The deadline for students to register for the Gilman International Scholarship is Feb. 15. The online application is due March 5. The scholarship, supported by the U.S. Department of State, helps fund study abroad opportunities.
Samantha Marcoux, a global studies major, is one UNL student who has benefited from the Gilman scholarship. She received an award and studied in Seoul, South Korea, for the 2011-2012 academic year.
Marcoux attended Yonsei University and stayed in the school's international dormitory. She was able to explore the culture around her. She even saw the famous Korean artist Psy perform long before his single, “Gangnam Style” hit the charts in the United States.
Overall, Marcoux said she enjoyed her time and is hoping to return.
The Gilman International Scholarship is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educaitonal and Cultural Affairs. Approximately one in three students who apply and plan to travel during the school year will receive funds.
Money is distributed based on the length of the program. A student attending a program during the summer can receive up to $3,000. A trip extending the length of a semester can earn a student up to $4,000. And if a student plans to study abroad for a year, they can be awarded up to $5,000. Students studying a “critical-need language” like Arabic, Japanese, and Chinese, can be awarded up to an additional $3,000.
Marcoux said the application process was fairly simple. She was eligible for the scholarship because she was a Pell grant recipient and her chosen program was longer than four weeks. She submitted an application to UNL’s Education Abroad Office and online on the Gilman Scholarship website.
Brent Holliday, a graduate research assistant with Education Abroad, said each applicant must submit two essays. One is a personal statement, discussing why a student wishes to travel to a country. The other must explain a project the student wishes to accomplish while in the foreign country or after their return that promotes the Gilman Scholarship.
Holliday said the scholarship is intended to diversify participants and the countries they travel to. He actively encourages students to apply for grants like the Gilman Scholarship to achieve the experience of studying abroad.
“It makes your course work here richer,” he said.
The Gilman Scholarship has sent UNL students to various countries, like Botswana, Germany, South Korea and Argentina.
For more information, go to http://educationabroad.unl.edu or contact Education Abroad at 402-472-5358.
— Julia Peterson, Education Abroad