LoginsThe Barry Goldwater Scholarship & Excellence in Education Foundation is an independent agency of the federal government. Congress created it in 1986 to honor Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona and to invest in the people who will keep the United States at the forefront of scientific discovery: undergraduates preparing for research careers in the natural sciences, engineering, and mathematics.
Our mission
We identify, encourage, and financially support college sophomores and juniors who show exceptional promise of becoming this nation’s next generation of research leaders. The Goldwater Scholarship is one of the oldest and most prestigious national undergraduate scholarships in the natural sciences, engineering, and mathematics in the United States.
What we look for in a Goldwater Scholar
A strong commitment to a research career in the natural sciences, mathematics, or engineering.
Intellectual intensity in those fields, demonstrated in coursework and research.
The potential for a significant future contribution to research in their chosen field.
The program at a glance
The award
Up to $7,500 per academic year toward tuition, mandatory fees, books, and housing and meals.
New Scholars
selected in 2026
Nominees
in the 2026 competition
Institutions
nominating in 2026
Since 1989
scholarships awarded
Who is eligible
College sophomores and juniors committed to research careers in the natural sciences, engineering, or mathematics.
How students apply
By nomination — each institution’s Goldwater Campus Representative may nominate up to four students each year. An institution may nominate a fifth student if a transfer student or U.S. veteran is among the nominees, and a sixth if the nominees include both.
How the Foundation operates
The Foundation is governed by a Board of Trustees whose membership is set by federal law, and it is led day to day by a small professional staff. Scholarship applications are administered in partnership with Scholarship America.
Approximately 1,500 colleges and universities have appointed a Goldwater Campus Representative — the faculty member who identifies candidates on campus and submits nominations. In the 2026 competition, 482 of them nominated students.
In 2023 the Department of Defense National Defense Education Program awarded the Foundation $9 million — one of only 13 grants in that funding cycle — doubling the number of scholarships from 240 to 480 a year from FY2024 through FY2028. The award also supports a veterans’ initiative and outreach through college and university ROTC programs.
Explore this section
Learn how we are governed, where we began, and the senator behind the scholarship.