LoginsPlease note
The application process is being updated
The Foundation is moving to a new scholarship application process. The guidance on this site still describes the previous process and has not yet been updated. Updated information will be published here soon.
Every Goldwater nomination runs through a Campus Representative (CR) — the faculty or staff member who leads the Goldwater competition at their institution. Students cannot apply to the Foundation directly, so the CR is the linchpin of the program: recruiter, advisor, quality-controller, and the only person who can submit an institution’s nominations.
What Campus Representatives do
Publicize the Goldwater Scholarship on campus.
Recruit potential applicants and ask faculty to identify outstanding students committed to research careers in the natural sciences, mathematics, and engineering.
Establish the campus process for identifying and selecting nominees.
Assist students as they prepare their applications.
Review all materials for consistency and minimize errors and omissions.
Ensure the institution’s nominations are complete and submitted online by the Foundation’s deadline.
One boundary matters throughout: CRs may guide and give feedback but must never write or edit a student’s narrative statements or research essay.
How to become a Campus Representative
Any accredited 2-year or 4-year U.S. institution may register a CR. To register, contact the Goldwater Help Center at 507-931-8335 or goldwater@scholarshipamerica.org. If your institution already has a CR and the role is changing hands — or contact details need correcting — tell the Foundation through the CR update form (opens in a new tab) so the campus record and the Campus Representative Locator can be updated.
Logging in
At the start of each nomination cycle, every registered CR receives a user ID and temporary password by email for the CR portal. Change the temporary password immediately and keep your credentials secure for the full nomination period; a “username and password help” link on the login page handles resets.
Campus Rep LoginKey dates in the nomination cycle
| When | What happens |
|---|---|
| Summer | Publicize the scholarship; work with departments and faculty to identify strong candidates; when possible, create a campus committee to help recruit |
| First Tuesday in September | The online application opens; CR credentials are issued |
| September – January | Review preapplications, select candidates, set and enforce campus deadlines, and collect letters and transcripts; participate in Foundation Open Houses |
| Last Friday in January, 5:00 p.m. Central Time | National nomination deadline — all materials uploaded and nominations locked and submitted |
| Mid-February | Review committees evaluate nominations |
| Mid-March | The Board of Trustees votes |
| Last Friday in March | Scholars announced (12:00 p.m. Eastern Time / 11:00 a.m. Central Time) |
Set your campus deadlines early — and set your final internal deadline at least a week before the national deadline. Incomplete or late nominations are not reviewed.
How many students you can nominate
Each institution may nominate up to four students per year. An institution may nominate a fifth student if at least one nominee is a transfer student or a U.S. veteran, and a sixth if its nominees include both a transfer student and a veteran. The fifth and sixth slots cannot be claimed by two transfer students or two veterans. A student may be nominated by only one institution per cycle.
4
Standard nominations
available to every institution, every year
5
With a transfer student or veteran
all institutions; at least one such nominee
6
With both
nominees include a transfer student and a veteran
Help and resources
For guidance on building a competitive nomination — whom to nominate, how to coach the writing, and how to manage letters of recommendation — see Advising and Strategy. The nomination process page walks through the cycle step by step, and the Campus Representative FAQ covers common questions. Students can find you through the Campus Representative Locator.
From late summer through the January nomination deadline the Foundation runs an Open House series for Campus Representatives, with sessions on the CR Dashboard, research essays, Letters of Recommendation, building a Goldwater campus committee, and a pre-deadline checklist, each with time for questions. Ask the Foundation for the current schedule. For anything else, contact the Goldwater Help Center at 507-931-8335 or goldwater@scholarshipamerica.org.