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.

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: Helen Murphy, [[hamurphy]], 221-2216, ISC 2141 and
  Margaret Saha, [[mssaha]], 221-2407, ISC 3049
• Chemistry: Doug Young, [[dyoung01]], 221-2539, ISC 2037 and
  Katelynn Perrault Uptmor, kaperrault@wm.edu, 221-4793, ISC 1052
• Computer Science: Pieter Peers, [[ppeers]], 221-3466, McGlothlin-Street 115
• Geology: Nick Balascio, [[nbalascio]], 221-2880, McGlothlin-Street 304
• Kinesiology and Health Sciences: Zach Conrad, [[zaconrad]], 221-2037, Adair Hall 303B
• Mathematics: Pierre Clare, [[prclare]], 221-3657, Jones Hall 130
• 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 11:59 p.m. EST on Sunday, November 10th.

Once applicants submit the Goldwater student profile and pre-application these materials will be reviewed by the committee to determine which applicants are invited to submit a full application for the committee to review. The committee will then review full applications to determine which applicants will be nominated by William & Mary.

Deadlines and Timeline: 

• Early September: Applications become available to start in Goldwater's portal
• Sunday, November 10 by 11:59 p.m. EST: Student profile and pre-application deadline. Applicants will be notified after this date if they have are invited to submit a full application
• Late November: Applicants who met the campus deadline and have been invited to submit a full application must submit their full materials for committee review by late November. More information will be shared when students receive an invitation to submit a full application
• Mid-December: The campus committee reviews full applications to determine which applicants are nominated by William & Mary
• Late December through late January: Applicants whose materials have been nominated by the campus committee will be able to edit their applications before submitting in time to meet the national deadline. Nominees are encouraged to work with the faculty representative best aligned with their application to strengthen their materials

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

National Application Process

The Goldwater national deadline is the final Friday in January by 5 p.m. CST, though nominees are asked to upload their materials 2-3 days ahead of this to ensure that our office can upload all of your materials.

All students must meet the campus deadline in order to be eligible for nomination by the campus committee. Please visit the Goldwater webpage to learn more about the Goldwater Scholarship including important dates, announcements, and FAQs for applicants.