Needs Institutional Endorsement
US Citizenship Required
Minimum GPA: 3.0

• Northeastern’s candidates should have a GPA of 3.0 or better.
• Outstanding letters of recommendation from respected faculty members.
• A compelling research project, clearly and concisely communicated to fellow scientists. This usually requires faculty input and multiple revisions–so get started ASAP!
• Students must be interested in a research career in a natural science, mathematics, or engineering. Students who plan to study medicine are eligible, but these applicants need to demonstrate an interest in medical research rather than careers in private medical practice.
• Be a U.S. citizen from the 50 states or the District of Columbia; a U.S. national for those students nominated by institutions in Puerto Rico, Guam, Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands; or a permanent resident. A permanent resident must submit a photocopy of their Permanent Resident Card, also known as the Green Card.
• Full-time students who are at least sophomores and not seniors (see how the Goldwater Foundation defines these terms).
• Applicants must be nominated by Northeastern using the official forms of the Goldwater Foundation.

The awards will be made on the basis of merit to those who have outstanding potential (demonstrated by a history of academic achievement) and intend to pursue careers in mathematics, the natural sciences, or engineering. To be considered, a student must be nominated by Northeastern University.

Each scholarship covers eligible expenses for undergraduate tuition, fees, books, and room and board, up to a maximum of $7,500 annually. Scholarship monies not used during one academic year are not transferable to the succeeding academic year. Junior-level scholarship recipients are eligible for a maximum of two years of scholarship support, and senior-level scholarship recipients are eligible for a maximum of one year of scholarship support. Scholars may opt to study abroad, but their Goldwater funding will be based on their U.S. institution’s budget. Scholars must consult with the Foundation prior to signing up for an overseas program, as there may be some costs associated with being overseas that are prohibited from being covered by this scholarship.

Interested students should follow the procedure outlined below.

Applicants for the Goldwater Scholarship must be endorsed by Northeastern.

To apply to the Goldwater Scholarship, please do the following:

1. Complete a pre-application form. Register on the Goldwater application, indicating your GPA, area of study, and those faculty members from whom you would like to solicit letters of reference. Once our office has reviewed your pre-application form and approved your references, you can then begin the application and the solicitation of references on your own behalf. The approval of your references will trigger an email indicating that I will be approaching your references. Please disregard this email and use our “Request for Reference” form to solicit the references on your own behalf. We believe that approaching references and soliciting recommendations is an important part of your learning to become a research scientist.

We will not review pre-applications until the conclusion of fall fellowship season and after our fall Goldwater Information Session. Please do not contact our office about the status of your pre-application.

After this, the application consists of:

1. A complete application form.  The application becomes available when you register on the official Goldwater web site by completing the pre-application form and our Office of Undergraduate Research and Fellowships approves your application and potential references.
2. The main part of the application is an essay describing a scientific issue or problem of interest to the applicant. Research Essays should be single-spaced and use 12-point Arial font, with 1-inch margins on all sides. Page length, including bibliographic information, must not exceed 3 pages. The essay must include your name and the name of your academic institution in the header at the top of each page. Format your Research Essay in either one or two columns on a page. As appropriate, utilize graphs, tables, and figures in the essay to explain or clarify results. Figures, table captions and bibliographic citations may use 10-point Arial font. Research essays that use mathematical expressions may use LaTeX or other document preparation software to enable proper formatting. The research essay can focus on research already conducted (the best option) or propose a new area of inquiry. All essays should include:

• a description of an issue or problem in the field
• a methodological discussion of an idea for research that would have significant impact on the issue or problem
• a description of the student’s contribution to the work an aspect of the research in which the student would be involved
• a discussion of research outcomes, including future research borne of this investigation, as well as the relevance of the issue or problem to the student as a mathematician, scientist, or engineer.
• Three letters of recommendation. Please do not solicit letters of reference until your pre-application form has been approved by Undergraduate Research and Fellowships. Please be sure to use our Request for Reference form. Letters should be from tenured or tenure-track faculty members, or those with similar stature from industry or external research (think high-level coop supervisor) who can discuss your potential for a career in mathematics, the natural sciences, or engineering.  If you have been involved in research, one recommendation must be from the individual who supervised your work. Undergraduate Research and Fellowships will provide a Request for Reference form for use in soliciting your references. You will use our Northeastern Internal Fellowship Portal to solicit your references.
• An official Northeastern University Transcript and any transcripts from other institutions of higher education you have attended, including during high school.  Northeastern transcripts can be ordered through the Office of Registrar or through the myNEU Web Portal. Please upload your official transcript on Northeastern’s Official Internal Fellowship Portal.

Submit your complete application form and project essay via the official Goldwater application site. We then ask that you upload that file in on our Northeastern Internal Fellowship Portal, where you will also be soliciting your references, for our internal deadline.

After the internal evaluation, selected candidates finalize their applications. These applications are then forwarded to the national competition.