Goldwater Nominations
I’m writing to you to ask you to identify strong candidates for the Goldwater Scholarship. The Goldwater Scholarship Program seeks to identify, encourage and financially support college sophomores and juniors who show exceptional promise of becoming the nation’s next generation of research leaders in the fields of the natural sciences, engineering and mathematics. The characteristics of a Goldwater Scholar include: (1) strong commitment to a research career in the natural sciences, mathematics, and engineering; (2) effective display of intellectual intensity in these fields and (3) potential for a significant future contribution to research in their chosen field.
The most recent Goldwater Scholars were Emma McLaughlin (EPS) in 2019 and Colby Agostino (Biochemistry and CS) in 2021. Both of these talented students exemplify the characteristics described by the Goldwater Scholarship Program and both are currently enrolled in graduate programs.
The Goldwater Nomination Committee at Providence College consists of Dr. Darra Mulderry and myself. We identify a strong candidate in the fall and then work with that student to develop their application materials, which consist of thoughtful answers to a series of essay questions, and a research proposal. The deadline for submission of the application is at the end of January. In order to put together a strong application, Darra and I typically begin working with the nominee no later than mid-October.
The eligibility requirements can be found at this link, and I encourage you to read them: https://goldwaterscholarship.gov/eligibility/
Based on the students who have been selected in the past, we can confidently say that a strong nominee has a very high GPA (higher than the 3.0 indicated in the eligibility requirements), a lengthy record of participation in research (academic years/summers) and an exceptionally strong research proposal. We should point out that students intending to attend medical school should not be nominated.
If you’d like to identify strong candidates who should be considered for nomination, please reply to this email no later than 1 October 2022. I’d also like to add that since the application requires a research proposal, this will involve a commitment of time by the student’s faculty mentor to craft an exceptionally strong proposal.
Please feel free to reach out to Darra and me if you have any questions.
Best wishes to all as we begin the fall semester,
Kathleen Cornely and Darra Mulderry
Providence College Goldwater Nomination Committee
