Study finds Rhodes and Truman Scholarships favor left-leaning students

On May 6, two American Enterprise Institute researchers, Frederick M. Hess and Joe Pitts, published an analysis of the Rhodes and Truman scholarship programs, finding that both are significantly biased toward students who support left-leaning causes. 

“The taxpayer-funded Truman Scholarship and the private Rhodes Scholarship work closely with public colleges and universities to cultivate future civic leaders. While this role suggests these programs should include scholars who reflect a breadth of views, values, and interests, their participants instead display a stark ideological tilt,” the scholars state. 

The Rhodes Scholarship grants international students the opportunity to enroll in the University of Oxford. 

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The Truman Scholarship, which granted $30,000 to recipients, claims to be “the premier graduate scholarship for students interested in public service.”

Out of roughly 800 applicants every year, 55–65 recipients are selected for the Truman Scholarship. 

Hess and Pitts found that applicants to both scholarships lean to the left: “Over the past five years, just one of 157 American Rhodes Scholars expressed interest in a right-leaning issue in their program biography. Over the past three years, just six of 182 Truman Scholars did so. Moreover, the nature of their interest suggests that even these seven scholars aren’t especially conservative.”

“Moreover, the nature of their interest suggests that even these seven scholars aren’t especially conservative,” Hess and Pitts continued. 

While almost none of the recent recipients of the Truman and Rhodes Scholarships expressed interest in conservative causes, many had done so for progressive causes. 

“Among Truman and American Rhodes Scholars, interest in prominent progressive issues dwarfs that in conservative ones—by a factor of 20 to one,” the scholars wrote. “While 98 scholars cited an interest in immigrant rights or diversity, equity, and inclusion and racial justice, just four mentioned an interest in religious freedom or pro-life advocacy.”

Hess and Pitts explicitly highlighted the public nature of the Truman Scholarship: It is funded by taxpayers, yet, according to their analysis, it has a left-bias. 
 
“Given taxpayer funding for the Truman Scholarship and the participation of public institutions in both programs, public officials should take appropriate steps to ensure that public participation or support is contingent on these programs taking their pledge to cultivate a diverse community of scholars and future leaders seriously,” the study announced. 

The scholars noted the widespread influence of both scholarships, noting that alumni include “a long list of esteemed scholars, legislators, and even heads of state,” such as “President Bill Clinton, Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-SD), Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, former Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, and former Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal.”

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Continuing, they also pointed out how recent anti-Israel campus protests prove the structural problems within both programs: “Following Hamas’s terrorist attacks on Israel in October 2023, over 2,000 recipients of elite graduate scholarships (describing themselves as ‘leaders in [their] diverse fields’) issued a letter accusing Israel of genocide and urging the Biden administration to deny the Israeli government support for counterterrorism efforts. The signatories included 58 American Rhodes Scholars from the past five years and 56 Truman Scholars from the past three.”

Campus Reform has reached out to American Enterprise Institute for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.