The Fulbright Scholarship Program

"The Fulbright Program aims to bring a little more knowledge, a little more reason, and a little more compassion into world affairs, and thereby to increase the chance that nations will learn at last to live in peace and friendship." – J. William Fulbright

1. Is the largest U.S. international exchange program offering opportunities for students, scholars, and professionals to undertake international graduate study, advanced research, university teaching, and teaching in elementary and secondary schools worldwide.
2. Was established in 1946 by the U.S. Congress to "enable the government of the United States to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries."
3. Awarded approximately six thousand grants in 2004, at a cost of more than $250 million, to U.S. students, teachers, professionals, and scholars to study, teach, lecture, and conduct research in more than 150 countries, and to their foreign counterparts to engage in similar activities in the United States.
4. Receives its primary source of funding through an annual appropriation from Congress to the Department of State. Participating governments and host institutions in foreign countries, and in the United States, also contribute financially through cost-sharing and indirect support, e.g., through salary supplements, tuition waivers, and university housing.
5. The Fulbright U.S. Student Program is now the largest U.S. exchange program offering opportunities for students and young professionals to undertake international graduate study, advanced research, university teaching, and teaching in elementary and secondary schools worldwide. The U.S. Student Program currently awards approximately 1,200 grants annually in all fields of study, and operates in more than 140 countries worldwide.
6. Since the establishment of the Program, more than 44,000 students from the United States and 147,000 students from other countries have benefited from the Fulbright experience.

For more information:  http://us.fulbrightonline.org/home.html

NSEP David L. Boren Undergraduate Scholarships

The National Security Education Program (NSEP) provides a unique funding opportunity for U.S. students to study world regions critical to U.S. interests (including Africa, Asia, Central & Eastern Europe, Eurasia, Latin America & the Caribbean, and the Middle East). The countries of Western Europe, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand are excluded.

NSEP was designed to provide Americans with the resources and encouragement they need to acquire skills and experiences in areas of the world critical to the future security of our nation, in exchange for a commitment to seek work in the federal government. As students of other cultures and languages, NSEP Boren Scholars and Fellows begin to acquire the international competence needed to communicate effectively across borders, to understand other perspectives, and to analyze economic and political affairs.

Each year, NSEP publishes a list of geographic areas, languages, and fields of study identified as critical to U.S. national security. The lists are developed by NSEP based on a survey of agencies and offices throughout the federal sector.  Currently, there are 87 countries and 48 languages on the list.
NSEP understands that many students majoring in the applied sciences or engineering may have difficulty spending a semester or year away from campus due to course sequencing and requirements.  For this reason, all applied science and engineering majors, regardless of class standing, are eligible to apply for NSEP funding for summer study abroad programs of six (6) weeks or longer.

For more information:  http://www.iie.org/programs/nsep

The Marshall Scholarship

1. Marshall Scholarships finance young Americans of high ability to study for a degree in the United Kingdom. At least forty Scholars are selected each year to study either at graduate or occasionally undergraduate level at an UK institution in any field of study. Each scholarship is held for two years.
2. As future leaders, with a lasting understanding of British society, Marshall Scholars strengthen the enduring relationship between the British and American peoples, their governments and their institutions. Marshall Scholars are talented, independent and wide-ranging, and their time as Scholars enhances their intellectual and personal growth. Their direct engagement with Britain through its best academic programs contributes to their ultimate personal success.

For more information:  http://www.marshallscholarship.org/