The Gilbert and Marcia Kotzen Scholars Program at the Simmons College (2025)

Recognizing Excellence

This is the most prestigious award offered at Simmons, and acknowledges excellence through focus on study abroad, scholarly research, and intellectual curiosity.

Application process

The application consists of a short answer and a formal essay in response to the prompts below, as well as a resume including activities and involvements. Students should submit their essays and resume in PDF or Word Doc via email with the subject line "Kotzen Application," by December 1. Each page of the document should include the student's full name and date of birth.

Please note: it is the student's responsibility to submit a working file in the proper format (PDFor Word) as we will not convert or accept incompatible files (i.e. Google Docs, Pages, etc.)

Essay prompts

• Short Answer (of no more than 250 words): How would you use your additional annual award of $3,000 (for study abroad, short-term courses, summer internship tuition, and/or research support)?
• Formal Essay (of no more than 500 words): Some people argue that leaders are born, not made, while others defend the opposite view, namely that leaders are "made." Write an essay in which you defend one view or the other. Use a specific example of a leader, either from history or from your own personal experience, to support your argument.

Finalists chosen for scholarship consideration will be required to complete an interview in February.

Application deadline

Applicants must complete and submit both their scholarship application and their admission application to the University by December 1. Finalists for scholarship consideration will be notified in mid-January. Recipients will be notified by March 1.

About us

Simmons University encompasses the many benefits of a small university in the nation's best "college town."

Learn why students love it here

Located in the heart of Boston, Simmons University is a private university, home to a respected women’s undergraduate program, as well as coeducational graduate programs in nursing and health sciences, liberal arts, business, communications, social work, public health, and library and information science.

Simmons has established a model of higher education that only today other colleges and universities are beginning to adapt: the combination of education for leadership in high-demand professional fields with the intellectual foundation of the liberal arts. The result is a Simmons graduate prepared not only to work, but to lead in professional, civic, and personal life — a vision of empowerment that Simmons calls preparation for life’s work.

The Simmons story is one of growth, innovation, and a solid foundation — fueled by on-the-ground and online enrollment, and investments in its campus and technology.

Simmons at a glance

• Simmons is a four-year, private, non-profit, non-sectarian university
• Simmons is home to 1,777 undergraduate students and 4,858 graduate students 
• 8:1 student to faculty ratio
• Simmons offers over 60 majors and programs
• Our students can participate in over 80 clubs and organizations
• We have 231 full-time faculty, 72% are women
• Our average undergraduate class size is 15
• 91% of Simmons undergraduates are employed or in graduate school within 6 months of graduation (numbers as of 2018)
• 30% of undergraduate students self-identify as ALANA
• 11 countries and 47 states are represented in our undergraduate class