“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson
Who We Are
The First.
The first merit scholarship program established in the United States. Founded at the first public university in the United States.
The first to envision and implement a strategic summer enrichment program and, most recently, the first to designate a fund for discovery for each of our scholars. Established in 1945 and inspired by the Rhodes Scholarship at Oxford University, the
Morehead-Cain provides an undergraduate experience without peer.
The Framework.
Four years, four summers—fully funded. Immersion in a vibrant student body. Experienced advisors to introduce passion and potential to a world of opportunity. Exclusive enrichment and networking opportunities—indeed a lifetime connection—with the unparalleled community of Morehead-Cains across the globe.
The Freedom.
Scholars bring the potential, we set it free. We fund. We connect. We encourage. On occasion we question. Sometimes we guide. Frequently we get out of the way. What we don’t do is dictate. The Morehead-Cain is a program proven to develop leaders in a framework intentionally nimble. We provide a net, then let scholars go, giving them the trust and freedom to pursue their own interests, mine their own potential, determine their own sphere of influence, and have their own impact.
What We Do
We Identify.
Decades of experience have developed a singular expertise—pinpointing impact amid a sea of promise. The process is rigorous, the result is this: a small, select community of discernible influence. Morehead-Cain Scholars are driven leaders possessing the rare combination of potential, principle, and purpose, who seek—and receive—more from their undergraduate experience than academic achievement alone.
We Invest.
More than just money. Confidence. Trust. Networks. Time. Community. Collective wisdom. A proven framework. We employ all of the relationships and resources of the Foundation to accelerate the scholars’ experience, providing them more insight, more connections, more engagement, more skill, more understanding, more capacity for impact.
We Inspire.
Accepting the invitation to become a Morehead-Cain means accepting the lifelong challenge inherent in it: To impact— positively, profoundly, perpetually—the people and pursuits that define your life.

Eligibility
To be eligible for the Morehead-Cain, you must be:
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 a competitive applicant to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on track to graduate in the spring unmarried and without children
These eligibility requirements are the same for all students applying for the Morehead-Cain, but there are five different ways to enter the selection process:
North Carolina
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Be nominated by your high school (All N.C. high schools are eligible)
Apply directly for the scholarship
Admissions Referral Program (ARP)
The UNC Admissions Office refers particularly strong Early Action applicants to UNC to the Morehead-Cain selection process.
In most cases, referred students attend high schools that are not eligible to nominate on their own.
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by the (non-binding) Early Action deadline of October 15 to be considered for the Morehead-
Cain
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Be nominated by the UNC Admissions Office through the
Please note:
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill hosts two independent merit scholarship programs: the Morehead-Cain and the
Robertson. A student may not be considered for both scholarships at UNC-Chapel Hill at the same time.
Admission to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a separate process from the Morehead-Cain application. All forms and correspondence dealing with admission to Carolina should go directly to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions .
Morehead-Cain candidates are not permitted to apply to other colleges or universities under a binding Early
Decision application plan.
The Morehead-Cain selection process begins as five distinct processes , each leveraging the expertise of Foundation staff, a corps of professional readers, and hundreds of alumni interviewers and volunteer evaluators.
Candidates enter our process via nomination—either their schools’ or their own. Nominees complete their applications by appointed deadlines, and a team of readers render initial assessments and make recommendations. It is the task of these assessors to answer a basic question: Should this applicant be considered for a semifinal interview or not?
In recent years, nearly 20% of Morehead-Cain nominees became semifinalists.
At the semifinal level:
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North Carolinians and British candidates are interviewed in person
All others choose between a telephone or Skype conversation with Foundation staff or trained alumni
The UNC Office of Undergraduate Admissions also refers to our process particularly strong Early Action applicants through our Admissions Referral Program (ARP). Like out-of-state nominees, ARP semifinalists are interviewed by phone for Skype.

From semifinal interviews, 126 finalists are identified and invited to campus for Final Selection Weekend: the point where all five selection pathways converge. Over an extended weekend visit, finalists explore Carolina, meet their scholar and candidate peers, and complete two panel interviews with small groups of our Central Selection Committee.
Morehead-Cain interviews—at the semifinal and final selection stages—are designed to be warm and inviting , to set the candidates at ease so that they might showcase themselves with confidence. Interviews are weighed and discussed at length, after which interviewer groups make final recommendations to Morehead-Cain trustees and selection staff.
Ultimately, scholarship offers are made to slightly more than half of our finalist group , depending on the target class size.
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What is it like to be a Morehead-Cain Scholar?
The Morehead-Cain experience is an undergraduate educational opportunity like no other.
First, there are the tangibles.
The Morehead-Cain is a four-year merit scholarship to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It promises:
Support for your life at Carolina
 full tuition
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 student fees housing
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 meals books and a laptop
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 supplies and miscellaneous
Discovery Funds to be used for education opportunities
Support for your life across the world
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A four-year Summer Enrichment Program made up of diverse, customized experiences that begin the summer before freshman year and include:
Outdoor Leadership
Public Service
Inquiry and Exploration
Private Enterprise
But the Morehead-Cain is more than that. It’s also a close-knit community of doers, thinkers, dreamers, and adventurers. In this community you’ll find motivated, smart, funny, interesting peers, as well as accomplished and eager mentors: the Morehead-
Cain Alumni.
Yes, our alumni—nearly 3,000 of them—are the secret sauce of the Morehead-Cain.
Their experiences and advice will help you navigate the world beyond campus. It’s the closest you’ll ever get to having a crystal ball.
The MC Network
Through our online alumni directory , scholars are encouraged to reach out for advice on internships, graduate programs, travel, and just about anything else that might come up (within reason).
Our alums have interests as diverse as yours, if you can believe it, and they’re more than happy to help.
Alumni Speaker Series
A lot less formal and a lot more interesting than it sounds. Throughout the semester, we’ll schedule lunches, coffee hours, and the occasional food-free chat with visiting alums. See who dropped by last year .
Alumni-in-Residence
Each semester, we assemble a group of accomplished alumni to tackle a particular issue: education reform, say, or sustainable design. They’ll gather on campus for two days, holding a discussion panel and office hours with individual students.
Check out last year’s panels and topics
. The next Alumni-in-Residence Program is scheduled for November 6–7, 2014, and will focus on renewable and conventional energy.
The Alumni Forum
Every three years, several hundred of our alums return to campus for a long weekend of catching up with one another and meeting scholars.

We’ll hold discussion panels, share meals, offer student and alumni performances—it’s like an intellectual cruise that never leaves shore. The next one will be held October 16–18, 2015, on campus here in Chapel Hill.
For more about what it’s like to be a scholar on campus, check out the photos on our
Facebook page .
Four Summers, Fully Funded
Instituted in 1974, this first-of-its-kind program is now the centerpiece of Morehead-Cain: four summers, fully-funded and strategically designed to broaden perspective, deepen understanding, and accelerate life experience.
Outdoor Leadership
The summer before their freshman year, scholars independently select and participate in one of more than fifty courses offered by Outward Bound or the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS). Designed to challenge—mentally, emotionally, physically—each three-week course provides an experience as invaluable as it is unforgettable.
The point? To test limits, then overcome them. To foster self-possession through self-reliance and self-reflection. To promote confidence, and the maturity necessary to buttress the demands of responsible leadership.
Public Service
After focusing inward with Outdoor Leadership, the second summer directs scholars’ attention outward to the needs surrounding them by giving them eight to ten weeks to work full-time in hands-on service to others.
The point? To promote the ideal held by John Motley Morehead III, Morehead-Cain’s visionary founder, who believed that it is the responsibility of those to whom much is given to give much in return.
Invariably, scholars return from their summer of service having received a great deal—chiefly, insight into the needs, wishes, and worldview of a culture different from their own; valuable skills in problem-solving, improvising, and team-building; and a practical understanding of the impact their actions, energy, and commitment can have on the lives of others.
Inquiry and Exploration
The third summer scatters scholars across the globe to dig into an area of personal interest—academic or professional. Scholars customize the summer by choosing either to conduct an independent, in-depth research project or to explore, hands-on, a business or organization through an internship. Lasting anywhere from five to twelve weeks, the Inquiry and Exploration summer cultivates and rewards intellectual depth and curiosity.
The point? Summer one focuses you inward. Summer two turns you outward. Summer three deepens your focus and encourages plumbing the depths of long-held or newly discovered interests.
Private Enterprise
The four summers culminate with scholars dipping their toes into post-collegiate waters. Choosing from a wide variety of companies, scholars try on professional life through an internship, gaining valuable firsthand experience and personal mentoring from top executives in their field.
The point? Whether or not scholars choose to pursue a career in private enterprise, firsthand knowledge of the inner workings of a corporation is essential for breadth of perspective.