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Nationally Competitive Scholarships

Drury University > Honors Program > Nationally Competitive Scholarships

Drury’s honor students are strongly encouraged to consider applying for nationally competitive scholarships. These scholarships and opportunities only accept the best students from across the country. These scholarships are some of the most prestigious and best experiences a student can have on their resumes. Please pay close attention to the application requirements and deadlines. Interested students should begin application planning for these awards 6 months to a year before the stated deadlines.

In addition to the awards listed below, there are many science and technology related research opportunities that can be found at the Pathways to Science website.

Amgen Scholars

Amgen Scholars is hosted at 10 premier institutions within the United States. Amgen Scholars conduct STEM research at the host institution. Each host institution has its own application process. U.S. citizenship or permanent residency in the United States is required, and you can apply to participate at as many host institutions as you are interested in.

Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program

The Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program was established by Congress in 1986 to honor Senator Barry Goldwater, who served his country for 56 years as a soldier and statesman, including 30 years of service in the U.S. Senate.

The purpose of the Foundation is to provide a continuing source of highly qualified scientists, mathematicians, and engineers by awarding scholarships to college students who intend to pursue research careers in these fields.

Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarships

The Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program offers grants for U.S. citizen undergraduate students of limited financial means (must be a Pell Grant recipient) to pursue academic studies or credit-bearing, career-oriented internships abroad. Such international exchange is intended to better prepare U.S. students to assume significant roles in an increasingly global economy and interdependent world.

  • Any student
  • Deadline depends on the semester going abroad. Applicants need to be endorsed and approved by Drury.
  • More Information

Boren Scholarships for International Study

Boren Scholarships, an initiative of the National Security Education Program, provide unique funding opportunities for U.S. undergraduate students (U.S. citizens only) to study less commonly taught languages in world regions critical to U.S. interests, and underrepresented in study abroad, including Africa, Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, Eurasia, Latin America, and the Middle East. In exchange for funding, Boren Scholars commit to working in the federal government for at least one year after graduation. Boren Scholarships promote long term linguistic and cultural immersion, and therefore study abroad proposals for two or more semesters are strongly encouraged.

  • Any student
  • Applications are due in February each year, but they require an endorsement and approval from Drury. Plan on having your application ready a month before the official due date.
  • More Information

British Marshall Scholarship

Marshall Scholarships finance young Americans (U.S. Citizens only) of high ability to study for a graduate degree in the United Kingdom. Up to forty Scholars are selected each year to study at graduate level at an UK institution in any field of study. As future leaders, with a lasting understanding of British society, Marshall Scholars strengthen the enduring relationship between the British and American peoples, their governments and their institutions. Marshall Scholars are talented, independent and wide-ranging, and their time as Scholars enhances their intellectual and personal growth. They seek candidates with strong leadership skills and ambassadorial potential.

  • Seniors only
  • Application deadline is early October. Candidates must be nominated/endorsed by Drury.
  • More Information

Critical Language Scholarship Program

The CLS Program is part of a U.S. government effort to expand dramatically the number of Americans (U.S citizens only) studying and mastering critical foreign languages. Most of the scholarships are for a summer experience in the country where the critical language is spoken. Students of diverse disciplines and majors are encouraged to apply. Participants are expected to continue their language study beyond the scholarship period, and later apply their critical language skills in their future professional careers.

  • Students may apply at any point in their college career.
  • Application deadline is in November.
  • More Information

Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellowships

Through its Fellowship Programs, the Ford Foundation seeks to increase the diversity of the nation’s college and university faculties by increasing their ethnic and racial diversity, to maximize the educational benefits of diversity, and to increase the number of professors who can and will use diversity as a resource for enriching the education of all students.

Predoctoral, Dissertation, and Postdoctoral fellowships will be awarded in a national competition administered by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine on behalf of the Ford Foundation.

  • Graduating Seniors (U.S. citizens only)
  • Application deadline is middle of November
  • More Information

Fulbright United States Student Program

The Fulbright U.S. Student Program provides grants for individually designed study/research projects or for English Teaching Assistant Programs. A candidate will submit a Statement of Grant Purpose defining activities to take place during one academic year in a participating country outside the U.S.

During their grants, Fulbrighters will meet, work, live with and learn from the people of the host country, sharing daily experiences. The program facilitates cultural exchange through direct interaction on an individual basis in the classroom, field, home, and in routine tasks, allowing the grantee to gain an appreciation of others’ viewpoints and beliefs, the way they do things, and the way they think. Through engagement in the community, the individual will interact with their hosts on a one-to-one basis in an atmosphere of openness, academic integrity, and intellectual freedom, thereby promoting mutual understanding.

  • Graduating seniors
  • Deadlines depend on the country (need to get nominated by Drury)
  • More Information

 

Fulbright Summer Institute in England Programs

Study in England for free – mostly aimed at students in the College of Humanities, Social Sciences & Fine Arts

  • Freshmen and Sophomores only
  • Applicants are due in late February
  • More information

Gates Cambridge Scholarships

Scholarships are awarded to outstanding applicants from countries outside the UK to pursue a full-time postgraduate degree in any subject available at the University of Cambridge. The selection criteria are:

  • outstanding intellectual ability
  • leadership potential
  • a commitment to improving the lives of others
  • a good fit between the applicant’s qualifications and aspirations and the postgraduate programme at Cambridge for which they are applying

While at Cambridge, Scholars pursue full range of subjects available at the University and are spread through its departments and Colleges.

  • Graduating Seniors
  • October and December (see scholarship website)
  • More Information

George Mitchell Scholarships

The Mitchell Scholarship Program is designed to introduce and connect generations of future American leaders to the island of Ireland, while recognizing and fostering intellectual achievement, leadership, and a commitment to community and public service.

Up to twelve Mitchell Scholars between the ages of 18 and 30 are chosen annually for one academic year of postgraduate study in any discipline offered by institutions of higher learning in Ireland and Northern Ireland. Applicants are judged on three criteria: (1) scholarship, (2) leadership and (3) a sustained commitment to community and public service. The Mitchell Scholarship Program provides tuition, accommodation, a stipend for living expenses and travel.

George Washington Fellows

The Mount Vernon Leadership Fellows program is a fully paid and funded, five and a half week summer residential program for rising juniors who desire to make a difference. We invite rising third-year students from diverse academic disciplines to join us outside of Washington, D.C. in Mount Vernon, Virginia to immerse themselves in a leadership development program inspired by George Washington and today’s foremost leaders.

This select, small cohort will engage in dynamic leadership education curriculum, interact with nationally recognized corporate, government, and military leaders in the nation’s capital, and discover how to change the world through self-reflection, exciting experiential activities, and a community service-focused capstone project.

Hertz Foundation Scholarship

Providing unique financial and fellowship support to the nation’s most remarkable PhD students in the physical, biological and engineering sciences. Hertz Fellows become innovators and leaders serving in ways that benefit us all.

 

James Madison Memorial Fellowship

The James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation offers $24,000 James Madison Graduate Fellowships to individuals desiring to become outstanding teachers of the American Constitution at the secondary school level. Fellowship applicants compete only against other applicants from the states of their legal residence. As funding permits, the Foundation plans to offer one fellowship per state per year.

  • Graduating seniors (U.S. citizen)
  • Applications due in early March
  • More Information

NIH Undergraduate Scholarship Program

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Undergraduate Scholarship Program (UGSP) offers competitive scholarships to students from disadvantaged backgrounds who are committed to careers in biomedical, behavioral, and social science health-related research. The program offers: (1) Scholarship support, (2) Paid research training at the NIH during the summer, and (3) Paid employment and training at the NIH after graduation.

  • Any college student can apply
  • Applications are due in early March (application windows opens in January)
  • More Information

National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program

The purpose of the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) is to help ensure the vitality and diversity of the scientific and engineering workforce of the United States. The program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students who are pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and in STEM education. The GRFP provides three years of support for the graduate education of individuals who have demonstrated their potential for significant research achievements in STEM and STEM education. NSF especially encourages women, members of underrepresented minority groups, persons with disabilities, and veterans to apply. NSF also encourages undergraduate seniors to apply.

Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans

It honors and supports the graduate educations of 30 New Americans – permanent residents or naturalized citizens if born abroad; otherwise children of naturalized citizen parents — each year. At the time of their selection, Fellows must be college seniors or early in the graduate programs for which they request support. Each Fellow receives tuition and living expenses that can total as much as $90,000 over two academic years. Fellows can study in any degree-granting program in any field at any university in the United States. Fellows are selected on the basis of merit – the specific criteria emphasize creativity, originality, initiative and sustained accomplishment — in annual national competitions. Candidates apply directly. The program does not depend on recommendations from universities or regional screening. Neither financial need nor distributive considerations are taken into account in the selection process. Each Fellows attends two weekend conferences of Fellows. The great majority continue to be involved with the program through regional dinners, service in the selection process for later classes, etc.

Portz Fellowship – National Collegiate Honors Council

Fellowship that funds a student’s research project (Sophomores-Seniors).

Rhodes Scholarship

The Rhodes scholarship selects highly qualified students to complete graduate studies at Oxford in England. Rhodes Scholars are chosen not only for their outstanding scholarly achievements, but for their character, commitment to others and to the common good, and for their potential for leadership in whatever domains their careers may lead.

  • Graduating Seniors (U.S. Citizens and permanent legal residents)
  • Early October
  • More Information

Schwarzman Scholars

The program will give the world’s best and brightest students the opportunity to develop their leadership skills and professional networks through a one-year Master’s Degree at Tsinghua University in Beijing – one of China’s most prestigious universities. Students will live and study together on the campus of Schwarzman College, a newly-built, state-of-the-art facility, where all classes will be taught in English. Students will pursue degrees in one of three disciplines: Public Policy Economics and Business International Studies Students will spend a year immersed in an international community of thinkers, innovators and senior leaders in business, politics and society. In an environment of intellectual engagement, professional development and cultural exchange, they will learn from one another and pursue their academic disciplines while building their leadership capacities. This experience will expand students’ understanding of the world and create a growing network of global leaders for the future.

 

Thomas Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship

Funded by the U.S. Department of State and administered by The Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars, the 2017 Thomas R. Pickering Fellowship Program provides undergraduate and graduate students with financial support, mentoring and professional development to prepare them academically and professionally for a career in the U.S. Department of State Foreign Service. Women, members of minority groups historically underrepresented in the Foreign Service, and students with financial need are encouraged to apply.

Truman Scholars

Students interested in public service and attending graduate school in something related to public service.

Udall Undergraduate Scholarship

The Udall Foundation awards scholarships to college sophomores and juniors for leadership, public service, and commitment to issues related to American Indian nations or to the environment.