External Study Abroad Scholarships
Scholarship and Funding Opportunities
The Boren Awards promote long-term linguistic and cultural immersion. Recipients must study a critical language—which include Arabic, Mandarin Chinese, Portuguese, Russian, and Swahili—as a core element of their study abroad program. To be eligible, applicants 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 a Boren Award should contact Brooke Stock in KU Study Abroad & Global Engagement (SAGE) for more detailed information and to begin the campus application process. Students must first apply through the University of Kansas, 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 $5,000 for a summer domestic intensive language course.
The Bridging Scholarship is offered by the United States-Japan Bridging Foundation to undergraduate students who are pursuing a credit-bearing study abroad program in Japan for a semester or academic year. Students must have demonstrated academic merit and financial need. Awards are $2,500 for a semester or $4,500 for an academic year. Students interested in applying should contact Renee Frias in SAGE for more information.
The Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) is a fully funded, 8-10 week summer intensive language and cultural immersion program for U.S. citizen undergraduate and graduate students. CLS Institutes offer language study in Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Swahili, Turkish, and Urdu. Many languages require no previous study or previous study of one to two years. KU students interested in applying should contact Mulu Lemma in the Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships (CURF) for more detailed information.
Funding for degree-seeking U.S. citizen undergraduate and graduate students to study abroad in Germany is available through the German governmental organization Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD). For more information, student should contact Jenna Hunter-Skidmore in SAGE.
The Freeman Award for Study in Asia is open to U.S. citizen or permanent resident undergraduate students 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 (12 week minimum), and $3,000 for a summer (8 week minimum). Students interested in applying should contact Renee Frias in SAGE for more information.
Fulbright Scholarships provide grants for individually designed study or 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 demonstrate 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 14 days in length. Recipients must also have not previously studied abroad for academic credit after high school. Scholarships range from $1,000 to $5,000. Students participating on an academic year program could be awarded additional funding.
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 or the time of study abroad. Award amounts range and are up to $5,000. Students studying a critical language can be awarded up to an additional $3,000 in the Critical Need Language Award. Students completing coursework in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) can be awarded up to an additional $1,000 in the STEM Supplemental Award. Book a virtual appointment or book an in-person appointment with your study abroad program coordinator to discuss the application and eligibility requirements. SAGE will hold Gilman application workshops before application due dates. See this essay tips and guidelines handout for more information regarding the scholarship.
The Gilman-McCain Scholarship provides awards of $5,000 to undergraduate child or spousal 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 or spouse of active duty military members at the time of application and the recipient of any type of Title IV federal financial aid.
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 Fellowship for Graduate Studies Abroad provides stipends to Kansas graduate students to help underwrite academic efforts that require study abroad. The average stipend provided is $3,000. Applicants must have been residents of Kansas for a minimum of 5 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 this webpage from the Kansas Board of Regents.
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.
Graduate students who are Kansas residents are able to apply for Rotary Global Grants for academic study. For more information, visit https://my.rotary.org/en/take-action/apply-grants/global-grants.