Each year, we provide an update of Goldwater scholarships won by public university students, and public universities did extraordinarily well in 2016, winning 136 out of 252 scholarships awarded this year. The percentage of scholars is slightly down from 2015, when 152 out of 260 scholars were from state universities.
We provide this update because Goldwater scholars are all still undergraduates, and their selection is an indication of the undergraduate research opportunities at their universities. The Goldwater Scholarship is also a strong predictor of postgraduate success.
“The Goldwater Scholars were selected on the basis of academic merit from a field of 1,150 mathematics, science, and engineering students who were nominated by the institutional representatives of 415 colleges and universities nationwide,” according to the Goldwater Foundation.
“One hundred forty-four of the Scholars are men, 108 are women, and virtually all intend to obtain a Ph.D. as their degree objective. Thirty Scholars are mathematics majors, 157 are science and related majors, 59 are majoring in engineering, and 6 are computer science majors. Many of the Scholars have dual majors in a variety of mathematics, science, engineering, and computer disciplines.
“The one and two year scholarships will cover the cost of tuition, fees, books, and room and board up to a maximum of $7,500 per year.
“Goldwater Scholars have very impressive academic qualifications that have garnered the attention of prestigious post-graduate fellowship programs. Recent Goldwater Scholars have been awarded 86 Rhodes Scholarships, 125 Marshall Awards, 134 Churchill Scholarships, and numerous other distinguished fellowships such as the National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowships.”
In 2015, six public universities had the maximum of four Goldwater scholars, but in 2016 there are four: CUNY Macaulay Honors, Maryland, the University of North Texas, and Wisconsin. In 2015, ten public universities had three scholars, and ten also have three scholars in 2016: Arizona State, Auburn, Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland-Baltimore County, Miami Ohio, Montana State, Oklahoma, Pitt, and Stony Brook.
Here are the public universities with two Goldwater scholars in 2016:
Alabama
Arizona
Arkansas
Connecticut
Delaware
Georgia
Illinois
Kansas
Kansas State
Michigan
Minnesota
NC State
South Carolina
South Dakota
Utah
UC Santa Barbara
Iowa State
Youngstown State
Ohio State
William and Mary
West Virginia
