Gilman Scholarships Awarded to ACM Students for Study Abroad
Published: February 4, 2010
Eighteen students at nine ACM colleges have been awarded Gilman Scholarships to participate in international off-campus study programs during spring and summer 2010. The Gilman Program aims to increase the number of U.S. college students who study abroad by awarding grants to a diverse range of students who have been traditionally under-represented in study abroad.
The Gilman Scholarship recipients at ACM colleges will use the awards, which range from $1,500 to $5,000, to study in Argentina, Senegal, Sweden, Turkey, Japan, and ten other countries.
One of the students, Colorado College junior Nguyen Nguyen, is participating in the spring semester ACM Botswana: University Immersion in Southern Africa program, where she is taking classes at the University of Botswana in the capital city of Gaborone and working on an independent research project.
The Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program was established by the federal government ten years ago to provide funding to enable college students of limited financial means to participate in international off-campus study programs.
A guiding principle of the scholarship program – a principle shared by the ACM colleges, which have long been leaders in study abroad – is that international experience is critically important in the educational and career development of students, especially with an increasingly global economy and interdependent world.
The Gilman Program aims to support a diverse range of students who have been traditionally under-represented in study abroad, including, but not limited to, students with high financial need, community college students, students in under-represented fields such as the sciences and engineering, students with diverse ethnic backgrounds, and students with disabilities.
Over 1,700 scholarships of up to $5,000 will be awarded this academic year to U.S. citizen undergraduates. The amounts of the scholarships vary, depending on the length of the off-campus program and the financial need of the student. The average grant is approximately $4,000. Students who are receiving Federal Pell Grant funding at two-year or four-year colleges or universities are eligible to apply. Scholarship recipients are chosen through a competitive selection process.
The Gilman Scholarship Program is funded through the International Academic Opportunity Act of 2000 and is sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
Links:
« Return to News