Closed
$7,500–$15,000
400 Award Winners
Application Open Date
9/7/2023
Application Deadline
1/27/2024
Eligible Grades
College Sophomore – College Junior

Goldwater Scholarship

Funded by
Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation
Closed
$7,500–$15,000
400 Award Winners
Scholarship Open Date
9/7/2023
Scholarship Close Date
1/27/2024
Eligible Grades
College Sophomore – College Junior

If a science career is in your future, the Barry Goldwater Scholarship Program was made for you! The Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation, established by Congress in 1986 in honor of Senator Barry Goldwater, provides scholarships to college sophomores and juniors who intend to study and make a research career in the natural sciences, mathematics, and engineering fields.

The scholarship awards up to $7,500 per year for tuition, fees, books, and room and board expenses. Recipients are chosen based on their academic record as well as leadership potential in their fields. The scholarship can be used at any accredited college or university in the United States.

The Barry Goldwater Scholarship provides recipients with access to networks of professionals who have gone through the same experience and understand the unique challenges and opportunities of their chosen field. Additionally, it gives winners a platform to showcase their accomplishments, research, and ambitions.

Scholarship Summary

If a science career is in your future, the Barry Goldwater Scholarship Program was made for you! The Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation, established by Congress in 1986 in honor of Senator Barry Goldwater, provides scholarships to college sophomores and juniors who intend to study and make a research career in the natural sciences, mathematics, and engineering fields.

The scholarship awards up to $7,500 per year for tuition, fees, books, and room and board expenses. Recipients are chosen based on their academic record as well as leadership potential in their fields. The scholarship can be used at any accredited college or university in the United States.

The Barry Goldwater Scholarship provides recipients with access to networks of professionals who have gone through the same experience and understand the unique challenges and opportunities of their chosen field. Additionally, it gives winners a platform to showcase their accomplishments, research, and ambitions.

Eligibility Requirements

  • Eligible Grade: College Sophomore – College Junior
  • Maximum Age: Any
  • Required GPA: 3.0
  • Geographic Eligibility: United States
  • Gender: Any
  • Race/Ethnicity: Any

Key Information of Goldwater Scholarship

Study Details

Area of Study

  • Astronomy
  • Chemistry
  • Computer Information Systems
  • Computer Science
  • Engineering
  • Geosciences
  • Healthcare
  • Mathematics
  • Medicine
  • Physics
  • Psychology

Country of Study

United States

Specific Schools

Any

Application Requirements

Here’s what you need to submit besides your application.

  • Essay
  • Faculty endorsement
  • Grade transcript
  • Present Work Experiences
  • Recommendation letters

Goldwater Scholarship Timeline

September

Goldwater Application Open

The online applications for the Goldwater scholarship open on the first Tuesday in September.

September – January

Internal Campus Deadlines

Your college or university will have its own submission deadlines – determined by each institution’s Goldwater Campus Representative. Please check with your on-campus Barry Goldwater Representative to confirm the deadline.

January

Nomination Deadlines

All nominations must be submitted to Goldwater Foundation on the last Friday in January by 5:00 p.m. Central Time.

February

Nominations Reviewed

The Goldwater Review Committee will review all the nominations.

March

Review Committee Votes

The Goldwater Foundation Board of Trustees reviews and votes on the slate of Goldwater Scholars.

March

Goldwater Scholars Announced

The Goldwater awardees are announced on the last Friday in March at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

How to ace the Goldwater Scholarship

1

Befriend your Campus Representative

The Foundation’s Campus Representatives are there to help you throughout the process, so it’s important to ensure they’re on your team. Treat them with the utmost respect, always show up on time to meetings, and meet all deadlines.

2

Talk to people in your chosen field

Because the Barry Goldwater Scholarship is looking for students who are serious about a research career, it’s important to have a realistic understanding of the field and your professional aspirations. Talking to postdocs, professors, and other researchers should help you clarify your goals and strengthen your statement.

3

Put time into your essay

This is the most important part of the application process so it should be your priority. The essay should adhere to the formatting guidelines provided. Ensure that you have sufficient time to complete your essay – rushing through it will result in substandard work being submitted. Have your essay reviewed several times before you submit it.

4

Proofread, proofread, proofread

Because the Foundation aims to support hard research, attention to detail is especially important for applicants. Ensure your application is typo-free by proofreading several times and having a friend or mentor proofread as well.

How the Goldwater Scholarship is Judged

Recipients are chosen based on their academic record, research activities, leadership potential in their field of study, and extracurricular activities that demonstrate a commitment to science, mathematics, or engineering. The scholarship also looks at applicants’ character traits such as initiative and perseverance. Applicants must also show evidence of intellectual curiosity by presenting an original research project idea in an essay. All these elements combine to create a strong case for why an applicant should be awarded the prestigious scholarship.

Why We Love the Goldwater Scholarship

1

It’s a reason to be decisive

The Barry Goldwater Scholarship is seeking to support students who intend to pursue research in the natural sciences, engineering, or mathematics — it especially rewards students who have put themselves on a clear path to achieving those goals.

2

It’s a lot of work, but it's worth it

The Barry Goldwater Scholarship application is a lot of work, but pulling together an application like this is great practice for applications in the future, including research grants.

3

You may have already started the essay

Not only can you re-use your school work, the Foundation encourages it! The research essay portion of the application can start out as an abstract that you’ve written for class.

5 Facts About Barry Goldwater

01.

He attended a military school

Goldwater attended Staunton Military Academy in Virginia where he played football, ran track, and was captain of the swim team.

02.

He ran his family's department stores

In the 1930s, Goldwater became president of his family’s department store and enacted several progressive policies, including supporting civic initiatives, providing an employee health plan, and hiring African American staff (his was the first Phoenix business to do so).

03.

He's the original conservative

Goldwater is credited with sparking the resurgence of the American conservative political movement.

04.

He was a Senator

Goldwater ran for the U.S. Senate in 1952 and won – he served for two terms.

05.

The first ethnically Jewish conservative presidential candidate

Though Goldwater was raised Episcopalian, his father was Jewish and his paternal ancestors were Polish Orthodox Jews.