This award requires a campus nomination.
The Truman Foundation seeks future “change agents” who aspire to leadership positions in federal, state, or local governments; the military; or in the not-for-profit and education sectors where they can influence and change public policies and programs.
Although students can’t apply for Truman until their junior year (see below for how Truman defines “junior”), it is never too soon to talk to a fellowship adviser about the award. Truman is one of the more involved applications that the fellowships office supports, so it’s helpful for students to begin the conversation as soon as they are interested.
Eligibility and selection criteria
- Juniors (Truman defines a “juniors” as students in their penultimate year of study if graduating in four or more years and students in their final year of study if graduating in three or fewer years.)
- U.S. citizens
- Leadership potential
- Commitment to a public service career
- Prospects for continuing academic success.
Award benefits
- Up to $30,000 in graduate school funding
- Professional development
- Professional networking
- Internship opportunities
Deadline
The campus deadline is 11:59 p.m. on Nov. 9, 2025. The national deadline is in early February.
The campus application is accessed through the Truman Scholarship application portal. Students must meet with a fellowship adviser to be added to the portal.
Application Process
MU can nominate up to four non-transfer students for the Truman Scholarship and up to three transfer students for the award. As such, the Office of Global and National Fellowships facilitates a campus selection process to choose the university’s nominees.
For the campus application, students submit the full Truman application except for the policy proposal (see a PDF of the application), including three letters of reference.
A week after the campus application deadline, students will have a campus interview with the nomination committee. After all interviews are complete, the committee will choose the nominees.
Nominated students work with the Office of Global and National Fellowships over winter break to revise, refine and strengthen their applications for the national deadline.
Learn more about the national selection process on the Truman Scholarship website.