Student Success Initiatives
The Presidential Scholars award is the premier undergraduate merit scholarship at Florida State University. The Presidential Scholars Program invests in undergraduate students with extraordinary potential to be the transformational leaders of their generation. The community of Presidential Scholars includes critical and innovative thinkers who use their talents to make meaningful contributions to society. The program provides four years of support and is open to high school seniors who are admitted into the Florida State University Honors Program.
The highly competitive program attracts the best and brightest students to the university, but it doesn’t concentrate solely on academics. In addition to covering most tuition expenses, the scholarship provides funds for educational enrichment opportunities, such as study abroad and global scholars, research and creative endeavors, service-learning projects, public service internships and entrepreneurship development.
Our goal is to attract and retain exceptional students and provide them with the richest possible education experience.
Five-star recruits: Arts and Sciences students excel as Presidential Scholars and beyond
Spectrum Magazine, Winter 2021
When Florida State’s Presidential Scholars program admitted its first class in Fall 2014, just 25 students were selected from the 800 promising scholars who applied. Known thereafter as the Scholars Class of 2018, this elite group was the vanguard of a recruitment strategy to attract pre-eminent scholars to FSU — a strategy in which the College of Arts and Sciences continues to be a formidable presence.
“We’re looking for more than strong academic performance,” said Craig Filar, associate dean of undergraduate studies and director the Presidential Scholars program. “We’re also looking for holistic leadership — transformative leadership and scholarship.”
Presidential Scholars is the premier undergraduate merit scholarship at FSU and provides four years of support for undergraduate students with extraordinary potential to be the transformational leaders of their generation.
Student Stars: Erin Murphy
Florida State University News, Released February 3, 2021
Erin Murphy has made sure to seize every opportunity that has come her way at Florida State University. A native of St. Petersburg, Fla., she came to FSU after graduating from St. Petersburg Collegiate High School as a salutatorian and with an associate’s degree in hand. Murphy initially chose to attend FSU after being recruited to play Division I beach volleyball. She was impressed with the program’s resources and emphasis on the value of hard work. During her senior year of high school, Murphy also applied for FSU’s Honors Program and was later invited to attend the Presidential Scholars interview weekend.
“I had never heard of the Presidential Scholars Program, but during interview weekend, I was shown the full range of academic and overall resources that Florida State University has to offer,” she said. “That just blew me away.”
The Presidential Scholars Award is the premier undergraduate merit scholarship at Florida State University. The program provides four years of support and is open to high school seniors who are admitted into the FSU Honors Program. Murphy is the first student-athlete to be selected as a Presidential Scholar.
Psychology major discovers her passion for research across multiple disciplines
Florida State University News, Released July 6, 2020
Junior psychology major Trystan Loustau has made the most of her collegiate journey at Florida State University, taking full advantage of opportunities for undergraduate research and on-campus involvement.
Loustau, a Jacksonville native, made the decision to attend Florida State University after being invited to the 2018 Interview Weekend for the Presidential Scholars Program. There, she was able to tour the campus and was introduced to the many faculty, resources and opportunities available to students.
Loustau’s passion for research and intellectual curiosity drove her to become heavily involved in undergraduate research and the FSU Honors Program. She is currently an FSU Presidential Scholar, Honors Student and participates in the Honors Experience Program (HEP).