Prestigious Scholarships

The Gatton Academy challenges our students to look beyond traditional college scholarships. Gatton Academy students are invited to prepare applications for many prestigious national and international scholarships.

Winners of these awards receive not only financial benefits but also the recognition as a leading emerging scholar. Because Gatton Academy students are both juniors/seniors in high school and freshmen/sophomores at Western Kentucky University, there is a trove of opportunities available. Working in partnership with WKU's Office of Scholar Development, the Gatton Academy provides support to our students throughout the application process.

Listed below is a sampling of programs our students can enter:

High School Competitions

Siemens Competition

Intel Science Talent Search

Intel International Science and Engineering Fair

DuPont Challenge

YES (Young Epidemiology Scholars) Competition

Google Global Science Fair

Undergraduate Competitions

Morris K. Udall Scholarship

Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship

Department of State's Critical Language Scholarships

Department of Defense's SMART Scholarship

National Security Agency's Stokes Scholarship

Scholarship Spotlight

National Security Education Program's Language Flagship—Intensive Chinese at WKU

WKU has received a federal grant from the National Security Education Program's Language Flagship to start an intensive Chinese Language program at WKU. As one of eight funded programs in the country, WKU offers Gatton Academy students the chance to apply to join this incredible language training program that funds students' opportunities to study Chinese intensively at summer workshops, to take Chinese courses on-campus during the academic year, and to travel abroad to China during the university's winter-term. This program is for students who are serious about becoming a fluent speaker of the Chinese language. For more information, students should speak to Melinda Farmer in WKU's Chinese Flagship office.