Goldwater Campus Nomination Timeline
Please be advised that before we nominate you or endorse your candidacy for a fellowship competition, we will perform a conduct and academic honesty check to confirm that you are in good disciplinary and academic standing; a waiver that allows us to do so is part of the Prospective Applicant Form (available below).
UR nomination to compete in the national Goldwater Scholarship competition is a multi-step process. An interdisciplinary faculty committee of STEM professors is convened to review candidates and make nomination decisions.
Below is the campus nomination schedule for the Goldwater Scholarship 2025-26 competition.
2025 Fall Semester Schedule for Applicants
September 15: Submit UR Prospective Applicant Form (PAF) and the official Goldwater Student Profile and Pre-App. Both are part of the vetting process conducted by the Goldwater Campus Representative (CR) and are required before you can be approved to begin the official Goldwater online application. The CR will communicate with you via email after this initial assessment of your profile; making an appointment at this time is not necessary.
October 6: Submit the UR Fellowships Preliminary Questionnaire (FPQ)You do not need to contact our office about an appointment after completing these forms; the CR will review the submissions and follow up with you afterwards. If it has been more than two academic semesters since you submitted an FPQ, please submit the FPQ Update. You do not need to do the entire FPQ again, unless you want to. Submission of the campus questionnaire is a mandatory part of the internal vetting process.
November 10: Draft of the Goldwater online application and the research essay due for initial feedback. You should also ask for feedback on the essay from an appropriate faculty/research mentor. Be sure to share the Goldwater essay guidelines with anyone reviewing your research essay.
December 15: Revised draft of Goldwater online application, including uploaded research essay, due for presentation to campus review committee. This is the version the campus committee will receive.
December 22: Goldwater recommendation letters due for internal nomination process. Signed reference letters should be submitted on letterhead with a current date. Ask your recommenders to click here to upload a letter of recommendation. Recommendation letter files should be named according to this format: Student Last Name_Goldwater Letter_Recommender Last Name (e.g., Smith_Goldwater Letter_Jones)
Early January: Goldwater Campus Nomination Committee meets to select nominees. Applicants will be notified via email of their nomination status, and those selected as nominees will discuss final revisions with the CR in preparation for national submission.
2026 Spring Semester Schedule for Nominees
January 27, 12 noon: Complete, final, revised Goldwater Scholarship APPLICATION and RESEARCH ESSAY must be submitted via online application system. Official University of Rochester electronic transcript and any required non-UR transcripts must be also received by this date.
Final Goldwater recommendation letters (if any edits made to original letter) to be re-submitted via our secure online form for uploading to Goldwater online application system. Recommendation letter files should be named according to this format: Student Last Name_Goldwater Letter_Recommender Last Name (e.g., Smith_Goldwater Letter_Jones)
If applicable, documentation regarding PERMANENT RESIDENT STATUS is also due at this time.
Transcripts
UR Transcripts: Nominees are to request an electronic UR transcript and have it sent directly to the Goldwater Campus Representative at fellowships@rochester.edu. Before you request your University of Rochester transcript, make sure your full spring program is reflected accurately on your transcript and that there are no missing grades from prior terms.
Non-UR Transcripts (if required): External transcripts should be sent directly to the Goldwater Campus Representative from the outside institution, either as a digital document to fellowships@rochester.edu or in hard copy to:
Fellowships Office, Dewey 4-209B
University of Rochester
Box 270416
Rochester, NY 14627-0416