RESOURCES
Student Fellowships for International Study/Research
Contact the Office of International Programs (OIP) at 683-5195 or oip@odu.edu, for further information about programs marked with an asterisk. The application process for Rhodes and Marshall Fellowships is coordinated through Old Dominion's Honors College; contact Professor David Metzger, Honors College Dean, 2000 Batten Arts and Letters, 683-4865 (dmetzger@odu.edu).
International Funding Timeline for Popular Competitions
Quick Guide: Funding Sources for International Study & Research
* Fulbright Grants
The Fulbright program awarded approximately six thousand grants in 2008 to US students, teachers, professionals, and scholars to study, teach, lecture, and conduct research in more than 155 countries, and to their foreign counterparts to engage in similar activities in the United States. The US student Fulbright program is designed to give graduate students at all levels opportunities for personal development and international experience. Students plan their own programs, which may include university course work and independent library or field research. Approximately 1000 grants were available for the 2005-2006 academic year competition for students at all levels of graduate study; recent BA/BS graduates with appropriate language/academic preparation are strongly encouraged to apply. Applicants are selected on the basis of academic record, language preparation, feasibility of the proposed study project, and personal qualifications. Grants provide round-trip transportation, tuition, books, a maintenance allowance for one academic year, and health insurance. Deadline for completed applications to be turned in to the Office of International Programs is October 2, 2011. A campus interview is required and will be scheduled after receipt of applications. Visit the Fulbright website at http://us.fulbrightonline.org/home.html. Contact: Office of International Programs, 757-683-5195, oip@odu.edu. ODU Winners for 2001-2002: Scott Brunstetter (GPIS) - Germany; Brandon Heppner (Applied Linguistics) - Germany; For 2005 - 2006: Mark Santana (Engineering) - Spain.
*Boren Scholarships - Undergraduate Program
Boren Scholarships provide up to $20,000 to US undergraduate students to study abroad in areas of the world that are critical to US interests and underrepresented in study abroad, including Africa, Asia, Central & Eastern Europe, Eurasia, Latin American, and the Middle East. The countries of Western Europe, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand are excluded. All students must study the language and culture of their selected country. Boren Scholars study less commonly taught languages, including but not limited to Arabic, Chinese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, and Swahili. French and Spanish may be funded under certain limitations. Students who receive NSEP funding incur a service obligation that can be discharged by government service. Visit the Boren Scholarships website at: http://borenawards.org/boren_scholarship. Campus deadline for applications: January 24, 2011. Contact: Steve Bell, Office of Study Abroad, 683-5378 or sdbell@odu.edu. ODU Winner for 2001-2002: Leni Battaglia (International Studies) - Brazil.
* Boren Fellowships - Graduate Program
Boren Fellowships provide up to $30,000 to US graduate students for area study, language study, or increased language proficiency. Boren Fellowships support study and research in areas of the world that are critical to U.S. interest, including Africa, Asia, Central & Eastern Europe, Eurasia, Latin American, and the Middle East. The countries of Western Europe, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand are excluded. All students must study the language and culture of their selected country. Fellowships enable both master's and doctoral level students representing a broad range of academic and professional disciplines to add a significant language and international dimension to their curricula. Boren Fellows study less commonly taught languages, including but not limited to Arabic, Chinese, Korean, Portugese, Russian and Swahili. French and Spanish may be funded under certain limitations. The National Security Education Program, through the Boren Fellowships, provides up to 24 months of support to graduate applicants. Students who receive NSEP funding for graduate study incur a service obligation that can be discharged by government service. Visit the Boren Fellowships website at: http://borenawards.org/boren_fellowship. Campus deadline for applications: January 24, 2011. Contact: Steve Bell, Office of Study Abroad, 683-5378 or sdbell@odu.edu. ODU Winner for 2009-2010: Melodee Baines (GPIS) - Morocco.
* Gilman International Scholarship Program
The Gilman Scholarship Program provides assistance of $5,000 to study abroad for students receiving federal Pell Grant funding at the time of application. Award amounts vary depending on the length of study and student need with the average award being approximately $4,000. Applicants must be US citizens, be undergraduate students in good standing and be applying to or have been accepted for a program of study abroad eligible for credit by the home institution. Approximately 1,200 scholarships were awarded during the 2008-09 academic year. Students who apply for and receive the Gilman International Scholarship to study abroad are then eligible to receive an additional $3,000 Critical Need Language Supplement from the Gilman Scholarship Program for a total possible award of up to $8,000. Fifty Critical Need Language Supplements were offered to Gilman Scholarship recipients during the 2008-2009 academic year. Study in Cuba or a country currently under a Travel Warning issued by the US Department of State is not allowed. Application materials and instructions must be downloaded from the website at http://www.iie.org/en/Programs/Gilman-Scholarship-Program.
* German Academic Service (DAAD)
The DAAD offers scholarships for graduating seniors, advanced graduate students and PhD candidates of high academic caliber who propose to study and conduct research at a German institution of higher education. Selection is based on academic excellence, proposed study plan and its feasibility. Proposal drafts are due in the Office of International Programs by late September, and completed applications are due in October. An interview may be scheduled in early October. Contact: Steve Bell, Office of Study Abroad (683-5378 or sdbell@odu.edu) for more information.
German Chancelor Fellowship for Prospective Leaders
The Humboldt Foundation awards up to ten scholarships per year for study in Germany to outstanding young (under 30) undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate students, as well as young professionals in the humanities, social sciences, law and economics. The program includes an intensive German language course, seminars, study tours and possibly internships. The award covers a living allowance, travel expenses and the cost of the language course, seminars, study tours and meetings. Campus deadline is October 1 each year; consultation with Center staff is required in early September. Applications are available from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (http://www.humboldt-foundation.de/web/4074.html), 1350 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 903, Washington, DC 20036, phone 202/296-2990, fax 202/833-8514, e-mail humboldt@umail.umd.edu.
Social Science Research Council/American Council of Learned Societies
International Dissertation Field Research Fellowships, funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. This program provides support for social scientists and humanists to conduct dissertation field research in all areas and regions of the world. It is open to full-time graduate students, regardless of citizenship, enrolled in doctoral programs in the United States. For more information, visit www.ssrc.org and www.acls.org.
Committee on Scholarly Communication With China (CSCC)
The CSCC offers grants for graduate students in social sciences or humanities to conduct advanced study and research at a Chinese university or research institute. Applicants are encouraged to contact the CSCC staff when preparing proposals. For applications and further information, contact the CSCC (http://www.acls.org/pro-cscc.htm) at 1055 Thomas Jefferson St. NW, Suite 2013, Washington, DC 20007, phone 202/337-3540, fax 202/337-3019, e-mail China@NAS.edu.
American-Scandinavian Foundation Grants
A number of grants and fellowships are available for graduate students and faculty interested in doing research in Scandinavian studies. Contact The American-Scandinavian Foundation (http://www.amscan.org/fellowships_grants.html), 127 East Seventy-Third Street, New York, NY 10012.
Institute For International Education Summer Awards
Partial stipends are available for the IIE summer programs in British archaeology, Italian language study in Florence, Rome, and Sienna, German language study in Salzburg and Vienna, and Polish language and culture study in Krakow, Poznan, Lublin, and Warsaw. Contact IIE at 809 United Nations Plaza, New York, NY 10017-3580, phone 212/984-5330.
Rome Prize Fellowships
The American Academy in Rome offers a number of fellowships for study in classical studies, art history, painting, sculpture, architecture, musical composition, and literature. Applications are due in mid-November. Contact the American Academy in Rome (http://www.aarome.org/prize.htm), 41 East 65 Street, New York, NY 10021-6508.
Gates Cambridge Scholarships
The Gates Cambridge Scholarships were established by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 2000 with a $210 million endowment to enable outstanding graduate students from outside the United Kingdom to study at the University of Cambridge. The awardees are given funding for postgraduate study at the University of Cambridge in England for at least one year, but no more than four. The award includes all tuition costs, a maintenance allowance and a discretionary spending allowance for study related activities. See their website at http://www.gatesscholar.org/ for details.
Marshall Scholarship
The Marshall scholarship was established in 1953 under the Marshall Aid Commemoration. This act was established by British Parliament as a gift to the United States for the post World War II recovery efforts. The Marshall Scholarship provides American Students with a GPA of 3.7 or higher two fully funded years of study at any university in the United Kingdom. Today, roughly 40 scholars are selected each year and are selected by eight major British Embassy and Consulate Regions in the United States. The goal of this scholarship is to promote and strengthen the bond between the United States and the United Kingdom as well as to provide students of high academic achievement with a means of continuing their education. Marshall Scholarships are mainly funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and are overseen by the Marshall Commission. See http://www.marshallscholarship.org/. Contact Professor David Metzger, Honors College Dean, 2000 Batten Arts and Letters, 683-4865 (dmetzger@odu.edu) for more information.
Mitchell Scholarship
The George J. Mitchell Scholarship is a scholarship given annually by the US-Ireland Alliance to 12 Americans age 18-30 to fund one year of graduate study in Ireland. (One year is usually enough to complete an Irish master's degree.) Although the first class of scholars only began their studies in 2001, the Mitchell Scholarship has already quickly established itself as one of the most selective fellowships available, alongside the much older Rhodes Scholarship and Marshall Scholarship. A Mitchell Scholarship award includes tuition, housing, airfare, a $12,000 stipend, and other benefits such as a travel bursary to encourage travel both in and outside of Ireland. In recent years, Mitchell Scholars have used their travel bursary to explore countries as diverse as Oman, Cambodia, Senegal and Azerbaijan. For more information, see the website of the US-Ireland Alliance.
Rhodes Scholarship
The Rhodes Scholarship named after Cecil Rhodes is an international award for study at the University of Oxford and was the first large-scale program of international scholarships. Rhodes Scholars may study at any full-time postgraduate course offered by the University. The scholarship is for two years in the first instance, though may be held for one year only; applications for a third year are considered during the course of the 2nd year. University and College fees are paid by the Rhodes Trust. In addition, scholars receive a monthly maintenance stipend to cover accommodation and living expenses. Although all scholars become affiliated with a residential college while at Oxford, they also enjoy access to Rhodes House, an early 20th century mansion with numerous public rooms, gardens, a library, study areas, and other facilities. The scholarships are administered and awarded by the Rhodes Trust which was established in 1902 under the terms and conditions of the will of Cecil John Rhodes, and funded by his estate. Scholarships have been awarded to applicants annually since 1904 on the basis of academic achievement and strength of character. There have been more than 7,000 Rhodes Scholars since the inception of the Trust. More than 4,000 are still living. In 1925, the Commonwealth Fund Fellowships (later renamed the Harkness Fellowships) were established to reciprocate the Rhodes Scholarships by enabling British graduates to study in the United States. See http://www.rhodesscholar.org/. Contact Professor David Metzger, Honors College Dean, 2000 Batten Arts and Letters, 683-4865 (dmetzger@odu.edu) for more information.
Critical Language Scholarships for Intensive Summer Institutes (CLS)
The CLS Program is part of a U.S. government interagency effort to expand dramatically the number of Americans studying and mastering critical need foreign languages. Critical Language Scholarships provide group-based intensive language instruction and structured cultural enrichment experiences for seven to ten weeks. Levels available for each language are as follows: Arabic or Persian - advanced beginning, intermediate, or advanced; Azerbaijani, Bangla/Bengali, Hindi, Indonesian, Korean, Punjabi, Turkish, or Urdu - beginning, intermediate, or advanced; Chinese, Japanese, or Russian - intermediate or advanced. All applicants must be U.S. citizens, currently enrolled in a US degree-granting program at the undergraduate or graduate level. All candidates must have completed at least their first year of university-level study by the time of program study. Students in all disciplines including business, engineering, sciences, social sciences, and humanities are encouraged to apply. The selection process will be administered by the Council of American Overseas Research Centers (CAORC) with awards approved by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. All CLS Program costs are covered for participants including: travel to and from the student's US home city and program location, a mandatory Washington, DC pre-departure orientation, applicable visa fees, room, board, group-based intensive language instruction, program-sponsored travel within country, and all entrance fees for CLS Program cultural enhancement activities. Please note that US passport fees will not be paid by the scholarship. Participants are expected to continue their language study beyond the scholarship period, and later apply their critical language skills in their future professional careers. The CLS Program is administered by the CAORC and the American Councils for International Education. Please visit www.CLScholarship.org for more information regarding the detailed eligibility requirements, online application, and selection process.
Please contact Steve Bell, Interim Executive Director for the Office of International Programs, for more information, 683-4419 or sdbell@odu.edu.
Whitaker International Program - Summer Grants (Graduates)
With support from the former Whitaker Foundation, IIE will provide bioengineers and biomedical engineers funding for eight (8) weeks to pursue, in an international setting, a high-quality activity relevant to their field of focus in biomedical engineering (BME). Grants can support research, coursework in BME, or an internship in industry. By providing young bioengineers and biomedical engineers the opportunity to go abroad, the Whitaker Summer Grants Program will: improve the expertise of the participants as scientists, build individual and institutional partnerships, and establish dialogues between the scientific community in the US and rest of the world.
There is one competition each year for the summer program. The awards will include a fellowship award, living costs, round-trip international airfare, and health insurance. To be eligible for the award, an applicant must: have US citizenship or permanent residence in the US, be a current Master's or PhD student at a US university in bioengineering or biomedical engineering.
The Whitaker Foundation was created in 1975. Throughout its history, the Foundation primarily supported interdisciplinary medical research, with a focus on biomedical engineering. In 2006, the Foundation ceased operations, and committed its remaining funds to a grant program focused on strengthening international collaborative links between young leaders in BME worldwide. Under the guidance of the Institute of International Education, the Whitaker International Program is designed to bring international experience and insight to the field of biomedical engineering.
For more information, visit www.whitaker.org, or contact Steve Bell, Interim Executive Director for the Office of International Programs, 683-4419 or sdbell@odu.edu.
