Recent results on achieving ferromagnetism in transition metal-doped GaN, SiC and related materials are discussed. While current generations of semiconductor electronic and photonic devices utilize the charge on electrons and holes in order to perform their specific functionality such as signal processing or light emission, the field of semiconductor spintronics seeks to exploit the spin of charge carriers in new generations of transistors, lasers and integrated magnetic sensors. There is strong potential for new classes of ultra-low power, high-speed memory, logic and photonic devices. The utility of such devices depends on the availability of materials with practical magnetic ordering temperatures and most theories predict that the Curie temperature will be a strong function of bandgap. Here we review the field of wide bandgap dilute magnetic semiconductors, such as GaN, SiC and related materials, exhibiting room temperature ferromagnetism, the origins of the magnetism and its potential applications. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.