Are you interested in a career in public service? Are you currently a junior? Thinking about going to grad school in order to prepare? If so, you may want to apply for the prestigious Harry S. Truman Scholarship! The Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation's mission is to help students achieve a career in public service by providing them a scholarship to attend graduate school.
Applicants are judged on three specific criteria: leadership, commitment to public service, and likelihood of success in graduate school. Successful Truman Scholars will receive $30,000 toward tuition at the graduate institution of their choosing.
In order to apply, you must be a US citizen enrolled at Sewanee, a junior, and planning to attend graduate school in pursuit of a career in public service.
Sewanee has been allotted only four applicants for the Truman Scholarship, meaning that we will have to have an internal selection process before formally nominating four chosen applicants. If you are interested in applying to the Truman Scholarship please send Professor Gauding by October 10th your (a) CV, (b) 300 words on what career in public service you'd pursue and why, and (c) 300 more words describing a public policy that you might propose one day. If selected and nominated by Sewanee you will go on to craft a full application to the Truman Scholarship, which will be due at the beginning of February 2026.
As you decide whether or not you want to apply, you may want to attend the Truman Scholarship virtual open house on Wednesday, Oct. 8th at 1p Central. Recent Truman Scholars will talk about their own experiences, as well as give an overview of the application process. The zoom link to this virtual open house is here: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82794740954?pwd=zXJmLzlJPBZ6tuFISG7zmaQfyYgozQ.1
Full applications to the Truman Scholarship include multiple short essays and a policy proposal, so please consider if you have the time and bandwidth to devote to perfecting your application if selected! If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to Professor Gauding directly or look over the official Truman website: truman.gov, as well as this recent video, celebrating 50 years of Truman scholars.
