American Youth Leadership Program

The American Youth Leadership Program offers opportunities for American high school students and educators to travel abroad on a three- to four-week-long exchange program to gain firsthand knowledge of foreign cultures and to collaborate on solving global issues. Academic and experiential educational exchange programs focus on dialogue and debate, leadership development, and community service.

Eligibility: Open to students between the ages of 15 and 17. Additional eligibility requirements vary by host country.
Maximum Award: Full cost of program.

Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship

Sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State, the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program offers grants for U.S. citizen undergraduate students of limited financial means to pursue academic studies or credit-bearing, career-oriented internships abroad. Such international exchange is intended to better prepare U.S. students to assume significant roles in an increasingly global economy and interdependent world.

Eligibility: The Gilman Scholarship Program is open to U.S. citizen undergraduate students who are receiving Federal Pell Grant funding at a two-year or four-year college or university to participate in study and intern abroad programs worldwide.
Maximum Award: Up to $5,000 to study or intern abroad

Boren Scholarship for Students │ Boren Fellowship for Students

Initiatives of the National Security Education Program, these awards, the Boren Scholarship and Boren Fellowship, provide unique funding opportunities 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, including Africa, Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, Eurasia, Latin America, and the Middle East. The countries of Western Europe, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand are excluded. Those selected to either opportunity represent a vital pool of highly motivated individuals who wish to work in the federal national security arena. In exchange for funding, Boren award recipients commit to working in the federal government for at least one year after graduation.

Eligibility: Please visit either website to read through the eligibility criteria. Must be a U.S. citizen and either matriculated in or applying to an undergraduate or graduate-degree program at a U.S. college or university located within the U.S. and accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Boren Fellows must remain matriculated in their graduate programs for the duration of the fellowships and may not graduate until the fellowships are complete.
Maximum Award: Boren Scholarships provide up to $20,000 for a full academic year. Boren Fellowships provide up to $24,000 for overseas study.

Critical Language Scholarship

A program of the U.S. Department of State, the Critical Language Scholarship Program is part of a U.S. government effort to expand dramatically the number of Americans studying and mastering critical foreign languages. Students of diverse disciplines and majors are encouraged to apply. Participants are expected to continue their language study beyond the scholarship period, and later apply their critical language skills in their future professional careers. Please visit the CLS Institutes page for more information.

Eligibility: The CLS Program is a nationally competed award open to all eligible U.S. undergraduate and graduate students in every field (see additional eligibility requirements on the website).
Maximum Award: A fully-funded eight- to ten-week overseas language/cultural immersion program and a year’s worth of academic credit issued through Bryn Mawr College.

Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowships Program

The Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowships program provides allocations of academic year and summer fellowships to institutions of higher education or consortia of institutions of higher education to assist meritorious undergraduate students and graduate students undergoing training in modern foreign languages and related area or international studies. Eligible students apply for fellowships directly to an institution that has received an allocation of fellowships from the U.S. Department of Education.

Eligibility: FLAS grants (allocations of fellowships) are awarded to institutions for a four-year project period. Institutions conduct competitions to select eligible undergraduate students and graduate students to receive fellowships, in accordance with FLAS program eligibility requirements and the institutions’ FLAS selection procedures.

Maximum Award: Each fellowship includes an institutional payment and a subsistence allowance. The estimated institutional payment for an academic year 2015-2016 fellowship is $18,000 for a graduate student and $10,000 for an undergraduate student. The estimated institutional payment for a summer 2016 fellowship is $5,000 for graduate and undergraduate students.

Fulbright U.S. Student Program

Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the Fulbright U.S. Student Program provides grants for individually designed study/research projects or for English Teaching Assistant Programs. A candidate will submit a Statement of Grant Purpose defining activities to take place during one academic year in a participating country outside the U.S. Grant lengths and dates vary by country. Please consult the specific country summary for details.

Eligibility: U.S citizen; graduating seniors and recent bachelor’s-degree recipients that have some undergraduate preparation and/or direct work or internship experience related to the project; graduate-level candidates must demonstrate the capacity for independent study or research; sufficient proficiency in the written and spoken language of the host country; competitive candidates who have up to 5 years of professional study and/or experience in the field in which they are applying will be considered; no recent extensive experience abroad (excluding recent undergraduate study abroad), especially in the country of application.
Maximum Award: round-trip transportation to the host country; funding to cover room, board, and incidental costs, based on the cost of living in the host country; Accident & Sickness Health Benefits. In some countries, grants may also include other benefits.

International and Foreign Language Education (IFLE) Webinars

This resource provides recordings of IFLE’s monthly Grantee Showcase Webinar series, featuring presentations from Title VI and Fulbright-Hays grant recipients about their projects in international and foreign language education. The International and Foreign Language Education (IFLE) Office of the U.S. Department of Education provides institutional and fellowship grant funding to strengthen American education in foreign languages and in area and international studies.

Webinars: Open to the public
Eligibility: Varies by award. Please visit the website for details.
Maximum Award: Varies by award. Please visit the website for details.

National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y)

The NSLI-Y program provides merit-based scholarships for eligible high school students and recent graduates to learn less commonly taught languages. Participants will spend a summer or academic year studying a language while immersed in the culture and day-to-day life of the host country. A network of support through experienced international exchange organizations, field staff, trained volunteers, and carefully selected host families helps ensure a successful exchange experience.

Eligibility: U.S citizen; 2.5 GPA on 4.0 scale; 15-18 years of age at start of program; Enrolled in high school at time of application; Have not previously traveled outside the U.S. long-term; Not an immediate family member of an employee of the U.S. Department of State. Please visit website for more eligibility requirements.
Maximum Award: Fully-covered short-term (6-8 week) summer and long-term (8-10 month) academic year programs in target languages across the globe.

School for International Training Awards

Every year, School for International Training (SIT) awards nearly $1.3 million in scholarships and grants to SIT Study Abroad students. More than 80% of students who complete the scholarship application process receive an SIT scholarship or grant. It is SIT’s goal to make study abroad opportunities affordable for a diverse group of students from colleges and universities across the U.S. Financial need is a primary consideration in the awarding process.

Eligibility: SIT scholarships are available only for students applying to an SIT Study Abroad program. All the SIT programs listed are available for viewing. SIT scholarships and grants are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. SIT scholarships and grants are available for all terms of study: semester, summer, and academic year. SIT’s Financial Assessment form must be submitted to your home institution’s financial aid office before your SIT program’s admissions deadline.
Maximum Award: Individual awards generally range from $500 to $5,000.

ThinkSwiss Scholarship

ThinkSwiss is a scholarship program funded by the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI). It is managed by the Office of Science, Technology, and Higher Education at the Embassy of Switzerland in Washington, D.C. and supported by the Embassy of Switzerland in Ottawa, Canada. The aim of the program is to promote research opportunities in Switzerland for American and Canadian students and to foster exchange between Swiss, U.S., and Canadian universities and research institutions. The ThinkSwiss program also exists in Southeast Asia for students from India, Indonesia and Australia. The ThinkSwiss program encompasses both the Summer School Travel Grants and Research Scholarships.

Eligibility: Students that are currently enrolled at an accredited U.S. or Canadian university/college, a graduate student or an undergraduate student who will have completed their sophomore year by the time the research stay in Switzerland begins, and able to provide a written confirmation from a professor at a Swiss university that they will accept you for a research stay in their group.

Maximum Award: Please visit the website for details.

Big Read National Endowment for the Arts

The National Endowment for the Arts Big Read, a partnership with Arts Midwest, broadens our understanding of our world, our communities, and ourselves through the joy of sharing a good book. Selected organizations receive a grant, access to online training resources and opportunities, digital resources, and promotional materials designed to support widespread community involvement.

Eligibility: An applicant organization must:

1. Comply with federal eligibility requirements. For example, an applicant must be a nonprofit 501©3 organization, a unit of state or local government, or a federally recognized tribal community or tribe. Check your IRS status.
2. Partner with a library (if the applicant organization itself is not a library). University and college applicants must partner with a library that is not directly affiliated with their educational institution.
3. Choose one of the available reading selections. Applicants that have received an NEA Big Read grant in the past must choose a different reading selection from their previous award.

Maximum Award: A grant ranging from $5,000 to $15,000

International and Foreign Language Education (IFLE) Webinars

This resource provides recordings of IFLE’s monthly Grantee Showcase Webinar series, featuring presentations from Title VI and Fulbright-Hays grant recipients about their projects in international and foreign language education. The International and Foreign Language Education (IFLE) Office of the U.S. Department of Education provides institutional and fellowship grant funding to strengthen American education in foreign languages and in area and international studies.

Webinars: Open to the public
Eligibility: Varies by award. Please visit the website for details.
Maximum Award: Varies by award. Please visit the website for details.

NEH Humanities Initiatives at Community Colleges Grant

NEH Humanities Initiatives at Community Colleges are intended to strengthen the teaching and study of the humanities in subjects such as history, philosophy, and literature. These grants may be used to enhance existing humanities programs, resources, or courses, or to develop new ones. The grant period may run between twelve and thirty-six months, depending on the project, but it must begin between April 1, 2016, and September 1, 2016, to accommodate travel to the project directors’ meeting.

Eligibility: This program accepts applications from community colleges and post-secondary two-year institutions. Any U.S. nonprofit tax-exempt two-year college is eligible to apply. Individuals are not eligible to apply. Collaboration with other organizations is welcome, but the project director must be from an eligible institution. NEH generally does not award grants to other federal entities or to applicants whose projects are so closely intertwined with a federal entity.
Maximum Award: Grants up to $100,000