The Truman is a very competitive national scholarship. Each year, the Foundation reviews over 600 applications for our 60 to 65 Scholarships awarded annually. These 600 applications do not include the students who compete on their own campus for one of a school’s four nominations.

Although the award is competitive, we hope that our application process – while challenging – is straightforward. We hope that by providing clear information to all prospective applicants we enable everyone to produce the best application possible.

Below is a step-by-step guide through the Truman selection process.

Are You a Potential Truman Scholar?
A listing of the general requirements for the Truman Scholarship.

Find Your Faculty Representative
All Candidates for the Truman must be nominated by their undergraduate institution. Our Fac Rep Locator will help you to find the representative at your school – and provide guidance if there is not a current representative at your school. Faculty Representatives can also answer both specific questions about the application process as well as general questions about whether the Truman is right for you.

Review Important Dates
The deadlines for the competition as well as information on the announcements of finalists and Scholars.

Review the Application
The Truman Application consists of an Institutional Nomination form and letter, three additional letters of recommendation, a recent transcript, a 14 question application, and a policy proposal.

Get Nominated
Nominations must be made by either the Fac Rep or the Truman Nomination Committee at your undergraduate institution.

Prepare Your Application
Suggestions for preparing the best application possible.

Paul and Daisy Soros, Hungarian immigrants and American philanthropists, established their fellowship program for New Americans in December 1997 with a charitable trust of fifty million dollars. Their reasons for doing so were several. They wished to “give back” to the country that had afforded them and their children such great opportunities and felt a fellowship program was an appropriate vehicle. They also felt that assisting young New Americans at critical points in their educations was an unmet need. Finally, they wished to call attention of all Americans to the extensive and diverse contributions of New Americans to the quality of life in this country.

In 2010, Mr. and Mrs. Soros contributed an additional $25 million to the charitable trust that funds their Fellowships for New Americans.   For details, see the Wall Street Journal article at the end of this section.

The program of fellowships they shaped has the following characteristics:

• It honors and supports the graduate educations of 30 New Americans – permanent residents or naturalized citizens if born abroad; otherwise children of naturalized citizen parents — each year.
• At the time of their selection, fellows must be college seniors or early in the graduate programs for which they request support.
• Each fellow receives tuition and living expenses that can total as much as $90,000 over two academic years.
• Fellows can study in any degree-granting program in any field at any university in the United States.
• Fellows are selected on the basis of merit – the specific criteria emphasize creativity, originality, initiative and sustained accomplishment — in annual national competitions.  Candidates apply directly.  The program does not depend on recommendations from universities or regional screening.   Neither financial need nor distributive considerations are taken into account in the selection process.
• Each fellows attends two weekend conferences of fellows. The great majority continue to be involved with the program through regional dinners, service in the selection process for later classes, etc.

Since the founding of the Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans:

• Approximately 12,500 applications have been received and processed.
• 14 classes of Fellows have been selected, beginning in 1998
• 415 Fellows have been appointed:  20 in the first year and 30 in most subsequent years (the four additional fellows were appointed in 2003, 2007, and 2009).
• The 61 current Fellows received undergraduate degrees from 34 different colleges and universities.  They are receiving support for graduate study at 22 different universities in 27 different fields of study.
• 354 former Fellows are now alumni of the program.

Oxford and the Rhodes Scholarships

Welcome to the website of the American Rhodes Scholarships. The Rhodes Scholarships are the oldest and most celebrated international fellowship awards in the world. Each year 32 young Americans are selected as Rhodes Scholars, through a decentralized process representing the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Applicants from more than 300 American colleges and universities have been selected as Rhodes Scholars. In most years, even after a century of competition, a Rhodes Scholar is selected from an institution which has not formerly supplied a successful applicant.

Rhodes Scholars are chosen not only for their outstanding scholarly achievements, but for their character, commitment to others and to the common good, and for their potential for leadership in whatever domains their careers may lead. The Rhodes Trust, a British charity established to honor the will and bequest of Cecil J. Rhodes, provides full financial support for Rhodes Scholars to pursue a degree or degrees at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. The first American Rhodes Scholars entered Oxford in 1904.

This website provides information about the annual competition for the Rhodes Scholarships available to United States citizens, and is an introduction to the community of American Rhodes Scholars. Rhodes Scholarships are also available to citizens of certain other countries. For information about the global Rhodes Scholarships, and further information about the Rhodes Trust and Oxford University generally, see the links below. There you will also find a link for further information about American Rhodes Scholars and their alumni community.

American Rhodes Scholars for 2012

On Saturday, November 19, 2011, the American Rhodes Scholar Class of 2012 was elected.  These 32 outstanding students will commence their studies at Oxford in October 2012.  They were selected from a pool of 830 candidates who had been nominated by their colleges and universities.  They will now complete their applications to begin courses at Oxford next year, widely across the University’s academic disciplines.

For today’s press release and a list of winners and short profiles, click here.

The PPIA Fellowship Program helps students achieve a Master’s Degree or joint degree, typically in public policy, public administration, international affairs or a related field. The organization does this through the intensive study provided by participation in a Junior Summer Institute (JSI), through partnerships with universities across the country, and through an alumni network that provides opportunities to connect with nearly 4000 individuals who share the same interest in public service.

The entry point for the PPIA Fellowship Program is attendance at one of our Junior Summer Institutes (JSI). Each year, this national program selects an elite group of students to participate in our Junior Summer Institutes, where these high-potential individuals are equipped with the knowledge and skills they will need to succeed in graduate school and ultimately, in influential roles serving the public good.

Once a student has successfully completed their JSI, they join an alumni network of nearly 4,000 leaders. In addition to the opportunities that this network provides for mentoring and career development, our alumni network has the opportunity to receive financial support for their graduate school education if they attend one of the programs in our Graduate School Consortium.

About the Graduate School Consortium

PPIA’s Graduate School Consortium is comprised of over 30 public policy and international affairs programs from across the county. PPIA alumni who apply to receive a graduate degree at these schools are able to waive the application fees and, if accepted, are guaranteed a minimum, one-time financial award of $5,000 from the school. Most alumni who are accepted to a consortium school receive well above this figure in financial aid towards their graduate education.

PPIA Fellows are encouraged to wait a couple of years before applying to graduate school in order to gain work experience and further preparation for graduate studies. However, enrollment into one of the PPIA Consortium schools is expected for PPIA Fellows within 3 years of graduation. An additional one year extension may be requested.