Barry Goldwater Scholarship

To be considered for nomination as a Goldwater Scholar, a student must:

• Be a United States citizen, a permanent resident, or, in the case of nominees from American Samoa or the Commonwealth of the Mariana Islands, a United States national.
• Be a full-time matriculated sophomore or junior pursuing a degree at an accredited institution of higher education at the time of application. *
• Have a college grade-point average of at least “B” (or the equivalent) and be in the upper fourth of their class.
• Intend to pursue a research career in a natural science, mathematics or engineering

Scholarships of up to $7,500 a year are provided to help cover costs associated with tuition, mandatory fees, books, room and board. A sophomore who receives a Goldwater Scholarship will receive up to $7,500 in each of their junior and senior years. A junior who receives a Goldwater Scholarship will receive up to $7,500 in their senior year.

The Harvard nomination committee for this Scholarship considers applicants’ academic excellence, contributions to their fields thus far, involvement in research and other activities that prepare them for future careers in their chosen fields and the promise and potential impact they can make in their field and future careers.  

In awarding scholarships, the Foundation Board of Trustees considers the promise and the potential of the nominee to advance knowledge of their chosen field. Applicants are evaluated on their academic achievements, and their demonstrated commitment to a career in mathematics, the natural sciences, or engineering. Important elements of the nominees application that are considered include:  a student’s academic record, research experience/research essay, career goals and professional aspirations, social and/or economic impacts that have influenced the applicant’s education, activities/accomplishments, recognitions, leadership, and recommendations.

Serious candidates to this nomination round will have thoroughly read the application instructions. Of note, to start the application process, applicants must submit a pre-application form through the Goldwater Scholarship national site. The pre-application is reviewed by the Campus Representative and when approved, the applicant will have access the full Goldwater scholarship application.  It takes 3-5 business days for pre-applications to be approved. (A completed Goldwater scholarship application is required for the nomination round). The scholarship portal for applications will be open on the first Tuesday in September. Do not send pre-applications before that time. 

Students should connect with the research mentors and House Fellowship Tutors as they draft their materials for nomination. 

The nomination process asks that applicants work with two portals: 1) the official Goldwater scholarship portal and 2) the Harvard University Funding Portal. Applicants will complete the full multi-part application using the GW Scholarship portal, prepare a research essay according to scholarship formatting, and save both materials as PDF files. The PDF files should then be uploaded to the opportunity “Goldwater Scholarship for STEM Excellence” on the Harvard University Funding Portal.

In the Harvard University Funding Portal, you should log-in with your Harvard Key, search for the opportunity by school: “Harvard College (students only)”. The opportunity “Goldwater Scholarship for STEM Excellence” should come up in the Search. Hit “Apply” button to begin your application.

Only the materials submitted to Harvard University Funding Portal will be reviewed for the nomination round. (Further explanation can be found in the instructions.)

It is expected that all applicants prepare materials to the specific formatting instructions of the Goldwater Scholarship. Any materials that do not follow the Scholarship’s formatting instructions will not be considered for the nomination process. 

Upon application submission, applications are reviewed by selection committee comprised of academics across the natural sciences, engineering and mathematics.  Applicants will be notified of their application status (whether they have been nominated or not) in the second week of December.

Nominees will then have one month to make any final revisions to their national application and all applications for the national round will be submitted by the last Friday of January, 5 pm CT.