With support from a new partnership with Airbnb, the U.S. Department of State sent additional U.S. undergraduate students to China this academic year to pursue studies. The selected students received scholarships through the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program, which enables undergraduates of limited financial means to study or intern abroad.
Gilman Awardees Take Flight
University of Delaware undergraduates Julian Jackson and Richard Egan have begun their first global experiences thanks to the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program.
The Gilman Scholarship program, funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, awards competitive grants to students from underrepresented backgrounds to pursue academic studies or credit-bearing, career-oriented internships abroad.
Jackson, a senior mass communication major and McNair Scholar, is currently studying abroad on a Winter Session program in Panama, where he is completing the final courses needed to graduate this spring with a minor in Spanish, in addition to two others in black American studies and journalism.
The Legacy of Benjamin A. Gilman
In 2000, two years before he left Congress, Benjamin A. Gilman worked with his colleagues to establish the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program. This program has since provided over 19,000 scholarships to U.S. undergraduate students who receive Federal Pell grants.
The Gilman program has been a study abroad success story. African Americans participate in Gilman at three and a half times the national rate for study abroad overall, Hispanics at two and half times, and Asian Americans at double the rate. Reflecting the program’s encouragement of non-traditional study abroad destinations, 71 percent of Gilman Scholars study abroad outside of Western Europe, with China the most popular destination.
Programs Bolster International Exchange at Community Colleges
Students don’t need to attend a four-year college to have an international education experience.
The U.S. government and some community colleges are working to provide more students at two-year institutions with exposure to global cultures and ideas. One effort aims to send more community college students abroad, while another brings international students to U.S. community colleges, creating more diverse campuses.
Report: Study Abroad Scholarship For Lower-Income Students Generates Broad Impact
For too long, study abroad opportunities have been out of reach for lower income students. Scholarships for such programs are limited, and participants aren’t able to work while participating. But new research on the U.S. State Department’s Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship highlights the value of having a study abroad experience, no matter your financial situation.
In 2015, 2,800 Gilman scholarships were awarded. Participants must meet similar requirements to Pell Grants, and both undergraduate and graduate students are eligible. Even as study abroad has expanded, programs have remained overwhelmingly white. The Gilman Evaluation Report covering the first 15 years of the scholarship’s existence points to success in diversifying which students have international experiences.
Crestview Hills Native, UofL Student Awarded Gilman Scholarship
Sahadat Mohammad Wali, Megan Wurth and Brigid Connelly have earned a Gilman Scholarship, a prominent award given each year to about 2,700 U.S. college students and valued up to $5,000. The Gilman program is intended to help students with limited financial means pursue academic studies or internships abroad. Read more on River City News.
Rhode Island College Student Wins International Scholarship to Azores
RIC junior Roniza Fortes is interning through the month of June in Portugal at the Hospital de Espírito Santo in Terceira Island, Azores, on a competitive Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship. Fortes, a nursing major with a minor in Portuguese, earned the Gilman scholarship for outstanding academic achievement and for her commitment to global study and experience, said RIC Associate Professor of Portuguese Silvia Oliveira. Read More at Rhode Island College.
Seneca Filmmaker Top Grad, Commencement Speaker at Syracuse
Seneca Wolf Clan filmmaker Terry Jones, a Haudenosaunee Promise Scholar, Udall Scholar and Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship recipient was the Syracuse graduation commencement speaker Friday at the Syracuse University College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA). Read more on Indian Country Today Media Network.
MSU student wins prestigious scholarship for summer study abroad
Esther Oloff, a junior chemical and bioengineering student in the College of Engineering and Honors College at Montana State University, has been awarded a prestigious Benjamin A. Gilman Scholarship sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. She will use the award to study abroad in Peru during the summer academic term. Read more from Montana State University.
B.A. Gilman Scholarship funds student term abroad
Oh, and the sunset much earlier—it was dark by 6pm. These differences assure me that I made the right choice to come to Brazil of all places. Knowing me, there was no way that I would have made this trip on my own. Recife is a cool place and I would definitely come back. This excursion was one of the many things that stood out in Brazil. But it was made possible by a scholarship that I applied to. Read more at Concordiensis.
