Scholarship Central News

Interested in apply for a Fulbright this fall?

Check out this Fulbright Information podcast of two Peer Scholarship Advisers run through the basic application steps!

For full information on the application process and timeline go to the Fulbright page on the Scholarship Central website.

The Davis-Putter Scholarship Fund provides grants of up to $8,000 to graduate or undergraduate students actively working for peace and justice on campus and/or in the community. These need-based scholarships are awarded to those able to do academic work at the university level and who are part of the progressive movement on the campus and in the community. Early recipients worked for civil rights, against McCarthyism, and for peace in Vietnam. Recent grantees have been active in the struggle against racism, sexism, homophobia, and other forms of oppression; building the movement for economic justice; and creating peace through international anti-imperialist solidarity. Applications are due April 1 of each year.

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus Scholarship for Latino students who have a history of performing public service-oriented activities in their communities and who plan to continue contributing in the future. There is no GPA or major requirement. Students with excellent leadership potential are encouraged to apply. The application deadline is in April each year.

Beinecke Scholarships provide substantial scholarships for students of exceptional promise to attend graduate school in the arts, humanities and social sciences. Applicants must be juniors, have a 3.7 GPA (campus nomination requirement) and have a documented history of receiving need-based financial aid as an undergraduate. Applications were due at 12 noon on Friday, February 20, 2009.

American Foreign Service Association scholarships support high school seniors and college undergraduates of Foreign Service employees (active-duty, retired and deceased). They offer one time only AFSA Academic/Art Merit Awards and renewable need based Financial Aid Scholarships, of which AFSA administers 13-15 annual DACOR Bacon House Foundation Scholarships each year. Unfortunately, grandchildren of Foreign Service employees are not eligible for these awards. Awards range from $1,500 to $3,500 via Heyward G. Hill and Harriet C. Thurgood DACOR Bacon House Foundation Scholarships. Applications submission deadline is Feb. 6 of each year. Visit AFSA’s Scholarship Program web page at for complete details, or contact Lori Dec at dec@afsa.org or (202) 944 5504 or 1 (800) 704 2372, ext. 504 (toll free).

Learn everything you need to know about applying for scholarships in this hands-on workshop. Seats are limited and preference will be given to freshmen. No juniors or seniors will be admitted.

After participating in this three part workshop students will know which scholarships they are most competitive for, will know how to ask for letters of recommendation and how to prepare for interviews, and will have a polished draft of a personal statement.

Attendees must commit to attending all three Wednesday evening sessions, 7-8:30 p.m. on October 22 and 29 and November 5.  It’s a great investment of your time.

Sign up here.

The Council of American Overseas Research Centers (CAORC) offers full-funded scholarships for study of critical languages at selected institutes. The scholarship covers all costs associated with study abroad: travel between the US and program location, mandatory pre-departure orientation costs, visa fees, room, board, program-sponsored travel within county, and all entrance fees for program activities. Languages included for the 2009 cycle are Arabic, Azerbaijani, Bangla/Bengali, Chinese (Mandarin), Hindi, Korean, Persian, Punjabi, Russian, Turkish, and Urdu. All of the institutes are located abroad, and the programs run from early June until the middle of August. The 2009 program applications are online at https://clscholarship.org/home.php. The application deadline is November 14. Two letters of reference are required; one from a language instructor and one from an academic instructor.

Information is from this page of the Scholarship Central website.

The Fulbright booklets have arrived! If you’re interested in applying and are still on campus please stop by the Charles Center office and pick up the application packet. If you’ve left campus already please fill out this request form and a packet will be mailed to you.
http://www.wm.edu/charlescenter/fulbrightbookletrequest.html

What is a Fulbright Scholarship?

The Fulbright program was created in 1946 to foster mutual understanding among nations through educational and cultural exchanges. In the 2008-09 application cycle, approximately 1600 people will be funded to study, conduct research, or teach in over 100 nations. Full grant applicants plan their own programs. Projects may include university coursework, independent library or field research, classes in a music conservatory or art school, special projects in the social or life sciences, or a combination. Fulbright awards for teaching abroad are also available.

Check out the Fulbright web site

What it takes

Applicants must be U.S. citizens who will receive their Bachelor’s degree or the equivalent before the beginning date of the grant. Applicants must be in good health. Preference will be given to applicants whose higher education was received primarily at educational institutions in the United States. Applicants must have sufficient proficiency in the written and spoken language of the host country to communicate with the people and to carry out the proposed study. Selection is based on the applicant’s academic (we recommend a 3.4+ GPA) or professional record, language preparation (click here to see a list of countries where English is sufficient), the feasibility of the proposed study project, and personal qualifications. Other factors affecting selection are: the extent to which the candidate and the project will help to advance the program aim of promoting mutual understanding among nations; the ability of the supervising agencies abroad to arrange supervision; the requirements of programs in individual countries (see the Fulbright website); ratio between the number of awards offered in a given country and the number of applications received; desirability of achieving a wide institutional and geographic distribution; desirability of achieving wide institutional and geographic distribution. Foreign study during the junior year or other periods of undergraduate study that are integral parts of the curricula of American institutions will not be considered a disadvantage.

How to apply

There is a W&M pre-application. This pre-application consists of:

1. a draft of your personal statement
2. an outline of your project proposal (covering what, where, why, when, and how)
3. a list of recommenders : 3 faculty members who have taught you and can speak to the importance and feasibility of your proposal, plus the name of 1 language evaluator (if required by your country)
4. a list of possible in-country affiliations

The purpose of turning in these materials early is to ensure that students are working on their Fulbright proposal over the summer. Lisa Grimes and the Peer Scholarship Advisors will use the information you supply to help you take full advantage of all available resources. You should provide as much information possible but keep in mind that you will be able to edit up to the campus application deadline of 12 noon on September 15, 2008.

The process:

1. Submit the pre-application materials as described above as soon as possible. Lisa Grimes and the PSAs will review your pre-application materials and use the information you supply to send you comments and feedback. You will be able to edit your application as much as you want between now and the final campus deadline of September 15. Note that no letters of recommendation are due at this time, only the names of your recommenders by June 1. Lisa will also contact your recommenders with information on the Fulbright scholarship.
2. Go to this website and start working on your online application after May 1, 2008. Be sure to enter your name and William and Mary as your home institution. NOTE: DO NOT enter ANY recommender information until you’re advised to do so by the Charles Center. The reason for this is that once a recommender submits a letter, that letter cannot be edited. Your recommenders should have read your final project proposal and personal statement before they submit their letters online. Lisa Grimes will notify you when it’s time to have your recommenders submit their letters online.
3. The original and three copies of the complete application must be submitted to the Charles Center by 12 noon on Monday, September 15, 2008. This means hard copies of your application, letters of recommendation, and original transcripts of all university work (including study abroad). Ask your recommenders to put the original of their letter and three photocopies in one envelope, seal it, sign across the seal, and give it to you for submission with the rest of your materials.
4. Applications are distributed to campus committees for review.
5. Committees conduct interviews September 20 - October 14.
6. Applicants fine-tune applications and submit the absolutely final versions online no later than 12 noon on Thursday, October 16. A signed hard copy of the complete application is also due to the Charles Center at this time.
7. Lisa Grimes submits all applications and evaluations to IIE US Student Programs by the October 20 deadline.
8. IIE National Screening Committees review the applications and recommend applications for further review by supervising agencies abroad. All applicants are notified of their recommendation status by the end of January.
9. Applications are reviewed further by supervising agencies abroad, particularly as to placement at foreign universities. These agencies make their recommendations to the Scholarship Board.
10. Final selection for Fulbright grants is made by the Scholarship Board. Selection is made taking into account the recommendations of the National Screening Committee, availability of funds, approval of the supervising agencies abroad, and other program requirements. Final notification may come anywhere from mid-March to the end of June.

    William and Mary students have been awarded Fulbrights to Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Burkino Faso, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Korea, Malaysia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Oman, Poland, Romania, Russia, Senegal, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Taiwan, Uganda, the United Kingdom, and Zimbabwe.

Read the Fulbright FAQs.

Lawrence and Jean Irwin Memorial Internship Stipend / Bertha Taylor Scholarships for Public Affairs Internships: Thanks to the generosity of these patrons, the Government Department is able to award a number of stipends to help support students undertaking summer internships related to politics and government. The exact number of awards and the amount of each will vary from year to year, but in general about ten will be given, ranging from $250 to $1000 each.

Application review begins April 22, 2009