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Public Scholarships, Fellowships and Other Opportunities

The funding options listed below are public and are not sponsored by UCA. Please contact the faculty or staff member listed below for specific information on applying.

You can find information about additional National Fellowship Opportunities here.

Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship

The U.S. Department of State’s Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program enables students of limited financial means to study or intern abroad, providing them with skills critical to our national security and economic prosperity. To be eligible for the Gilman Program, applicants must be receiving a Federal Pell Grant during the time of application or provide proof that they will be receiving a Pell Grant during the term of their study abroad program or internship.

UCA Campus Advisor: Alexandra Nieves (adepner1@uca.edu), Director of Education Abroad

Find more information and apply at www.gilmanscholarship.org/ 

Gilman-McCain Scholarship

The U.S. Department of State’s Gilman-McCain Scholarship provides awards of $5,000 for undergraduate child and spousal dependents of active or activated United States military personnel during the time of application (including Air Force, Air Force Reserve, Air National Guard, Army, Army National Guard, Army Reserve, Coast Guard, Coast Guard Reserve, Marine Corps, Marine Corps Reserve, Navy, Navy Reserve, Space Force, NOAA Commissioned Corps, and USPHS Commissioned Corps) to study or intern abroad on credit-bearing programs. Developed under the framework of the State Department’s Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program, the John S. McCain International Scholarship for Military Families (Gilman-McCain Scholarship) is open to eligible students enrolled at accredited U.S. colleges and universities who receive any type of Title IV federal financial aid.

UCA Campus Advisor: Alexandra Nieves (adepner1@uca.edu), Director of Education Abroad

Find more information and apply at www.gilmanscholarship.org/program/gilman-mccain-scholarships/

Critical Language Scholarship Program

The CLS Program provides opportunities for American college and university students to study languages and cultures essential to America’s engagement with the world. Each summer, American undergraduate and graduate students enrolled at U.S. colleges and universities across the country, spend eight to ten weeks learning one of thirteen languages at an intensive study abroad institute. The CLS Program is designed to promote rapid language gains and essential intercultural fluency in regions that are critical to U.S. national security and economic prosperity.

CLS Spark, an initiative of the CLS Program, provides opportunities for American undergraduate college and university students to study Arabic, Chinese and Russian virtually at the beginning level. Designed to leverage best practices in online language learning, CLS Spark provides students with the opportunity to study critical languages virtually when they may not have access to studying these languages on their campuses.

UCA Campus Advisor: Alexandra Nieves (adepner1@uca.edu), Director of Education Abroad

Find more information and apply at www.clscholarship.org   

Boren Awards for International Study

Sponsored by the National Security Education Program (NSEP), Boren Awards provide funding for U.S. undergraduate and graduate students to study less commonly taught languages in world regions critical to U.S. interests and underrepresented in study abroad–Africa, Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, Eurasia, Latin America and the Middle East. Through long-term overseas study, Boren Scholars and Fellows learn to communicate across cultures, and analyze economic, political, religious, and societal events from local, national, and global perspectives. In exchange for funding, Boren recipients agree to work in qualifying national security positions in the U.S. federal government.

UCA Campus Advisor: Alexandra Nieves (adepner1@uca.edu), Director of Education Abroad

Find more information and apply at www.borenawards.org  

U.S. Fulbright Program

The Fulbright U.S. Student Program expands perspectives through academic and professional advancement and cross-cultural dialogue. Fulbright creates connections in a complex and changing world. In partnership with more than 140 countries worldwide, the Fulbright U.S. Student Program offers unparalleled opportunities in all academic disciplines to passionate and accomplished graduating college seniors, graduate students, and young professionals from all backgrounds. Program participants pursue graduate study, conduct research, or teach English abroad.

During their grants, Fulbrighters will meet, work, live with and learn from the people of the host country, sharing daily experiences. The program facilitates cultural exchange through direct interaction on an individual basis in the classroom, field, home, and in routine tasks, allowing the grantee to gain an appreciation of others’ viewpoints and beliefs, the way they do things, and the way they think. Through engagement in the community, individuals will interact with their hosts on a one-to-one basis in an atmosphere of openness, academic integrity, and intellectual freedom, thereby promoting mutual understanding.

UCA Campus Advisor: Lesley Graybeal (lgraybeal@uca.edu), Director of Experiential and Community-Engaged Learning

Find more information and apply at us.fulbrightonline.org 

Fund for Education Abroad Scholarships

Fund for Education Abroad (FEA) strives to provide scholarships and ongoing support to students with financial need who are underrepresented among the U.S. study-abroad population. FEA makes life-changing, international experiences accessible to all by supporting students of color, community college, and first-generation college students before, during, and after they participate in education abroad programs.

Find more information and apply at www.fundforeducationabroad.org/apply/.

Freeman Asia Scholarship Program

The Freeman-ASIA program is designed to support U.S.-based undergraduates with demonstrated financial need who are planning to study abroad in East or Southeast Asia. The program’s goal is to increase the number of U.S. citizens and permanent residents with first-hand exposure to and understanding of Asia and its peoples and cultures. Award recipients are required to share their experiences with their home campuses or communities to encourage study abroad by others and fulfill the program’s goal of increasing understanding of Asia in the United States. From its inception in 2001, Freeman-ASIA has made study abroad in East and Southeast Asia possible for over 5,000 U.S. undergraduates from more than 600 institutions.

Find more information and apply at www.iie.org/Programs/Freeman-ASIA/About

Japan Bridging Scholarships

The Bridging Project offers scholarships to American undergraduate students participating in study-abroad programs in Japan. The United States-Japan Bridging Foundation funds scholarships administered through AATJ to help students study abroad in Japan for a semester or an academic year. Since 1999, more than 2,000 students have received Bridging Scholarships to study abroad in Japan.

Find more information and apply at www.aatj.org/studyabroad/japan-bridging-scholarships.

Butex Scholarship

Each year Butex awards a number of scholarships to undergraduate students studying abroad for a semester or a whole academic year, and students undertaking a summer school program, overseas work/internship/traineeship placement of varying lengths of time. Butex scholarships are based on a calendar year and not the academic year. Students that have a placement that will take place across two calendar years will be able to apply in each year, but please note individuals can only win a Butex scholarship once. Students must be undergraduates and be affiliated with a Butex Full Member University, such as Edge Hill University, to be eligible to apply.

Find more information and apply at www.butex.ac.uk/scholarships/. 

Diverse International Women of Color Study Abroad Scholarship

Diverse International Women of Color, Inc is a 501c3 nonprofit corporation founded in New York on June 23, 2018. DIWC’s charitable concern is to provide scholarships to women of color who need financial assistance to study abroad. Scholarships provide deserving students the ability to achieve success at their study abroad program of choice.

Find more information and apply at www.diwcfund.org/diwc-scholarship/.

MEXT Scholarships

Since 1954, the Government of Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT or Monbukagakusho) has provided scholarships each year to assist students interested in studying at Japanese universities through the Japanese Government (MEXT) Scholarship Program. There are four types of Japanese Government (MEXT) Scholarships awarded to U.S. citizens:

  • Research Student Scholarship
  • Undergraduate Student Scholarship
  • Specialized Training College Student Scholarship
  • Japanese Studies Scholarship

Find more information and apply at www.us.emb-japan.go.jp/itpr_en/mext-scholarship-info.html.

Toshizo Watanabe Study Abroad Scholarship Program

The Toshizo Watanabe Endowed Scholarship Fund provides financial assistance to Japanese and American undergraduate and graduate students pursuing study abroad program or international study in either the United States or Japan. Beginning in 2016, this scholarship program has allowed Japanese students to study in the United States, and since 2019, has allowed American students to study in Japan. The scholarship will support the cost of attendance to the institution or study abroad program of the applicant’s choice and grants awards to recipients in amounts determined by financial need and other qualifications.

Find more information and apply at www.usjapancouncil.org/watanabe-scholarship/.

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