UM students Renee Malone (left) and Gregory Crowell learn about study abroad programs and financial aid at a study abroad fair in the Circle. Photo by Robert Jordan/Ole Miss Communications
OXFORD, Miss. – The Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship program is accepting applications for the spring and summer 2018 study abroad and internship programs through Oct. 3.
The University of Mississippi Study Abroad Office offers multiple study abroad programs year-round, and the national Gilman Scholarship is a competitive grant program that enables students of limited financial means to study or intern abroad. The program is open to undergraduate students receiving federal Pell Grant funding.
The last two Ole Miss students to receive this scholarship were Chase Young and Robert Melton in 2015.
“The Gilman Scholarship awards up to $8,000 for a study abroad program, which is in addition to any financial aid and scholarships that students already have,” said Blair McElroy, interim senior international officer and director of study abroad. “When students study abroad, their UM financial aid and scholarships will generally apply to their term abroad, just like any other term at UM.
“The Gilman encourages students who have been traditionally underrepresented in study abroad to pursue an overseas experience, such as first-generation college students, students in STEM fields, minority students and students with disabilities, though it is open to all students pursuing study abroad through UM.”
Gilman, who retired in 2002 after serving in the U.S. House of Representatives for 30 years and chairing the House Foreign Relations Committee, champions study abroad a “special experience for students.”
“Living and learning in a vastly different environment of another nation not only exposes our students to alternate views, but also adds an enriching social and cultural experience,” Gilman said. “It also provides our students with the opportunity to return home with a deeper understanding of their place in the world, encouraging them to be a contributor, rather than a spectator, in the international community.”
To apply for this scholarship, go to https://www.gilmanscholarship.org/. For more information about study abroad programs at Ole Miss, visit http://studyabroad.olemiss.edu/.