Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program

Summary

The Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation was established by Congress in 1986 to serve as a living memorial to honor the lifetime work of Senator Barry Goldwater. Please visit the Goldwater webpage to learn more about the Goldwater Scholarship including important dates, announcements, and FAQs for applicants.

The Foundation's purpose is to provide scholarships to college sophomores and juniors who intend to pursue research careers in the natural sciences, mathematics and engineering in order to ensure that the U.S. is producing the highly-qualified professionals the Nation needs in these critical fields. Each scholarship covers eligible expenses for undergraduate tuition, fees, books, and room and board, up to a maximum of $7,500 annually.

In selecting scholars, Goldwater seeks to identify undergraduates who are intellectually adept, demonstrate a passion for doing research, and are likely to become leaders in their field. In more concrete terms, Goldwater looks for:

• A strong GPA, especially in your chosen field of study
• A demonstrated track record of research experience
• Presentation of research in the form of conference presentations, current publications, or forthcoming publications

To be eligible for a nomination, applicants should U.S. citizens or nationals in their sophomore or junior year who intend to pursue a research career in natural science, mathematics or engineering. Review the full eligibility criteria on the Goldwater website.

Campus Nomination Process

Overview: Applications are initially submitted at the campus level where they are reviewed by our Goldwater review committee in order to select nominees. This committee is comprised of faculty in STEM fields across W&M and interested students should contact their departmental representative(s) if they have questions:

• Biology: Shantá Hinton, [[sdhinton]], 221-2587, ISC 2285 and
• Chemistry: Doug Young, [[dyoung01]], 221-2539, ISC 2037 and Katelynn Perrault Uptmor, [[kaperrault]], 221-4793, ISC 1052
• Geology: Dominick 'Dom' Ciruzzi, [[dmciruzzi]], 221-2484, McGlothlin-Street 216
• Health Sciences: Julius Odhiambo, [[jnodhiambo]], 221-3837, Adair Hall 400A
• Physics: Josh Erlich, [[jxerli]], 221-3763, Small 332 B

Application Format: To apply for the Goldwater Scholarship, interested students must complete a student profile and pre-application through Goldwater’s online application portal. Student profiles and pre-applications must by completed by October 18, 2026, 11:59 pm Eastern.

The Campus Committee will review the Goldwater student profiles and pre-applications to determine which applicants can submit a full Goldwater application. 

The selected applicants must submit their full application by the campus deadline of November 29, 2026. Full applications include:

• Complete your Goldwater application in the online portal. 
• Three Letters of Recommendation must be uploaded to the campus Goldwater application Box folder. 
• Your most recent unofficial transcript must be uploaded to the campus Goldwater application Box folder. Transcripts should be downloaded as a PDF from Banner. If you have transcripts from more than one institution, please upload those as well.

Deadlines and Timeline: 

• October 18, 2026, 11:59 pm Eastern: Pre-Application Deadline. Applicants will be notified after this date if they will be invited to submit a full application.
• November 29, 2026, 11:59 pm Eastern: Campus Deadline. By this date the application materials outlined above must be completed in Goldwater's application portal. Letters of recommendation must also be uploaded to W&M's Goldwater Box folder.
• Early-December: Review of applications.
• January 28, 2027, 11:59 pm Eastern: Final Submission Deadline. Applicants whose materials have been endorsed by the campus committee will be able to edit their applications before submitting them in time to meet Goldwater's national deadline.
• January 29, 2027, 5:00 pm Eastern: National Deadline for the University.

Nominations: William & Mary can nominate four students for the Goldwater Scholarship. A fifth student can be nominated if they are a transfer student. A 6th student can be nominated if they are a student veteran.

National Application Process

The Goldwater national deadline is January 29, 2027, 5:00 pm Eastern. After the final submission deadline, the University will review your materials to ensure a complete application by the national deadline.