Important Updates

  • In observance of Thanksgiving, Financial Aid and Scholarships will be closed on Thursday and Friday, November 28-29, 2024.
  • The 2025-26 Continuing Undergraduate Scholarships application is now open! Get started on your application today!
  • While awaiting your 2024-25 financial aid offer, we encourage you to utilize the UC Davis Financial Aid Estimator to estimate your potential aid.
  • The 2025-26 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and the California Dream Act Application (CADAA) will open on December 1, 2024.

Harry S. Truman Scholarship

DATES AND DEADLINES

Application status:
Opens September, 2024

Scholarship application deadline:
Early February, 2025

Award

Scholars receive up to $30,000 for a graduate degree leading to employment in public service, along with leadership development, networking, and a Washington D.C. internship

Eligibility

  1. U.S. citizen or U.S. national from the Pacific Islands
  2. Junior or senior, with one more year before graduation at time of application
  3. Top 25% in class ranking
  4. Must be pursuing a public service graduate degree

Candidate Profile

Applicants should be outstanding leaders with extensive public and community service who show a likelihood of making a difference within public service. Applicants should have a strong academic record that would gain admission to first-rate graduate programs.

LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION

Applicants are required to submit three (3) letters of recommendation with the rest of their application materials to be considered for institutional nomination.  Each of these letters should address one of the Truman Scholarship’s selection criteria – leadership abilities and potential, commitment to a career in public service, or intellect and prospects for continuing academic success.  It is acceptable, however, for a letter to discuss more than one criterion.

The letters should confirm the experiences described in specific sections of the student’s application, and it is advisable for applicants to share this information with their letter writers.  Sample forms have been provided by the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation that should be given to the applicant’s letter writers.  Applicants and letter writers should review this page for further guidance.

Scholarship Website

www.truman.gov

Campus Procedure

Students must be nominated by UC Davis for the Truman Scholarship. To apply for nomination, students must complete and submit the sample application along with three (3) letters of recommendation.  All materials must be submitted to prestigious scholarship advisor Scott Palmer by the campus deadline.