The Barry Goldwater Scholarship Program, one of the oldest and most prestigious national scholarships in the natural sciences, engineering, and mathematics in the United States, seeks to identify and support college sophomores and juniors who show exceptional promise of becoming this Nation’s next generation of research leaders in these fields.
Leo Battalora, ENG '22, Goldwater Scholar
Leah Deflitch, CST '21, Goldwater Scholar
Each scholarship covers eligible expenses for undergraduate tuition, fees, books, and room and board, up to a maximum of $7,500 annually.
Institutional Nomination
This scholarship does not accept direct applications; students must be nominated by Temple University. Please see below for application instructions for nomination.
Campus Deadline
November 15 annually
Eligibility and Selection Criteria
To be eligible for nomination for a Goldwater Scholarship, a student must:
- Be a full-time matriculated sophomore or junior pursuing a degree at an accredited 2- or 4-year institution of higher education during the 2020-2021 academic year,
- Intend to pursue a research career in a natural science, mathematics or engineering,
- Have a college grade point average of at least a 3.00 on a 4.00 scale (Note: competitive candidates typically have over a 3.8 GPA),
- Be a U.S. citizen from the 50 states or the District of Columbia; a U.S. national for those students nominated by institutions in Puerto Rico, Guam, Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands; or a permanent resident. A permanent resident must submit a photocopy of their Permanent Resident Card, also known as the Green Card.
- While research in medicine is not supported by the Goldwater, future M.D./Ph.D. students interested in pursuing careers in medicine are eligible if they clearly intend to conduct research as an integral part of that career.
The characteristics the Foundation seeks in a Goldwater Scholar include:
- Strong commitment to a research career in the natural sciences, mathematics and engineering,
- Effective display of intellectual intensity in the sciences, mathematics and engineering, and
- Potential for a significant future contribution to research in their chosen field.
Campus Application Instructions and Checklist
The Goldwater scholarship requires institutional nomination. Applications made directly to the awarding body will not be considered. Students interested in applying to be among Temple University’s institutional nominees must first submit the Interest form on the Goldwater website (scroll to Step 3 on the Goldwater Steps section and click "Submit Interest Form." Once approved, you should schedule a meeting with Fellowships Advising.
Submit the following application components by November 15. If the instructions ask you to submit to Fellowships Advising, you should send the documents as a PDF to [click-for-email] or [click-for-email].
1. Campus Waiver and Agreement
Complete the online agreement.
2. Three Letters of Recommendation
Your references should provide letters of support to Barbara Gorka in Fellowships Advising ([click-for-email]) as PDFs by the campus deadline. See formatting requirements below. As outlined on the Goldwater website, “Your three references should be individuals who know your strengths and weaknesses well, particularly those who know these traits in your area of research interest. Those who have served as mentors for you on a research project are among your most important references. After your research mentors, letters from faculty who know you well from your science, math or engineering classes are also among your strongest letters. At least two of your letters should come from individuals who can discuss your potential for a research career in the natural sciences, mathematics or engineering, and one may simply discuss your overall potential.” Please be sure to discuss the scholarship, its criteria, and the formatting requirements with your recommenders. (Note that for the campus nomination process, you are encouraged to submit as many letters as you’d like. We will then select the three strongest for your national application.) Please share the Letter formatting instructions with them: Letters of recommendation should be no more than two pages, have one-inch margins, be single spaced, use 12-point font, and be printed on letterhead. The Letters should be saved as a PDF. Please also share the Goldwater Letter Guidance.
3. Transcripts
Submit (to Fellowships Advising) an unofficial copy of your Temple transcript or academic record as a PDF. If you earned transfer credit for work at a previous institution, summer school, or study abroad (on a non-Temple program), provide an unofficial transcript as a PDF.
4. Goldwater Scholarship Application
Temple is not currently using the Goldwater online application form on the Goldwater website for the campus nomination process. Once your Goldwater Interest Form has been approved and you have met with Fellowships Advising, you can begin the Goldwater campus nomination application. In Word or a Google doc, provide responses to all these application questions and sections. Include essay titles and section headers. Remember that the short essays--although formatted as individual responses--should flow together as one logical and cohesive narrative.
5. Research Essay
Your essay should discuss a significant issue or problem in your field of study that is of particular interest to you. Focus on one project — the one that best shows your ownership, your results, and your scientific thinking (often, but not always, the one you spent the most time on). It may be completed, in progress, or, if you have not yet had a research experience, a proposed project laid out with a problem statement, protocol, methodology, and anticipated results.
See the Research Essay guidance for a description of what to include.
Research Essays should be written with the understanding that Goldwater reviewers are experienced science reviewers, but may not necessarily be an expert in a specific research area.
Your essay should be single spaced and use 12 point or larger Arial font*. Margins should be 1 inch on all sides. Page length should not exceed 3 pages. Your essay must include your name and the name of your academic institution at the top of each page, and must have a title. Single or double column format may be used. As appropriate, utilize graphs, tables, and figures in the essay to explain or clarify results. Include a bibliography and/or references, which are included in the 3 pages.
*Figures, table captions and bibliographic citations may use 10-point Arial font. Research essays that use mathematical expressions may use LaTeX or other document preparation software to enable proper formatting.
Campus Contact
Barbara Gorka
Director, Scholar Development and Fellowships Advising
Email: [click-for-email]
Phone: 215-204-0708