National Fellowships FAQs

CORE Awards are National Fellowships that require a campus nomination. For these awards, students need to apply through our internal campus process. These are awards that involve things like campus deadlines, review committees, and extensive revisions. These awards include the following National Fellowships: Rhodes, Marshall, Mitchell, Churchill, Truman, Goldwater, Boren, Gilman, Gaither, Udall, Freeman ASIA, and Astronaut Scholarship.
Non-CORE Awards are National Fellowships that do not require a campus nomination. Students have the ability to apply to these awards independently. While we are happy to assist students with these processes, CORE Awards take priority in terms of the usage of our resources. These awards include, but are not limited to: Critical Language Scholarship, Knight Hennessy Fellowship, Pickering Fellowship, SALAM Study Abroad Scholarship, and Yenching Academy Fellowship.

LAUNCH is an acronym that stands for Learning Communities (L), Academic Excellence (A), Undergraduate Research (U), National Fellowships (N), Capstones (C), and Honors (H). LAUNCH is a unit of Undergraduate Studies housed in Academic Affairs under the Provost at Texas A&M University. 

LAUNCH: National Fellowships facilitates the campus application and nomination processes for select fellowships and provides advising on all fellowships. Note: Because of resource limitations, LAUNCH: National Fellowships will prioritize advising on fellowships that require instiutional nomination. 

There are National Fellowships for every field imaginable. For students interested in teaching English, conducting research, or doing creative works abroad after they graduate, the U.S. Student Fulbright Program might be an ideal program. For students interested in careers in public service, the Truman Scholarship might be an ideal program. For students interested in research careers in STEM, the Goldwater Scholarship might be an ideal program. 

National Fellowships help to facilitate a student's educational, professional, and personal development through unique and rewarding experiences. 

Participating in the National Fellowships process often gives students deeper insights into who they are and what is most important them. 

Absolutely! It is no secret that National Fellowships are competitive. However, numerous students have attested to the value of simply going through the process of applying, even when they did not win. Applying for National Fellowships is a very reflexive process.

By writing personal statements, detailing one's career aims in short essay prompts, and revising one's resume, students gain more insight into who they are. Deeper self-knowledge can help students to make personal and professional decisions that best align with their true aims and goals.