Gilman Scholarship

About the Gilman Scholarship

The U.S. Department of State’s Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program is an undergraduate grant program for US citizens of limited financial means to enable them to study abroad. Encouraging “mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries to promote friendly, sympathetic, and peaceful relations,” the Gilman Program offers scholarships of up to $5,000 to students in good standing who are U.S. citizens and Pell Grant (federal financial aid) recipients. Students who are applying to study a critical need language abroad can apply for a supplemental award of up to $3,000, for a combined award total of up to $8,000.

Gilman encourages applications from: students with diverse ethnic backgrounds; students going to non-traditional study abroad destinations; students in fields underrepresented in study abroad; and students with high financial need. Students studying a Critical Need Language (such as Mandarin Chinese or Turkish) can also apply to be considered for supplementary awards. The Gilman program funds one in three applicants, so be sure to apply if you are eligible.

Eligible applicants:

– must be a U.S. citizen
– must be receiving a Federal Pell Grant
– must be applying to or has been accepted into a study abroad program eligible for credit by SU
– will study abroad for at least three weeks (21 days) in one country (in fall, spring, or summer)

University endorsement required?

No

Citizenship requirement:

Must be U.S. citizen

The Gilman Scholarship application process:

Review the scholarship website for information on eligibility, application process and deadlines.

Contact SU Abroad to discuss the different study abroad destinations and to determine which program is a good fit for your academic and career goals.

Look out for an email from the Financial Aid office confirming that you are a Pell grant recipient and therefore eligible to apply for the Gilman.

The application components include:
– completed online application form
– official transcript(s)
– Responses to two essay questions

CFSA, in collaboration with SU Abroad, hosts several writing workshops for prospective applicants.

The application deadline is in early October for spring semester study, and early March for summer or fall semester study.

Interested? Contact SU Abroad and CFSA for more information on how to get started!

Advising contact:

Rick Cieri  Email:  fwcierii@syr.edu More Information:  https://www.gilmanscholarship.org/program/program-overview/