Needs Institutional Endorsement
US Citizenship Required
Minimum GPA: Upper quartile of class

• A full-time junior-level student pursuing a bachelor’s degree during the 2024-2025 academic year. ‘Junior’ here means a student in their third year of collegiate study who expects to graduate during the 2025-2026 academic year. Students who intend to graduate in three years may apply in their third year of study. Students who intend to graduate in five years may apply in their fourth year of study.
• U.S. citizenship (or a U.S. national from a Pacific Island) or expect to receive citizenship by the date the Scholarship will be awarded.
• Applicant must be in the upper quarter of his or her class.
• Northeastern University nomination.

• An extensive record of campus and community service.
• Commitment to a career in government or the nonprofit and advocacy sectors.
• Excellent communication skills and a high probability of becoming a “change agent”.
• A strong academic record with likely acceptance by a first-rate graduate school.

Nominees are evaluated on the extent and quality of their community service, leadership record and potential, academic performance, writing and analytical skills, and suitability of the proposed program of study for a career in public service. The most demanding part of the application is the “policy proposal,” an analysis of a societal issue or problem of concern to the applicant. Priority is given to candidates proposing to enroll in graduate programs oriented to careers in public service (e.g., law, public administration, public health, international affairs, political science, economics, social services, conservation and environmental protection).

The Truman Scholarship Foundation provides 75 scholarships valued at $30,000 ($3,000 for the senior year of undergraduate study and up to $27,000 for two years of graduate school) for students who are committed to careers in public service.

Candidates must be endorsed by their institutions. To apply, you must contact Undergraduate Research and Fellowships. You will then be registered for the Truman’s online application materials, as well as Northeastern’s Internal Fellowship Portal. Please complete the following pieces of your application by our internal deadline.

• A completed application form. Download the sample application forms for personal use; complete the form and upload it to Northeastern’s Internal Fellowships Portal.
• Your responses to all essay questions, including the policy memo.
• Three letters of recommendation.  One must be written by someone who can attest to the applicant’s commitment to a career in public service; another must be written by a Northeastern faculty member familiar with the applicant’s scholarship, intellectual capabilities and prospects for success in graduate school; the third must come from someone who can confirm and elaborate upon the leadership example the candidate described in Item 7.  Please contact  URF@Northeastern.edu for Request for Reference forms.  All references will be collected via Northeastern’s Internal Fellowship portal.
  
• Official transcripts for any undergraduate institutions attended. Official electronic transcripts, available via the registrar, must be uploaded on Northeastern’s Internal Fellowship portal.

Candidates will complete the application elements, including the policy memo. They will then share a PDF of those application materials with our faculty committee on our Northeastern Internal Fellowship Portal. Through this Northeastern Internal Fellowship Portal, the student will also collect their official references and share their official Northeastern University electronic transcript. To gain access to the official Truman site and Northeastern’s Internal Fellowship portal, contact URF@Northeastern.edu.

The application asks candidates to describe examples of their leadership and service, explain problems of society they want to address, and describe the graduate program they intend to pursue as Truman Scholars. Select applicants are interviewed by a campus committee, which makes up to four nominations. From nominations submitted by colleges and universities, 200 Finalists are invited to regional interviews.