Home
Awards
Truman Scholarship

Truman Scholarship

Each year, the Harry S. Truman Foundation provides approximately 60 scholarships (for $30,000) to help pay for graduate or professional school. They are awarded in the "junior" year to outstanding students who have a demonstrated record in and commitment to "public service." IU students with strong academic backgrounds and leadership experience in public service are encouraged to apply. Students must be nominated by their undergraduate universities to be eligible for consideration at the national level.

This scholarship is not aimed exclusively at preparation for government service. Rather, the Truman Foundation seeks to promote "public service" in a broader sense, i.e., "employment in government at any level, uniformed services, public-interest organization, nongovernmental research and/or educational organizations, public and private schools, and public-service oriented nonprofit organizations such as those whose primary purposes are to help needy or disadvantaged persons or to protect the environment" (from the Truman Foundation website). Scholars are required to work in public service for three of the seven years following completion of a graduate degree program funded by the Truman.

Details

Campus Nomination Deadline: October 29, 2018
National Deadline: February 5, 2019
Campus Representative: Professor Judy Failer
jfailer@indiana.edu

To be eligible for consideration for the Truman Scholarship, a student must:

be a U.S. citizen or national;
be nominated by his or her university; and
be a full-time junior-level student at a four-year institution pursuing a bachelor's degree at the time the nomination is submitted to the Foundation.

A "junior" is a student who:

plans to continue full-time undergraduate study and who expects to receive a baccalaureate degree between December and August 2016 of the year following the current academic year; or
is in his or her third year of collegiate study who expects to graduate during the current academic year; or
is a junior or senior level student who is a resident of Puerto Rico or the US Territories.

This is a very competitive national scholarship, and IU only nominates students with outstanding credentials. The Foundation chooses scholars on the basis of their excellent records in academics, leadership, and public and community service. They also seek candidates with evidence of a strong commitment to a career in public service as well as evidence of promise for future leadership. IU's nominating committee looks for candidates with these qualities, and aims to nominate students who show promise of making a difference in the world through their public service.

The IU committee can select up to four nominees to nominate for the Truman competition. To be considered for IU's nomination, students should pick up application materials from Elaine Hehner in the Hutton Honors College, 811 E. Seventh Street, Room 210E. Copies of the application form being used for the process at IU can be downloaded from the Truman website.

The completed application must include the 500-word policy proposal on a significant issue related to the candidate's intended area of public service. Students seeking consideration should also arrange to have three letters of recommendation submitted for the campus nomination.

Please note that the application requires three distinctively different recommendations, each of which requires a separate cover sheet (included in the application packet) that should be provided to the recommender.

One focuses on "Leadership Potential and Abilities." (This letter must confirm the leadership experience the applicant describes in response to Question 7 on the application.)
One focuses on a "Commitment to a Career in Public Service." (This letter should note the experience the applicant describes in response to Question 8 on the application.)
One focuses on "Intellect and Prospects for Continuing Academic Success."

Although each recommender is given a specific focus, they are all welcome to write about all dimensions of the candidate about which they have direct knowledge.

Additional information about the national criteria and process is available on the Truman website.

Office of National Scholarships & Awards

Truman Scholarship