U.S. Department of State Announces 2,100 Benjamin Gilman Scholars, Expanding Access to Study Abroad for American Undergraduate Students

Working to expand access to international education opportunities to Americans across the socioeconomic spectrum, the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) announced today that 2,100 American undergraduate students from 520 U.S. colleges and universities representing all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico will receive the Benjamin A. Gilman Scholarship in the latest round of scholarship awards. The Gilman Scholarship – the Department’s flagship scholarship for U.S. undergraduate students who qualify for federal financial aid, including the Pell Grant – provides financial support for study or internship opportunities, with this latest cohort traveling to more than 80 countries later this year.

On average 70 percent of Gilman recipients self-identify as racial or ethnic minorities, 60 percent are from rural areas and small towns across America, and half are first generation college or university students.  All are Pell Grant recipients.  The Gilman Scholarship helps deliver on the Department’s commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in U.S. foreign policy.

In addition, this cohort includes 50 recipients of the John McCain International Scholarship for the Children of Military Families (Gilman-McCain Scholarship), which are awarded to the children and spousal dependents of U.S. military personnel who are active or activated during the application period.  In addition, Gilman Scholars receive support from the governments of France, Germany through the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), Israel, New Zealand, and Wales, as well as the Luso-American Development Foundation (FLAD) in Portugal and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States (TECRO).

Since the program’s inception in 2001, more than 38,000 Gilman Scholars have studied or interned in more than 160 countries around the globe.

The Gilman Scholarship is an initiative of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA); it is implemented by the Institute of International Education (IIE).  To learn more about the Gilman scholarship, and its recipients, including this newest cohort, visit the Gilman Scholarship website.