The Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Marshall Scholarship are highly competitive, extramural support opportunities that students at UNC Asheville may be nominated to apply for. Faculty wishing to nominate a student should contact the UNC Asheville Representative for these scholarships, Dr. R. Graham Reynolds (Director of the Honors Program), at honors@unca.edu to proceed.
Students who are interested in being nominated for these scholarships should reach out to their Department Chair, who will contact Dr. Reynolds directly. Please keep in mind that students need to take a lot of initiative to pursue these prestigious and competitive scholarships.
Barry Goldwater Scholarship
The Barry Goldwater Scholarship is a Congressional scholarship to support sophomore and junior students pursuing education and research in the natural sciences. About 450 Goldwater Scholars are selected from across US undergraduate institutions each year. The scholarship award covers eligible expenses up to a maximum of $7,500 per year. Rising junior scholarship recipients can expect to receive a maximum of two years of support. Rising senior scholarship recipients are eligible for a maximum of one year of support.
UNC Asheville typically nominates only one or two students per year to apply. Applications are due on the last day of January each year.
Marshall Scholarship
The Marshall Scholarship provides an opportunity for US-based undergraduates to pursue graduate study in the United Kingdom. Only about 50 students from across the US are selected each year.
UNC Asheville typically does not nominate a student each year, but we do submit a nominee every few years. Nevertheless, this is a fantastic scholarship opportunity for the right student. Marshall Scholarships are typically due in mid-September each year.
Previous UNC Asheville Goldwater Scholarship Recipients
UNC Asheville has had five Goldwater Scholarship recipients in the last five years!
Goldwater Scholars
2023 Dylan Major (B.S. Atmospheric Sciences, B.S. Computer Science, Minor in Mathematics)
2023 Ari Puentes (B.S. Biology, Minor in American Indian and Indigenous Studies)
2021 Grace Volk (B.S. Chemistry, student-athlete)
2020 Mallory Rothrock (B.S. Chemistry, Minor in Neuroscience)
2018 Blanton Gillespie (B.S. Chemistry, Minor in Neuroscience, student-athlete)