Goldwater Pathway
APPLY AS SOPHOMORES OR JUNIORS
Goldwaters are for sophomores or juniors studying and planning a research career in mathematics, natural sciences, or engineering. Sophomore scholarship recipients receive $14,000 (over 2 years) and junior scholarship recipients receive $7,000 (for one year only) towards expenses for tuition, fees, books, and room and board. Students who are primarily interested in attending Medical school should not apply. Students with GPAs under 3.9 should probably not apply.
Campus Deadline: November 1; National Deadline: early February.
- Students should get involved with RESEARCH as soon as possible - as early as your Freshman year, and be planning on pursuing a Ph.D. in mathematics, sciences, or engineering.
- Begin networking in your department/major, and seek out faculty who may be interested in working with you on research. UCARE is one way to be paid for a research experience at UNL. You can also volunteer, or be paid by the faculty member's own external grant.
- Apply for summer research experiences through the National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) (). The NSF REU is a way for students to have additional research experiences outside of UNL. There are also summer research experiences through the NIH website -- look for areas in which you are interested and through the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program.
- Talk with faculty within your major, and brainstorm about future research projects. Faculty are extremely important in helping students develop this particular application. [The Goldwater can lay the foundation of a future NSF Graduate Fellowship application, which you would apply for in November of the year you are graduating.]
- Become involved in extra-curricular activities that are related to your major. For example, TA for classes, join academic "clubs" and take on leadership roles, volunteer to help out with local science fairs, etc....
- Begin writing about your research experiences and reflect upon them.
» Back to Fellowship Preparation