Prestigious fellowships Overview
Past WHC Recipients List of Fellowships FAU Main Page
Prestigious fellowships are nationally competitive scholarships and include the Marshall, Rhodes, Truman, Udall, and Goldwater. Most of these awards include scholarships that support graduate study in the U.S. or abroad and several require applicants to be nominated by their university. In order to help Florida Atlantic students learn about and apply for these lucrative awards, Florida Atlantic has established a number of resources including faculty advisors that will actively encourage faculty to identify and recruit potentially competitive candidates, cultivate prospective applicants, and organize the institutional screening of candidates when the rules of competition require this.
First, determine which fellowship may be the best fit given your academic status, your discipline, accomplishments, experience, and goals. Prestigious fellowships are highly competitive and for most awards a strong academic record is essential. Some scholarships are applied for by sophomores or juniors, others by seniors or graduate students. Some are based partly on need; some are limited to certain disciplines. Some involve studying abroad, some involve a commitment upon completion (such as the Truman expectation of three years of public service). For more information, consult the list of fellowships found here, contact faculty/staff on the listed Prestigious Fellowship Committee below or email: fellowships@fau.edu
Second, go to the fellowship's website and gather information about what is required to apply. Consult with faculty who are likely to write recommendations and get their advice. You will typically need to secure at least 2-3 letters of reference, official transcripts, and in some cases data about financial need. It will be your responsibility to gather these items in a timely manner.
If you intend to apply for a Prestigious Scholarship, please complete this form:
If an institutional nomination is required, you must have your application materials submitted by Florida Atlantic's internal deadline for materials, which will be well in advance of the scholarship deadline. Florida Atlantic's internal deadlines for applications are or will be posted on the scholarship's page. For example, for the Rhodes and Marshall, applicants must submit all materials by September 1 so the Florida Atlantic selection committee may conducts its internal review. The committee carefully reviews the application and letters of reference and interviews the applicant. If a candidate is recommended, then the final application must be submitted to Florida Atlantic by September 30 so that Florida Atlantic may endorse and submit the application by the October scholarship deadline.
Please be advised that the university will forward applications only if they meet the high standards of the scholarship program. Direct applications from the student to the scholarship program are not permitted where an institutional nomination is required.
If an institutional nomination is not required, you are still advised to contact the either David Flanigan or fellowships@fau.edu so that we can provide advice and assistance.
| SCHOLARSHIP | DEADLINE |
| Gates Cambridge Scholarship |
First Monday in July (FAU application), Late September/Early October (national deadline) |
Marshall Scholarship |
First Monday in July (FAU application), Late September/Early October (national deadline) |
Goldwater |
Last Friday in September (FAU application), Last Friday in January (national deadline) |
Gilman Scholarships (Cycle 1) |
October 1 |
Knight-Hennessy Scholars Program |
Early October |
Rhodes Scholarship |
Early October |
Fulbright U.S. Student Program |
Mid-October |
Hertz Foundation |
Mid-October |
National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program |
Late October |
Soros Fellowship |
Early November |
Critical Language Scholarship |
Mid-November |
NOAA Hollings Scholarship |
January |
Boren Fellowships |
January 20, 2027 |
Boren Scholarships |
January 27, 2027 |
Truman |
Early February |
Rangel Summer Enrichment Program |
Early February |
Gilman Scholarships (Cycle 2) |
Early March |
James Madison Fellowship |
Early March |
Udall |
Mid-March |
Faculty can play a vital role in the prestige scholarship application process in at least 3 ways:
1. Identifying potential applicants.
Please email William O'Brien with the name of any outstanding students who may be competitive for a scholarship. There are scholarships available for sophomores, juniors, seniors, graduate students, and even freshmen. You may use the resources of this website to learn more about the scholarships, but please nominate an outstanding student even if you aren't sure which scholarship would be most appropriate. We will then contact the student.
2. Providing advice and guidance to applicants.
3. Writing letters of recommendation.
Faculty letters of recommendation are among the most important factors for selection committees in deciding among candidates for a scholarship. Based on information conveyed at the Conference of the National Association of Fellowship Advisors, here are some tips:
- Students are advised to waive their right to see the letter. Not waiving the right may be looked on unfavorably by selection committees.
- Should you write the letter? Some faculty choose to have written policies for when they will write letters, such as that the student must have taken at least 2 classes from them, or received at least B's in the professor's classes. If a student approaches you for whom you could not write a positive letter, it would be best to decline. Note: The Goldwater targets students in the sciences and engineering with a research focus and prefers letters from faculty familiar with the student's research, though additional strong letters from non-science faculty beyond the 3 letters required may be helpful.
- Meet with the student for 20 minutes, and/or invite the student to email you information about their accomplishments and goals, to help prepare your letter.
- Be aware of the specific mission and goals of the scholarship the student is applying for. On this point, consider the Rhodes Scholarship "Procedures for Application" (2005), which says "Nor are the 'prepackaged' letters of recommendation filed by faculty members on behalf of students in many institutions suitable... Referees are asked to measure the applicant against the full range of the Rhodes Scholarship criteria and not to speak solely to those attributes which would, for example, be relevant to the evaluation of a student's acceptability to a post-graduate program." You are urged to contact the Prestige Scholarship Committee and go to the scholarship's website (list is online) to learn more about the specific scholarship.
- Don't just say the student "is among the top 1% of all students I have known": the reviewers need to see convincing examples of WHY you rank the student so highly. Be specific. One example offered by an official of one of the UK Prestige Scholarships is: 'the student helped me to rethink a point and changed my way of understanding a subject' (followed by detailed explanation).
- Don't just say, this is an 'A' student, or the student 'turns work in on time'; virtually all the applicants for these scholarships will be such students.
- Letters of recommendation should show that the faculty really knows the person and is excited about them; pro-forma letters will not be helpful.
- Certain phrases are viewed as codes with hidden meaning. For example, "Please contact me for further information" will likely be viewed as a code for a negative impression.
- Do not overinflate and risk losing credibility for Florida Atlantic. As a representative from Marshall put it, 'no one is superman'. If appropriate, you may wish to offer some criticism, perhaps introduced by acknowledging that the selection committee desires honest criticism, and you may limit this to a sentence or paragraph.
- It is standard practice for the head of the Prestige Scholarships office who submits the application on behalf of the University to review letters and ask letter writers to make revisions if needed. Please do not hesitate to be in touch with the Director (contact information online) and seek feedback early on.
The WHC Prestige Fellowships Committee was appointed to facilitate student success in applying. Students wanting further information about a Prestige scholarship that requires institutional nomination should contact the Prestige Scholarship Committee Faculty Advisor for that scholarship, as listed below.
For information about Prestige scholarships that do not require institutional nomination, please contact either David Flanigan.
Students applying for fellowship that requires institutional nomination will need their application approved by a specific committee and/or faculty; please complete the following form to identify which approval is needed: https://ouri-fau.smapply.io/prog/fellowships/
David Flanigan (flanigan@fau.edu, 561.799.8622)
Director, Academic Support
Jacqueline Fewkes (jfewkes@fau.edu, 561.799.8548)
Interim Associate Dean of Student Affairs, Professor of Anthropology
Chris Ely (cely@fau.edu, 561.799.8607)
Professor of History, Honors College
Advisor for Rhodes and Truman
William O'Brien (wobrien@fau.edu, 561.799.8033)
Professor of Environmental Studies
Advisor for Marshall and Udall
Tim Steigenga (tsteigen@fau.edu, 561.799.8610)
Professor of Political Science
Honors College Advisor for Fulbright and Madison
Miguel Ángel Vázquez (mvazquez@fau.edu, 561.799.8654)
Professor of Spanish Literature
Advisor for Ford Foundation