The Truman Scholarship was established by Congress in 1975 to honor Harry S. Truman, the 33rd president of the United States. (Photo by Fotosearch/Getty Images).Getty ImagesThe 2026 cohort of Truman Scholars was announced Friday by former Arizona Governor and Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, president of the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation.This year’s group includes 55 students from 48 U.S. colleges and universities selected to receive what is widely regarded as one of the most coveted graduate scholarships for students who aspire to be public service leaders in the United States.Each year about 60 Truman Scholars are selected from hundreds of college juniors who go through a multistage selection process, requiring a nomination by their undergraduate colleges, selection as a finalist by a Truman committee, and an interview with one of the regional review panels that make the final choices. Candidates may major in any subject likely to lead to a public service career, and they can pursue any graduate degree.Nominees are evaluated on the basis of academic success and leadership accomplishments, as well as the likelihood of becoming public service leaders. This year 781 candidates were nominated by 305 colleges and universities, and 198 students from 136 institutions were selected as the finalists, from whom the 55 Scholars were named. “Resourceful, patriotic leaders, today’s Truman Scholars would make President Truman proud,” says Dr. Terry Babcock-Lumish, the Foundation’s Executive Secretary, in a press release. “Rising to meet their moments in this century as he did his in the 20th century, they are dedicated public servants who do not shy from challenge.” MORE FOR YOU Included in this year’s cohort are: students from three institutions that had a Truman Scholar selected for the first time – Marist University, North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University, and Ramapo College of New Jersey. 26 scholars from public universities., 19 who attended private research universities, 7 scholars who are graduating from a private liberal arts college, and 3 scholars from one of the service academies. You can see the full list of 2026 Truman Scholars here.The highly prestigious Truman Scholarship was created by an act of Congress in 1975 soon after President Harry S. Truman passed away. It was established as a living memorial to Truman, and for nearly 50 years, Truman Scholarships have reflected the legacy of the 33rd president by supporting Americans from diverse backgrounds to enter public service.As a condition of a Truman award, scholars must work in public service for three of the seven years following completion of a foundation-funded graduate degree program. They’re also required to file annual reports with the foundation in order to maintain their scholarship funding.The foundation defines public service as employment in government at any level, uniformed services, public-interest organizations, nongovernmental research and/or educational organizations, public and private schools, and public service-oriented nonprofit organizations.The stipend is up to $30,000 toward a public service graduate degree, but some institutions make arrangements to add supplemental funding of their own. In addition, scholars receive leadership training, career counseling, and special internship and fellowship opportunities within the federal government. The scholars also take part in the Truman Scholars Leadership Week, held at William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri.This year’s cohort includes students studying for public service in a wide range of areas, including public health, environmental law, mental health, criminal justice, health economics, medicine, technology policy, and housing policy.Also represented are political activists, leaders in student government associations, student members of their university’s board of trustees, aspiring journalists, former congressional interns, and published researchers.Consistent with the aims of the Truman program, the Scholars’ fields of study span a broad array of interests, illustrated by these few examples:Sarah Martelly is a social sciences major at New York University, where she served as a research assistant at NYU’s Center for Faculty Advancement. She is a current intern in New York Governor Kathy Hochul’s administration and a past intern in U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand’s office. Martelly is also a member of the Black Student Union’s Political Action Committee and volunteers as a tutor with America Reads. She plans to earn her Ph.D. in social policy.Tatum Watkins is a political science major at Grinnell College, with concentrations in policy studies and science, medicine and society. She served as a summer 2025 intern with the Harkin Institute for Public Policy and Citizen Engagement, where she conducted research and outreach on a project investigating Iowa’s cancer crisis. Tatum has been an advocate for the health and well-being of Iowans, working with organizations that promote environmentally friendly farming and environmental health initiatives for improved water quality. In 2024, she was selected as a delegate for the 2024 Democratic National Convention. She plans to study for a Master’s of Public Health (MPH) in Occupational and Environmental Health at the University of Iowa and then earn a law degree.Evan Garrison is an aerospace engineering and mathematics major with a minor in artificial intelligence, political science and global engineering leadership at Mississippi State University. He has served as an undergraduate researcher for the university’s applied aerodynamics and aeroacoustics research group and also with MSU’s Raspet Flight Laboratory. Evan has been the managing editor of MSU’s undergraduate research journal Endeavors and external relations chair for the MSU Speech and Debate Council. He intends to pursue a Ph.D. in aerospace engineering, with the goal of developing tools that can help protect space infrastructure.David Nelson is a psychology major on the pre-med track at Boston College. He is concurrently enrolled in the 4+1 program at Tufts University School of Medicine, where he’s pursuing a master of public health degree in epidemiology and biostatistics. Nelson plans to pursue a joint medical and master of arts in public policy degree at the University of Chicago’s Pritzker School of Medicine and Harris School of Public Policy, preparing for a career as a physician-policy maker focused on improving mental health outcomes in Black communities and addressing the problem of youth suicide.Abigail McCrary is an electrical and computer engineering major at Oklahoma State University. She has conducted research on instrumentation that can make sailor’s duties safer. AT OSU, she has been very involved in several campus organizations, and she founded First-Year Women in CEAT Fridays, which gives first-year women in CEAT opportunities to network with faculty and women in their junior and senior years. After graduation, McCrary will complete a three-year commitment to the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren. She then plans to earn her master’s degree in electrical engineering.This year’s 55 awardees join a community of 3,673 Truman Scholars named since the first awards in 1977.Included in that group are such noteworthy figures as U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch (1987), Senator Chris Coons (1983), Representative Dusty Johnson (1998), Representative Andy Kim (2003), Representative Greg Stanton (1990), former White House Domestic Policy Advisor Susan Rice (1984), former National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan (1997), former Arizona Governor and Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano (1977), former Secretary of Education John King (1995), and Fair Fight Founder Stacey Abrams (1994).