Postgraduate Possibilities – International Grants and Scholarships
Receiving a Fulbright scholarship certainly sounds impressive. If you are a Rhodes Scholar no one would doubt your academic abilities. But what exactly are they? They are just two of several international grants and scholarships that fund a wide variety of independently designed projects and advanced academic study abroad for recent college graduates. In other words, you could get paid to study a subject that you love.
These programs offer the opportunity to delve into an area of study that interests you. While traditional graduate programs may adhere to a set curriculum, these awards allow for a high degree of independence in the design of your project. “In some cases, students don’t want to go straight to work or straight to a graduate program, and the delay time and opportunity to think more about what they really want to do is valuable. It’s great on a resume,” says Virginia Hancock. . , chairman of the scholarship and awards committee at Reed College in Portland, Oregon.
If you are interested in these scholarships, please take the application seriously. These programs value independence and leadership, but above all they value a passion for an area of study. Start thinking about applying early. Students can begin planning for scholarships as early as their freshman year and should begin to get serious about applying during their sophomore year.
There are many ways to prepare for these programs. Take advantage of the resources available at your college, including counselors and financial aid officers. Get involved in activities related to what you want to study and foster relationships with professors and other professionals in the field. Be prepared to explain what you want to study and why you want the award.
Some of the better known awards include:
Rhodes Scholarship: This is the oldest international scholarship started in the United States to fund American students abroad. Every year 32 recent university graduates are selected to study at the University of Oxford in England. Fellows receive two years of funding and may be eligible for a third. Famous alumni include former President Clinton and poet Robert Penn Warren.
Fulbright Scholarship: The largest international exchange program for US citizens helps fund studies for college graduates, graduate students, doctoral students, young professionals, and artists. Fulbright Scholars receive funding for independently designed one-year projects, which include research, classes, and English instruction. This program, sponsored by the US Department of State, awarded more than 6,000 scholarships in 2004 with scholars studying in 150 countries.
Marshall Scholarship: A British-sponsored program founded in 1953 to strengthen ties between the United States and Great Britain, the Marshall Scholarship funds at least 40 American students to study for graduate degrees in the United Kingdom for two years.
Watson Scholarship: This program provides $25,000 for one year of independent research and travel outside of the United States. You must be a senior graduating from a participating US university. Watson funds projects that reflect students’ genuine interests, even if those interests are not evident in her academic work. Past projects include whitewater rafting rivers in Africa, research of equestrian societies in Mongolia, and study of the music of the Khmer in Asia. Scholars may not return to the United States for the entire year of their scholarship.
Scholarship of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD): Higher education institutions in Germany support this award for undergraduate students, postgraduate students and faculty members to study in Germany. DAAD programs range from summer study to research internships. More than 50,000 students and researchers receive funding each year.
Gates Cambridge Scholarship: One of the newest of the large international grants, this scholarship was started in 2000 by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation with a gift of $210 million to the University of Cambridge. Recipients of this award must be graduate students from outside the UK who are accepted to study at the University of Cambridge. The award covers full tuition for 230 students at any one time, with 100 new students selected annually.
If these programs don’t exactly match your interests, keep looking; an award may be available in the field of study that interests you most. Many colleges have professors who serve as resources on campus to help students decide which award is best for them.
Hancock says the benefit to students of the application process for these awards is that “even if they’re not successful in the scholarship business, they have all that material, all that background, all that thought lined up for whatever they might want.” do, whether it’s graduate applications, job applications, grant applications, you name it.”
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