Up to 65 Truman Scholarships are awarded each year to college juniors with an outstanding potential for leadership in any sector of government. Each scholarship covers up to $30,000 for graduate or professional school, provided that the Scholar enters public service upon completion of the program. The Truman Foundation's definition of public service includes work for government agencies, public and private schools, many non-profit organizations, and more. One scholar is chosen from every state and U.S. territory and others are chosen at large.

UVM is allowed to nominate up to four juniors to participate in the national Truman Scholarship competition. Any current, full time UVM junior who is a U.S. citizen is eligible to apply. The nomination process takes place during the fall; interested applicants submit the campus nomination materials and are interviewed by a nominating committee in December. Interviews last about 30 minutes, and applicants are questioned on their interest in public service, their policy proposal, and their career goals. Nominations are announced in December, and all nominated applicants will be registered with the Truman Foundation.

Watch the Truman Foundation's new video celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the Truman Scholarship program.

To be eligible, you must be U.S. citizen, a U.S. National resident of American Samoa, or expect to obtain U.S. citizenship by the date of the award. You must also be in the top quarter of your class. Finally, you must have a demonstrated interest in a career in government or related public service at the federal, state, or local level.

Intent to Apply: Complete by September 1. This form indicates your interest in applying, and connects you directly with FOUR's fellowships advisor for advising and preparation of application materials. 

Internal Application: All application materials are due in InfoReady by 11:59pm on November 15. 

Until the internal application goes live on InfoReady, Truman candidates can access the sample application form (pdf), including the policy statement prompt, on the Truman Foundation's website. Please note the character limits for each question. (Once the internal application is live in InfoReady, applicants will be able to see character limits there.) Candidates will be asked to upload a copy of their transcripts from UVM and any other colleges they've attended directly to InfoReady. 

Candidates applying for a UVM Truman nomination should submit the following accompanying materials:

Truman candidates need three letters of recommendation: 

• one recommendation commenting on your academic accomplishments
• one recommendation commenting on your leadership experience (letter writer must be able to comment on the experience you describe in the application's short essay about your leadership)
• one letter of recommendation commenting on your commitment to public service (letter writer must be able to comment on the experience you describe in the application's short essay about a recent public service activity you were part of)

Letters of recommendation can be addressed to the Truman Scholarship Selection Committee and should be submitted to four@uvm.edu. This page on the Truman website has guidance on recommendations for both candidates and recommenders. 

Candidates with promising applications will be invited to interview with the nominating committee. We will interview students studying abroad by MS Teams. On the basis of the application and interview, up to four nominees may be selected. Nominees will be notified of their status in late November or early December.

All nominated students are expected to stay in contact with the fellowships advisor and make progress on their applications during winter break. Final application advising takes place in January. Applicants are strongly urged to submit their applications several days before the national deadline. 

Winter Advising and the National Deadline: After receiving a campus nomination, students are expected to stay in close contact with the fellowships advisor and make significant progress on their applications in December. Final advising sessions take place in January and tend to be intensive. Nominees will go through multiple rounds of revisions prior to the national Truman deadline in early February and are strongly encouraged to submit their applications several days before the national deadline. In addition to working with the fellowships advisor, nominees meet with the Dean of the Patrick Leahy Honors College, who writes the institutional endorsement letter. The Truman application takes a high degree of reflection, planning, and mentorship; nominated students are advised to reflect carefully before accepting the university’s nomination. 

A UVM selection committee will choose finalists to interview. Finalists are announced on the Truman website at the end of February or beginning of March. Being selected as a finalist is a great honor. Finalists are interviewed by regional Truman selection committees in mid-March. FOUR will arrange for one or more formal mock interviews to help finalists prepare. Winners are announced in mid-April.

Truman applicants are required to provide three letters of recommendation in addition to the Institutional Nomination letter.  Each of the letters should address one of our selection criteria, but it is acceptable for a letter to discuss more than one criteria.

1. Leadership Abilities and Potential: This letter should confirm the experience described in Question 7 (specific example of your leadership). The letter writer need not have witnessed the example first hand, but they should be able to discuss the example and how it fits within the context of the student's leadership.
2. Commitment to a Career in Public Service: This letter should confirm the experience described in Question 8 (recent, satisfying public service activity). The letter writer need not have witnessed the activity first hand, but they should be able to discuss the example and how it fits within the context the student's commitment to a career in public service.
3. Intellect and Prospects for Continuing Academic Success: This letter should discuss the student's overall academic background in context of the student's future plans for career and graduate school (Questions 11 to 13). It is recommended, though not required, that the writer have taught the student at some point.

Please find the official Truman Foundation guidelines HERE.

Finally, a few administrative details:

1. Letters should ideally be on UVM letterhead, signed either digitally or physically, and submitted to the FOUR office via email at FOUR@UVM.edu.
2. Letters should be addressed to the Truman Scholarship Selection Committee.
3. Above the salutation, please include a memo-style line to clarify which Truman "pillar" your letter primarily addresses (leadership, public service, or academics). Example: "Re: APPLICANT NAME, Commitment to Public Service"