Gilman Scholarship Program at University of Minnesota, USA 2024-25

The Gilman Scholarship Program is a big opportunity for U.S. college students to study abroad. In 2024-25, it’s giving out scholarships to undergraduate students that can be worth up to $5,000. It’s for students who get the Pell Grant, which is for those who need financial help.

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This program is about helping students see the world and learn in different places. It’s not just for the rich or the lucky. It’s for all kinds of students, including those who might be the first in their family to go to college.

A Background

The Gilman Scholarship is competitive, but it’s worth trying for. It’s open to students who want to study or intern abroad for at least 21 days. The deadline for the October 2024 cycle is October 10, 2024.

If you win, you join a group of over 41,000 past scholars. These students have gone to more than 160 countries, learning new things and bringing back knowledge to the U.S. It’s a chance to be part of something big and make your mark on the world.

What the Scholarship Offers

The Gilman Scholarship Program offers a funded opportunity for prospective applicants as follows:

• This academic year, more than 3,200 scholarships of up to $5,000 will be given to US citizen undergraduates to study overseas (with the possibility of an extra $3000 for those who additionally apply for the Critical Need Language grant).
• A student’s need and the length of their studies will determine the exact amount of their grant; for semester-year programs, the typical reward is around $4,000, and for short-term programs, it is $2,500.

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible for the opportunity, applicants have to meet certain requirements as listed below:

• Must be an undergraduate enrolled in good standing at a US college or university (including two-year and four-year schools) with accreditation;
• Must be a United States citizen or national
• Must be obtaining a Federal Pell Grant at the time of application or demonstrate that they will obtain one during the duration of their internship or study abroad program; applying to and being accepted into a credit-bearing study abroad or internship program. Prior to the reward being disbursed, proof of program acceptance is necessary;
• Must be applying to or being accepted into a study abroad or internship program that offers credit. Prior to the reward being disbursed, proof of program acceptance is necessary;
• Must be submitting an application to study abroad programs that provide credit in a nation or region where, according to the Travel Advisory System of the U.S. Department of State, travel is generally advised at a Level 1 or 2. Note that a nation or place with an overall go Advisory Level 1 or 2 may designate individual areas as either Level 3 or Level 4 in the Travel Advisory; Gilman students will not be permitted to go to these particular locations. Gilman scholars are not permitted to take part in any programs that are situated in a nation or region, or a region inside a nation or region, that has been classified as a Level 3 (Reconsider traveling to) or Level 4 (Do not go to).
• Pupils with significant financial requirements
• Students studying abroad, particularly those who are not in Western Europe, Australia, or New Zealand
• Pupils from a variety of ethnic backgrounds
• Students from a wide variety of educational institutions, such as community colleges, four-year schools, public and private universities, historically black colleges and universities, tribal colleges, institutions for the Hispanic community, and other minority-serving institutions.
• Students with special needs.

Application Procedure

Follow the process below on how to apply for the Gilman Scholarship Program for the 2024-25 academic session: 

• The Statement of Purpose essay and the two Community Impact essays—Building Mutual Understanding and Continued Service Project Proposal—are the three compulsory essays for the Gilman Scholarship application. Additional essays are needed from applicants for the STEM Supplemental Award and the Critical Need Language Award. Essay guidelines is as follows:
  • Write your essays in a word processor first, then upload the finished product to your online application. For each essay, please use Times New Roman 12-point type with 1-inch margins.
  • Instead of writing your essay as a series of numerical answers to the application’s questions, structure it as a paragraph.
  • There can be no more than 7,000 characters (including spaces) in the Statement of Purpose essay.
  • The essay “Building Mutual Understanding” has a character count of 3,000 (spaces included).
  • The maximum character count for the Follow-on Service Project Proposal is 3,000 (spaces included).
  • There is a 2,000-character (including spaces) restriction on the optional Critical Need Language Award essay.
  • The maximum character count for the optional STEM Supplemental Award essay is 1,000 (spaces included).
  • Make sure the topic or subject is covered in your essays.
  • Once your essays have been posted to the application, please preview them to make sure the right file was uploaded.

NOTE: The deadline for this offer is October 10, 2024.

For detailed information about the Gilman Scholarship Program and application guidelines, please visit the official scholarship link.

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