Other Study Abroad Scholarship and Funding Opportunities

The Boren Awards promote long-term linguistic and cultural immersion and must include language study as a core element of the program. All eligible students must be U.S. citizens and planning to study in world regions critical to U.S. interests (outside Western Europe, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand). Proposed programs of two or more semesters are strongly encouraged and preference will be given to programs of at least 25 weeks’ duration. In exchange for funding, Boren Award recipients commit to working in the federal government for at least one year after graduation. Students interested in applying for the Boren should contact Brooke Stock in KU Study Abroad for more detailed information and to begin the campus application process. Students must first apply through KU and the campus deadline is in early December for the following academic year.

Boren Scholarships

The Scholarships are for U.S. citizen undergraduate students to study abroad. The maximum award amounts are $8,000 for 8-11 week summer programs (STEM students only), $12,500 for programs 12-24 weeks in length and $25,000 for programs 25-52 weeks in length. 

Boren Fellowships

The Fellowships are for U.S. citizen graduate students to study, intern, or research abroad. The maximum award amounts are $12,500 for programs 12-24 weeks in length and $25,000 for programs 25-52 weeks in length. Fellows also have the option to apply for up to $12,000 for a summer domestic intensive language course.

Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) is a fully funded 8-10 week summer intensive language and cultural immersion program for U.S. undergraduate and graduate students. CLS Institutes offer language study in Arabic, Azerbaijani, Bangla, Chinese, Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Persian, Portuguese, Punjabi, Russian, Swahili, Turkish, and Urdu. Most languages require no previous study. KU students interested in applying should contact Erin Wolfram, Administrative Director, Office of Fellowships, for more detailed information.

The Freeman Asia Scholarship is open to undergraduate U.S. citizen or  permanent residents with demonstrated financial need who will study in East or Southeast Asia for an academic year, semester, or summer. Award amounts are up to $7,000 for an academic year, $5,000 for a semester, and $3,000 for a summer.  Students interested in applying should contact Renee Frias, in Study Abroad & Global Engagement for more information. 

Fulbright Scholarships provide grants for individually designed study/research projects or for English Teaching Assistant Programs. They are available to U.S. citizens who hold a bachelor's degree by the beginning of the grant program, have a good to excellent GPA, and reasonable proficiency in the language of the host country. For more information, contact Rachel Sherman-Johnson in KU International Affairs.

The Fund for Education Abroad provides scholarships to students who are underrepresented among the U.S. study abroad population. This can include students of color, first-generation college students, and students with financial need. Eligible students must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents,  undergraduates, and be participating in a program of at least 28 days in length. Scholarships range from $1,250 to $10,000.

The Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program provides scholarships to U.S. citizen undergraduate students who receive the Federal Pell Grant at the time of application. Award amounts range and are up to $5,000. Students studying a critical language can be awarded an additional $3,000 as part of a Critical Need Language Award.  Book a virtual appointment or book an in-person appointment with your study abroad Program Coordinator to discuss the application and eligibility requirements.   KU Study Abroad & Global Engagement will hold Gilman Application Workshops 3 weeks before application due dates. See the KU Gilman Essay Tips and Guidelines (.pdf.)  for more information regarding the scholarship.

The Gilman-McCain Scholarship provides awards of $5,000 to undergraduate child dependents of active duty service members to study or intern abroad. Eligible students must be U.S. citizen, undergraduate students who are a dependent child of active duty military members at the time of application and the recipient of any type of Title IV federal financial aid.

The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi awards grants in the amount of $1,000 to undergraduates with a minimum GPA of 3.75 to study abroad. 

The Kansas-Paraguay Partners Scholarship Program awards one $1,500 merit scholarship each year for undergraduate students to study abroad at a university in Paraguay.  

The James B. Pearson Fellowships for Graduate Studies Abroad provide stipends to Kansas graduate students to help underwrite academic efforts that require study abroad. The average stipend provided is $2,400. Applicants must have been residents of Kansas for a minimum of five years, must be accepted to a graduate program at an accredited Kansas college or university, and must be pursuing, or planning to pursue, a program of study preferably related to foreign affairs. For more information visit Kansas Board of Regents or call 785-296-3517.

The Fellowship is for graduate students from Kansas public universities to study abroad. Preference is given to applicants whose studies are directly related to foreign affairs. The average stipend is $3,000. For more information call 785-430-4255.

Graduate students who are Kansas residents are able to apply for Rotary Global Grant Scholarships for academic study. For more information and applications contact Tom Mulinazzi, tomm@ku.edu or Carl E. Locke, lok@ku.edu.