Scholarships for Undergraduates
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- Scholarships for Undergraduates
We encourage RIT students to apply for these key undergraduate study abroad scholarships. RIT’s Education Abroad and International Fellowships office should be notified of your intent to apply, and we can assist you in creating a competitive application.
Key Opportunities
RIT Scholarships
These are study abroad scholarships specifically for RIT students.
To support study abroad on RIT Global Campus, Exchange, Faculty-led or Research programs.
- Location: All Countries
- Award Amount: $500-$1,500
- Eligibility: High financial need
- Deadline: Rolling
- No separate application required – eligible students are automatically considered for this funding once they have completed an application in the RIT Compass.
- Description: Automatic $500 for any Honors student to study abroad
- Location: All Countries
- Award Amount: $500
- Eligibility: Honors Student
- Deadline: Rolling
- RIT Honors Grant application
- Description: Scholarship to support undergraduate and graduate students studying abroad at an RIT global campus.
- Location: RIT global campus
- Award Amount: $500-$1,000
- Eligibility: Studying abroad at an RIT global campus
- Deadline: Rolling
- Application Notes: No separate application required – eligible students are automatically considered for this funding once they have completed an application in the RIT Compass
The College of Art and Design, College of Liberal Arts, Kate Gleason College of Engineering, Saunders College of Business, and NTID offer scholarships for students in their programs.
RIT School of Design Study Abroad Scholarship
Awarded to a second- (sophomore) or third-year (junior) School of Design undergraduate student enrolled in a study abroad experience during Spring, Summer, or Fall semester. Email Alex Lobos (aflfaa@rit.edu), School of Design Administrative Chair, for more information, application instructions, and deadlines. Deadline is typically in early October. Awards $1,000.
KGCOE-L3 Harris Passport Program
Open to women KGCOE majors with a 3.0 GPA or higher. Eligible students will be automatically considered as part of your RIT study abroad application. Awards up to $2,00
CLA Global Opportunity (GO) Grant
An automatic $500 grant to study abroad for all CLA majors/double majors (must meet study abroad eligibility requirements).
CLA Student Travel Fund
Grants up to $750 may be awarded to CLA majors to help fund a study abroad program.
NTID Study Abroad Scholarships
Open to NTID majors or Deaf/HOH RIT students. Awards typically $1,000.
Saunders undergraduate scholarship
May be used for study abroad. Open to business majors with 3.2 GPA or higher. Yearly deadline in February.
National Scholarships
These are nationally competitive study abroad scholarships that can be applied to the program of your choice. Contact Jenny Sullivan at jenny.sullivan@rit.edu about your intent to apply
Scholarship to support diverse students who study abroad.
- Feature: Diversity
- Location: All countries
- Award Amount: $1,250-$10,000
- Eligibility: U.S. citizen or permanent resident; minimum 28 days in-country
- Deadline: January and September
Funding for study abroad in East and Southeast Asia.
- Location: Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Macao, Malaysia, Mongolia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam
- Award Amount: $3,000- $7,000
- Eligibility: U.S. citizen or permanent resident; demonstrated high need; undergraduate with at least one term remaining upon return; minimum 2.8 GPA; little previous experience in host country
- Deadline: March
Earn $500 to work as an overseas correspondent, sharing your experiences to motivate other members of the DiversityAbroad.com community to go abroad.
- Feature: Diversity
- Location: All countries
- Award Amount: $500
- Eligibility: minimum 2.75 GPA; underrepresented in study abroad; participating in semester, summer or full year program
- Deadline: February and September
Scholarship for high financial need students to study, intern or work abroad.
- Feature: High financial need
- Location: All countries
- Award Amount: Up to $5,000
- Eligibility: U.S. citizen; must be receiving a Pell grant
- Deadline: October and March
Scholarship for intensive language study.
- Feature: Language study
- Location: Countries where critical languages are spoken and are outside of Western Europe and Australia/New Zealand.
- Award Amount: Up to $20,000
- Eligibility: U.S. Citizen; studying critical language for full semester (all majors) or summer program (STEM majors)
- Deadline: January
Funded Programs
These are pre-designed study abroad programs that are fully or mostly funded. Contact Jenny Sullivan at jenny.sullivan@rit.edu about your intent to apply.
Spend one year in Germany learning about language and culture, taking courses and participating in an internship.
- Feature: Language Study, Internship
- Location: Germany
- Award Amount: Covers full cost of participation and travel
- Eligibility: U.S. citizen; 18-24 years old at start of program
- Deadline: November
Scholarship for summer program to study a language critical to the United States (Azerbaijani, Bangla, Hindi, Indonesian, Persian, Punjabi, Russian, Swahili, Turkish, Urdu, Arabic, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Chinese, Japanese).
- Feature: Language Study
- Location: Multi-Country
- Award Amount: Covers full cost of participation and travel
- Eligibility: U.S. citizen or U.S. national
- Deadline: November
Scholarship for students in STEM fields to do research or internship in conjunction with a German University.
- Feature: Research
- Location: Germany
- Award Amount: Covers full cost of participation and travel
- Eligibility: U.S. or Canadian citizen
- Deadline: December
Scholarship for students in all fields to do research or internship in conjunction with a Canadian University.
- Feature: Research
- Location: Canada
- Award Amount: Covers full cost of participation and travel
- Eligibility: U.S. citizen; Full-time undergraduate in 2nd or 3rd year
- Deadline: October
Scholarship for students in engineering, science and health science fields to do research in conjunction with a university in Singapore, Japan or China.
- Feature: Research
- Location: Singapore, Japan or China
- Award Amount: Covers full cost of participation and travel
- Eligibility: Completed first year of undergraduate study and will have at least one semester remaining when return
- Deadline: February
Spend eight weeks in the summer in Ireland learning about social justice and completing an internship.
- Feature: Diversity
- Location: Ireland
- Award Amount: Covers full cost of participation and travel
- Eligibility: U.S. citizen; undergraduate in 1st, 2nd or 3rd year; minimum 3.0 GPA; identifies as traditionally underrepresented in study abroad
- Deadline: February
Spend 3-4 weeks in the summer exploring the culture, heritage and history of the UK while experiencing higher education at a UK university.
- Location: United Kingdom
- Award Amount: Covers full cost of participation and travel
- Eligibility: U.S. citizen; at least 2 years of undergraduate study remaining upon return; minimum 3.7 GPA; have little to no previous travel experience outside North America
- Deadline: February
Five-week summer program to improve Japanese communication skills and understanding Japanese culture and society.
- Feature: Language
- Location: Japan
- Award Amount: Covers all in-country expenses except $500 program fee
- Eligibility: Min. 3.0 GPA
- Deadline: November
Five-week summer program to learn about nutrition and the Mediterranean diet.
- Location: Greece
- Award Amount: Covers tuition and program fee
- Eligibility: Min. 2.5 GPA
- Deadline: March
Application Tips
Consider these tips when preparing your scholarship application.
- Start early! Between essay revisions, requesting recommendations etc. for many scholarships/fellowships, it takes time to create a competitive application.
- Make sure you meet all eligibility requirements and are committed to all the scholarship/fellowship requirements.
- Request your official transcripts EARLY from all of the colleges/universities you have received academic credit.
- Take advantage of the resources on campus to help you including librarians, writing center, advisors, etc.
The essay components of your application are your best chance of showcasing your personality, character and skills. The essays should not be taken lightly and often need multiple drafts and revisions.
- Create an outline first. An outline will help you organize and prioritize your thoughts to help you better communicate your ideas.
- In your early drafts, don’t worry too much about the word limits. Many students stress about this from the beginning and it stunts their writing. Let the ideas flow and then spend time prioritizing, organizing, refining and eliminating repetition so you get to that word limit by the final draft.
- Consider beginning your essay with a hook that engages the reader from the beginning and makes them want to read the rest. The best hooks are relevant, personal and illustrative.
- Be specific and concrete by using examples. Instead of saying that you are motivated or passionate, describe the actions, behaviors, habits, etc. you have developed that demonstrate your motivation and passion.
- Discuss how this experience gets you closer to your long-term personal, academic and professional goals.
- Do your research on the international location and describe how you will make the most of your experience. Show that you are worthy of their investment.
- Keep your audience and purpose in mind. Address your essay to an educated non-specialist. Do not make your project proposal so field-specific that it will be difficult for readers from different disciplines to understand and care about your work.
- The tone should be neither too academic nor too personal. Be engaging, specific, and thoughtful. Eloquence is welcome, but not at the expense of substance or honesty.
- Proofread. Try different proofreading techniques such as reading the essay from the bottom up or reading it aloud. When you think it is perfect, ask someone else who edits well to read your essay.
- Consult several different readers whose comments you respect. Be prepared to take criticism and go through many drafts. Your program head, professors and fellowship advisor are great resources!
- Avoid clichés. Phrases such as “expand my horizons,” “step out of my comfort zone” and even words such as “sustainability” can be overused and lack insight. Think a bit more critically, be reflective and use specific examples to avoid sounding generic and immature.
- Choose an appropriate recommender - one who meets the requirements of the application but can also attest to your abilities as relates to the application.
- Give your recommender at least 4 weeks to write a letter and follow up with them.
- Give your recommender a copy of your resume and provide them with information about the program so that your referee can tailor the letter.
- All letters of recommendation must be on official letterhead.
- All letters of recommendation should clearly state how long they have known you and in what capacity.
- Recommendation letters should be about one-page long.
Browse All Opportunities
There are many international fellowships available for study, research, gaining professional experience, teaching and volunteering around the world. International fellowships are available for a variety of student and professional career levels. Fellowships typically have specific eligibility requirements and usually have an in-depth application process.
Use the International Fellowships search tool to find opportunities that are a good fit for you. If you are finding limited results after choosing your filters, try using fewer filters.