UIowa Campus Deadline: November 5, 2025 by 4:00pm CST 

Open to: Sophomores and juniors
Award type: Academic
Area(s) of study: STEM fields
Award criteria: academic achievement, research
Award provides: A portion of educational costs, including tuition, room and board, books, and other required fees up to $7,500 per academic year; recipients receive annual funding for each remaining year as an undergraduate.
Open to international students: No
Institutional Support or Endorsement Required: Yes. University of Iowa applicants must apply through the Office of Scholar Development.

The 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.

Interested students must complete the campus nomination process and be selected to represent the University of Iowa as an institutional nominee. The University of Iowa’s Undergraduate Fellowships Committee may nominate up to six students (two must be transfer students) for the national competition each year.

Join us for an information session or schedule a conversation with the Office of Scholar Development at https://calendly.com/scholar-dev-uiowa to find out more about this undergraduate research fellowship.  All interested students are encouraged to connect with Kelly Thornburg, Iowa's Goldwater representative, at the beginning of the summer term or at the start of the fall semester.

Good Fit for Goldwater? 2025 Virtual Info Session

30 Minutes on the Who, What, When, and Why of Applying for the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship

This virtual info session is a great way to quickly learn more about this national fellowship for experienced undergraduate researchers who intend to pursue post-graduate training in basic science research. Second- and Third-Year students are eligible to apply to represent Iowa at the national level. 

Our 2025-26 Info Session will be posted by June 5, 2025. In the meantime, please feel free to reach out to the Office of Scholar Development at scholar-dev@uiowa.edu for more information.