Vision
The Office of Prestigious Awards strives to be Tennessee’s premier institution of higher education helping students and alumni to reflect, aspire, and reach great heights through the transformational process of applying for national and global competitive scholarships and fellowships.
Scholar Development
We believe every student that comes to ETSU has the potential to become an elite scholar. Our office, along with the help of staff, faculty, administrators, and scholarship committees across campus, works to recruit, identify, and maximize the potential of talented and driven students by exposing them to a world of research experiences, education abroad, and public service opportunities.
Process First. Results Second.
Certainly, we are proud of our students, alumni, and faculty winning the world’s most prestigious awards, most recently back-to-back Rhodes finalists; Goldwater; Fulbright; Critical Language Scholarship; and multiple Gilmans. However, we are equally as proud and doubly impressed by the multitude of the students we advise through the rigorous application process who applied and did not win an award—staying true to the adage that success often happens in the dark: we do not see these as losses but moments of growth in the scholar development process. Whether a student wins an award or not, the rigorous process of applying for these awards—the courage to hit “submit”—empowers students to recognize and articulate their personal and professional goals through the act of critical reflection, ultimately creating confident graduates who are prepared for life after ETSU and have created a remarkable story.
Dr. Carson Medley
Director, Office of Prestigious Awards
Annual Report
2023-2024 "The Courage to Hit Submit"
News
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Five ETSU community members named Fulbright semifinalists
- Five East Tennessee State University students, staff and faculty made the semifinals for the 2025-26 Fulbright Scholarships, with winners to be announced by June. Read more here.
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ETSU students named Truman Scholarship finalists
- For the second year in a row, East Tennessee State University has made history. Last year, ETSU celebrated its first Truman Scholar in 33 years. This year, the university boasts two finalists for one of the most prestigious scholarships in the world: Leah Loveday and Gunnar Wolf Stewart. Read more here.
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ETSU student wins prestigious scholarship
- Alaina Majkrzak, a junior in East Tennessee State University's Bluegrass, Old Time and Roots Music program, won the highly coveted U.S. Department of State's Gilman International Scholarship. Read more here.
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ETSU's Trent White finalist for Rhodes Scholarship
- Trent White, a senior at East Tennessee State University and former Student Government Association president, was named a finalist for the Rhodes Scholarship, one of the most prestigious merit scholarships in the world. Read more here.
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Ace your scholarship applications with tips from ETSU
- Read more from our advisor, Cassidy Blackwell and the Office of Financial aid on scholarship application tips here.
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ETSU student earns prestigious Truman Scholarship
- Trent White, SGA President and Roan Scholar, was selected as a scholar for the prestigious Harry S. Truman Scholarship. Congratulations! Read the full story here.
Kindly Note: the prestigious awards listed/mentioned on our site, as well as others discussed in the prestigious awards unit, are not ETSU-endorsed programs. The organizations listed/mentioned on our site have no affiliation with ETSU. This means that ETSU is not accountable to decisions or actions of the organizations above.