced work within it.
You may be ready if you can explain your project in depth, defend the decisions you made, show what you personally contributed, discuss the evidence behind your conclusions, and explain why the work matters.
If you are still learning basic research methods or looking for structured mentorship, you may need more time to develop the work Davidson expects.
One useful exercise is to read through past Davidson Fellows and compare your own work with theirs. Look closely at the depth of their projects, the methods they used, the contribution they made, and how they describe the limitations of their work.
You can also explore this guide to summer research programs for high school students if you are still looking for ways to develop your research experience.
Davidson Fellows Scholarship FAQs
Yes. Davidson allows two-person teams, provided both applicants meet the eligibility requirements. The team must contact Davidson before beginning the application, and both members must attend the required in-person recognition events if selected. The scholarship is split evenly between the two team members.
Google products, including Google Docs and Google-hosted videos, are not accepted as application files. Davidson also runs submissions through plagiarism and AI-generated-text detection software. Its current rules state that applicants cannot use AI tools to draft responses to attachment questions or category requirements.
Yes. Davidson allows work completed with mentors, university laboratories, and research programs. The key issue is whether you can demonstrate that the submitted work is your own creation and show a deep understanding of your contribution.
Start by developing the research skills, subject knowledge, and independent thinking needed to produce a substantial project. If you want structured mentorship while building that first project, explore the Horizon Academic Research Program.
Image source: Horizon Academic Research Program