This site describes the scholarships that are generally considered the most prestigious. Many other scholarships are available, and information about those will be provided upon request from this office.

Even freshmen and sophomores should begin thinking about postgraduate prospects. This site describes four undergraduate scholarships: the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship, the Morris K. Udall Scholarship, the Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarships, and the Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Scholarship. The awards are intrinsically worth pursuing and have the added benefit of enhancing a student's prospects for receiving a postgraduate fellowship. Note, as well, that the Harry S. Truman Scholarship, awarded to college juniors, funds a senior year of study and two-to-three years of graduate study.

Applying for a national scholarship is a "no lose" situation, since undergraduates are able to channel their essays into conventional graduate school applications. They thereby enhance their prospects for being accepted into a graduate program and for receiving internal fellowship support. Graduate students, in turn, often end up formulating a dissertation proposal from the writing which they undertake as part of the process of applying for a national scholarship.

Most postgraduate fellowship deadlines occur from September through November. Serious contenders should begin researching, writing, and organizing their applications in the spring and summer preceding fall deadlines. In some cases, such as with Marshall, Rhodes, and Truman scholarships, UNT faculty screening committees read applications and invite the most promising candidates to on-campus interviews. The screening committees then decide whom to nominate to represent UNT at state and regional levels of competition.

Finalists interact intensively and regularly with these committees to prepare for off-campus interviews.