Prestigious Scholarships for All Auburn Students
The Office of National Prestigious Scholarships helps Auburn students from across the university identify and apply for nationally competitive opportunities.
A wide variety of government agencies and private foundations provide students from all disciplines with scholarship opportunities. These scholarships can help fund undergraduate and graduate studies, provide funding and support for summer programs, and offer unique opportunities to connect with leaders in the academy and private industry.
Here to Help
Our office is here to help students at every stage of the process. We advise students on what opportunities make the most sense for them, explain the application process and assist with application materials. Please use this website to browse potential scholarship opportunities, and don’t hesitate to make an appointment through the button below to talk through your options. You can also contact our Assistant Director for National Prestigious Scholarships Dr. Benjamin Fagan.
Applicant Resources
The Office of National Prestigious Scholarships is here to help you at every step of the application process. Each application will require different elements, and we strongly suggest you make an appointment to discuss your specific applications.
There are, however, some common elements to many applications.
The personal statement offers you an opportunity to express your interest in a scholarship, explain how your experience so far makes you an ideal candidate, and discuss how your future goals relate to those of the scholarship.
For a personal statement to be effective, you must include specific and vivid examples. Application reviewers will be reading a high volume of material and it is your examples that they will remember.
A resume is a record of your education, work history, volunteer work, and other accomplishments and skills. It is often a single page.
A CV is also a record of your education, work history, volunteer work, and other accomplishments, but with a larger focus on your academics. It is often longer than a resume.
Most scholarships require letters of recommendation. The most common number of recommendations required is three, though the number will vary depending on the scholarship.
An ideal recommender will know you well and be able to speak to how your qualities and potential align with the aims of the scholarship to which you are applying.
The best recommenders will be those with whom you have worked closely, usually (but not always) in an academic setting like the classroom or the lab. You can begin building relationships with potential recommenders right away by doing things like attending a professor’s office hours.
When asking for a letter of recommendation, give your recommender plenty of notice. Ideally, you will give your recommenders at least six weeks’ notice when asking for a letter.
Faculty Resources
Auburn faculty play a crucial role as our students apply for national prestigious scholarships. There are a number of ways for our faculty to help in this process.
Faculty are the primary way that our office learns of potential applicants. If you know of a student you believe would be competitive for a national prestigious scholarship, please nominate them using the button below.
Many external scholarships require university nominations and endorsements. In order to select our nominees, the Office of National Prestigious Scholarships relies on our faculty to serve on internal committees. Committee members not only select our nominees but also have the opportunity to work with them as they prepare their final applications.
If you are interested in serving on an internal committee, please complete our faculty survey using the button below.
Most applications for national prestigious scholarships require letters of recommendation, and our faculty are often the ideal recommenders.
A successful letter of recommendation often contains the following elements:
- An evaluation of how the applicant compares to other students
- Specific examples of a student’s work with the recommender
- A discussion of how the applicant’s strengths and potential relate to the criteria of the scholarship in question
The Office of National Prestigious Scholarships is happy to provide examples of successful letters of recommendation and to work with faculty on their letters.
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Latest News
Vivian Gates, a junior majoring in law and justice with a minor in German with the College of Liberal Arts, has been selected to represent Alabama at the Henry Clay Center’s College Student Congress, a highly competitive, two-week leadership and public policy program that selects only one student per state.
Members of the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation (ASF) visited Auburn University this past March to celebrate current and former Astronaut Scholars and promote the foundation’s nationally competitive scholarship program.
Eirik Mulder’s work at the intersection of aerospace engineering and computer science has earned him one of the nation’s top undergraduate research honors.
Auburn University is strengthening its reputation for success in National Prestigious Scholarships with renewed momentum to help more students discover and pursue these transformative opportunities.
John Murray is participating in the Humanities at Hertog Fellowship, a highly competitive program that brings together students from around the world to explore classic and contemporary texts.
On Dec. 3, 2025, more than 50 students and faculty gathered at the Hotel at Auburn University for a luncheon celebrating National Prestigious Scholarships (NPS) Aspirants and their Outstanding Mentors.
Victoria Ashley, a finalist for the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship, has spent her time at Auburn leading with a “servant’s heart.”
Benjamin Fagan has been appointed as the Honors College’s assistant director for National Prestigious Scholarships. The associate professor of English will support undergraduate and graduate students from across campus, educating them on national scholarship programs.
Junior Eirik Mulder earned the award which recognizes outstanding students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics who show exceptional academic performance, ingenuity and potential to make meaningful contributions to their fields.
Will Lewis, a senior double majoring in German and economics, has earned a spot in the highly competitive Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange program.
