ARCS Facts

ARCS Foundation Seattle Facts 2025-2026

What does ARCS stand for? Achievement Rewards for College Scientists
What does ARCS do? ARCS Foundation awards fellowships to US citizens pursuing PhD degrees in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).
What is an ARCS Fellowship? Each ARCS Foundation Fellowship funds one student over a three-year period at either UW or WSU.
Must a fellow be a US citizen? Yes. ARCS National Foundation was founded in 1958 to strengthen science in America.
How many ARCS Foundation chapters are there? 15
How many universities are supported across the ARCS Foundation chapters? 52
What year was ARCS Seattle chapter founded? 1978 (in support of UW)
When did ARCS Foundation start supporting WSU? 2000
How many ARCS Seattle members are there? 120 Member including (57 Active, 35 Silver Circle Members (25+ years) and 26 Associate)
How many members are on the board? 15
How many fellows has ARCS Seattle supported since its founding? Over 1,650
How much has ARCS Seattle given to fellowships since its founding? $24 M
How much is a fellowship? $22,500 ($7,500 paid out each year for 3 years)
How many years is a fellowship? 3 years
How much did we award this year in fellowships? $952,500
How many fellowships does ARCS sponsor at the UW currently? 113 (In 2008, ARCS Foundation was honored as a Presidential Laureate with donations exceeding $10 million.)
How many fellowships does ARCS sponsor at WSU currently? 33 (In 2009, WSU awarded ARCS Foundation Silver Laureate Status recognizing gifts over $1 million dollars.)
How much is an endowment? $200,000 (WSU) and $250,000 (UW) minimum contribution
How many endowments does the ARCS Foundation have? 63
How much has ARCS invested in endowments? Over $18.3 million
How many endowments are there for UW? 52 (totaling approx. $16.5 million)
How many endowments are for WSU? 11 (totaling $2.5 million)
How much are corporate sponsorship levels? $25,000, $10,000, $5,000 and $2,500
What is a member’s financial annual contribution? $1,250
Who is the Director of Operations? Jennifer Arnold (jha@seattlearcsfoundation.org)
Who is the Director of Development? (jenng@seattlearcsfoundation.org)

Kirk A. Schulz, PhD, President of Washington State University 2016-2025
"With the support of ARCS Foundation, we have been able to provide assistance to some of our most talented doctoral students, allowing them to focus on the important challenges before them."
Ana Mari Cauce, PhD, President of University of Washington 2015-2025
"ARCS Foundation is a vital partner of the University of Washington as we seek to recruit the very best graduate students in the sciences and engineering."
Lee Huntsman, PhD, UW President Emeritus, Professor Emeritus
"The evidence is clear; ARCS Foundation and its mission, energy, and principles have led to a record of outstanding stewardship. ARCS Scholar Award donations are used very wisely and with high impact."