NON-CIEE FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
Funding opportunities are readily available for international study, but students must be resourceful in the pursuit of these funds. Local organizations—such as community groups or émigré associations—may offer small awards for overseas study, and large companies sometimes have scholarship programs open to children of employees. Financial aid directories should be available in study abroad offices, college libraries, or public libraries. All scholarships awarded must be reported to the student’s home school financial aid office.
Home College or University
Students can normally apply their regular federal student financial aid toward CIEE-administered programs including: Pell Grants, Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (SEOG), Perkins Loans, National Direct or Stafford Loans, and Parent Loans for Undergraduate Students (PLUS). Students may also be eligible for aid through state student financial aid programs, specific scholarship programs from their home school, and other outside scholarship agencies. Additionally, alternative student loans are available through banks, but most require certification by students’ home school financial aid offices.
Students should work with their study abroad and financial aid offices to determine what aid is applicable to their chosen study abroad programs. Please see CIEE Financial Services for more information about financial aid procedures related to studying abroad with CIEE.
Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program
The Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program offers grants for U.S. citizen undergraduate students of limited financial means to pursue academic studies abroad. The program aims to encourage students to choose non-traditional study abroad destinations, especially those outside of Western Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. The Gilman Scholarship Program aims to support students who have been traditionally under-represented in study abroad, including but not limited to, students with high financial need, community college students, students in under-represented fields such as the sciences and engineering, students with diverse ethnic backgrounds, and students with disabilities. The program seeks to assist students from a diverse range of public and private institutions from all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. This congressionally funded program is sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State and is administered by the Institute of International Education through its office in Houston, Texas.
AWARDS
The Gilman International Scholarship Program offers awards to U.S. undergraduate students who are also receiving federal Pell Grant funding at a two or four-year college or university. Awardees are required to fulfill a service requirement to help promote study abroad on their home campuses during the semester following their return from studying abroad.
WEBSITE
Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship.
National Security Education Program (NSEP): David L. Boren Undergraduate Scholarships
David L. Boren Undergraduate Scholarships provide up to $20,000 to U.S. undergraduate students to study abroad in areas of the world that are critical to U.S. interests and underrepresented in study abroad, including Africa, Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, Eurasia, Latin America, and the Middle East. The countries of Western Europe, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand are excluded. Boren Scholars represent a variety of academic backgrounds, but all are interested in studying less commonly taught languages including, but not limited to, Arabic, Chinese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, and Swahili.
Boren Scholarships are funded by the National Security Education Program (NSEP), which focuses on geographic areas, languages, and fields of study deemed critical to U.S. national security. Applicants should identify how their study abroad program, as well as their future academic and career goals, will contribute to U.S. national security, broadly defined. NSEP draws on a broad definition of national security, recognizing that the scope of national security has expanded to include not only the traditional concerns of protecting and promoting American well-being, but also the challenges of global society, including sustainable development, environmental degradation, global disease and hunger, population growth and migration, and economic competitiveness.
AWARDS
Awards range in amount up to $20,000.
WEBSITE
National Security Education Program (NSEP): David L. Boren Undergraduate Scholarships
Study Abroad in Japan: Bridging Scholarships
The Bridging Project offers scholarships to American undergraduate students participating in study-abroad programs in Japan. Funding from private foundations and major U.S. corporations, through donations to the nonprofit US-Japan Bridging Foundation, makes it possible to award about 100 scholarships each year to assist students with the travel and living expenses they will incur while studying abroad in Japan for a semester or an academic year.
Applications are accepted twice a year for Bridging Scholarships. Undergraduate students majoring in any field of study are eligible to apply for these scholarships. Japanese language study is not a prerequisite. Applicants must be U.S. citizens and must be enrolled as undergraduates in a college or university in the United States before and during the time they are studying abroad.
AWARDS
Bridging Scholarship recipients receive a stipend of $2,500 for students on semester-long programs or $4,000 for students on academic year programs. Students studying in Japan on summer programs are not eligible to apply.
WEBSITE
Bridging Scholarships for Study Abroad in Japan.
BUTEX Scholarships for North American Students
Butex Scholarships are open to all undergraduate students currently registered at an institution in the U.S. or Canada. To be eligible to apply, you must have been offered a study abroad or exchange place of a minimum of one semester at a UK university that is BUTEX affiliated.
AWARDS
The value of each scholarship is £500 and will be paid to the winners once they arrive and register at their host universities.
WEBSITE
BUTEX Scholarships for North American Students.
Turkish Coalition of America Study Abroad Scholarships for Minority and Armenian American Students
The Turkish Coalition of America (TCA) has established a diverse array of scholarship programs that support its educational mission of engaging and cultivating a new generation of young Turkish American leaders, including the TCAdvange Scholarship program for Turkish American students. Additionally, a wide range of scholarships are available for American minority students wishing to study in Turkey and support TCA's mission to build people-to-people bridges between the United States and Turkey.
AWARDS
TCA will award grants up to $2,000 per calendar year to full-time undergraduates (graduate students will be awarded on a case-by-case basis) who have been accepted to a study abroad program in Turkey for a semester or summer respectively. For more information and application procedures, please go to the TCA Scholarships page.
WEBSITE
Turkish Coalition of America Study Abroad Scholarships
FUND FOR EDUCATION ABROAD
Fund for Education Abroad (FEA) is committed to increasing opportunities for dedicated American students to participate in high-quality, rigorous education abroad programs by reducing financial restrictions through the provision of grants and scholarships.
FEA awards scholarships to students, who demonstrate financial need, represent a group that is traditionally underrepresented in study abroad, and are participating in programs in non-traditional destinations.
In addition to these general scholarships, FEA offers funding through three dedicated scholarships. The Hilary Echo Douglas Memorial Scholarship is awarded to a student who demonstrates a love for Vietnam and other cultures while exhibiting a desire to give back to the world community. The BASSA Scholarship is awarded to a student who attends a US college or university in New England while the Rainbow Scholarship is awarded to a deserving LGBT student.
AWARDS
Award amounts vary.
WEBSITE
Fund for Education Abroad
Minzu University of China (MUC) Graduate Scholarships
Minzu University of China (MUC) in Beijing is offering five graduate degree program scholarships from the Chinese government for the 2013-2014 academic year for any current or former CIEE students who studied abroad in China.
These scholarships include two to three years of full funding for M.A. programs and three years for Ph.D. programs in various disciplines. The scholarships include exemption from tuition and registration, lab and practicum fees, basic textbook costs, and include free on-campus accommodations. In addition, the scholarship includes a living stipend of 1,700 CNY/month for M.A. students, 2,000 CNY/month for Ph.D. students, Chinese medical insurance, plus a one-time relocation subsidy of 1,500 CNY.
This is a great opportunity for CIEE alumni, qualifications include:
- Applicants cannot be Chinese nationals
- Applicants must have certification of HSK 5 or equivalent Chinese language proficiency level
While students who are currently studying in China or who studied abroad in China during the previous 2012-2013 academic year on a degree program are not eligible, CIEE students who recently studied abroad in China on a non-degree language program ARE eligible. Applicants for the M.A. programs must have a B.A. degree and be below 35 years of age. Applicants for the Ph.D. programs must have an M.A. and be below 40 years of age.
Application information and paperwork can be found below, please note – CIEE is not involved in the selection process and any questions should be directed to the university.
Application
Application deadline for CIEE students has been extended from March 24 to April 1.
Web Sites
These are the financial aid pages of some major U.S. institutions and organizations. Some of the information contained in these sites may apply only to the university or organization hosting the page, but other general information is included on each page that may be of use.
- FinAid! - A student guide to Financial Aid: Excellent general financial aid resource page written with the goal of helping students and parents understand financial aid policies, processes, and procedures. The site includes information about types of financial aid, application procedures, federal policies, advice about searching for scholarships, as well as links to scholarship search engines.
- Studyabroad.com - General financial aid and scholarship page.
- Mobility International USA - Financial resources for people with disabilities to fund international opportunities.
- Scholarships for Multicultural Students Studying Abroad - International Studies & Programs, Michigan State University: list of scholarships available to students of color considering study abroad.
- Scholarship Database - The Learning Abroad Center, University of Minnesota: searchable database of scholarships for American undergraduate students planning to study abroad—click on the “Search for Scholarships & Funding” link.
* CIEE is not responsible for the content of external websites
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