Study Abroad

The Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program (Gilman Program) is a program of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Applicants must be receiving Federal Pell Grant funding to participate in a study or intern abroad programs worldwide. Scholarships may be awarded up to $5000 with the possibility for a supplemental award of up to $3,000 if your program includes the study of a critical language.

The John S. McCain International Scholarship for Military Families (Gilman-McCain Scholarship) is a congressionally funded initiative of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and the U.S. Department of State. The Gilman-McCain Scholarship provides awards of $5,000 for child and spousal dependents of active or activated United States military personnel to study or intern abroad on credit-bearing programs. Applicants must be recipients of any type of Title IV federal financial aid.

Boren Awards fund the intensive study of language and culture abroad by U.S. undergraduate or graduate students. The scholarships are funded by the United States Department of Defense. They must be applied to an overseas program in a destination outside of Western Europe, Canada, Australia, or New Zealand. Awards can be as high as $25,000 and preference is given to applicants with longer-term interest in a federal career.

The Bridging Scholarship offers American students the opportunity to study abroad in Japan in a credit-bearing semester or academic-year program. Semester scholarships are awarded in the form of a $2500 cash stipend, while year long scholarships are awarded as $4000 stipends. Students majoring in any field of study are eligible to apply and Japanese language study is not a prerequisite. This scholarship pairs well with UMF’s direct exchange program to Akita University!

Funded by the United States Department of State, the CLS Program provides immersive summer programs for U.S. undergraduate and graduate students to learn languages of strategic importance to the United States’ national security and economic prosperity. Participants receive the equivalent of one year of language study in eight weeks, through intensive language instruction and cultural activities that reinforce both language learning and intercultural competence. Languages offered are: Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Japanese, Korean, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, and Swahili.

A Freeman-ASIA award provides need-based funding to assist the recipient with the cost of the study abroad program and related expenses, including airfare, basic living costs, local transportation, books, etc. Applicants must have applied or have been accepted to a study abroad program in: Cambodia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Macao, Malaysia, Mongolia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, or Vietnam. Award amounts vary—up to $3,000 for summer, up to $5,000 for a semester, and up to $7,000 for an academic year.

The Fund for Education Abroad was established in 2010 as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization to address the need for an independent scholarship provider to enable more American college students to study abroad. To be eligible for an FEA award, you must be studying abroad for at least 14 days, have not previously studied abroad for any length of time after your high school graduation, and have demonstrated financial need. Award amounts vary—up to $10,000 for an academic year abroad, $5,000 for a fall or spring semester abroad.

The Killam Fellowship program is open to undergraduate students in the United States and Canada to spend either one semester or a full academic year as an exchange student in the other country. Students must be either taking part in a direct exchange program or attending an international university as a self-placed visiting student (applying for and registering at the host university, and paying host tuition fees). The Killam Fellowships Program offers a cash award of $6,000 US for a one semester exchange ($12,000 US for the academic year), along with a health benefit plan. The Foundation hosts all new Killam Fellows at an Orientation program in Ottawa each fall and again at a seminar in Washington D.C. each spring. In addition, all Fellows are eligible to apply for a mobility grant in an amount not to exceed $800.

The Toshizo Watanabe Study Abroad Scholarship provides financial assistance to Japanese and American undergraduate and graduate students for a semester or year-long study abroad in either the United States or Japan. Applicants must demonstrate financial need and preference is given to orphans or those from single-parent households, those whose parents did not graduate from college, and those who have never been abroad. The scholarship covers up to a the full amount of a semester or year-long tuition/program fees for study abroad.