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Skidmore College
Off-Campus Study & Exchanges

Scholarship Opportunities

Off-Campus Study & Exchanges encourages students to pursue external scholarship opportunities to help fund their off-campus study. If you currently receive financial aid, you should make an appointment with the Office of Financial Aid to review the use of your financial aid package. You should do this as soon as possible after acceptance to your chosen study abroad program.

Although scholarships for off-campus study are limited, there are a number of scholarships available for students through national scholarship funds, approved program providers, and local and community organizations. The following information highlights national scholarships, scholarships provided by our approved program providers, and additional resources to search for scholarships. Any students awarded an external scholarship must report the scholarship to Skidmore's Office of Financial Aid.

The following list of scholarships is not an exhaustive list. Most of the scholarships are not affiliated with Skidmore College.

National Scholarships - General

  • Boren Scholarships for Undergraduates (NSEP)
    Boren Scholarships are awarded to students with in an interest in national security studying abroad non-traditional locations that are "critical" to U.S. interests. The countries of Western Europe, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand are excluded. All programs must include a language study. Award amounts up to $20,000. Awardees are required to fulfill a one-year service requirement after graduation working for the federal government in an area of national security. For application details, please contact the Office of Academic Advising.
  • Fund for Education Abroad
    FEA provides scholarships and ongoing support to students who are underrepresented among the US study abroad population. FEA awards scholarships of up to $10,000 for students who plan to study abroad for a full academic year; up to $5,000 for students who plan to study abroad during the fall or spring semester; and awards that are prorated by number of weeks in-country (with a minimum of $1,250) for students studying abroad during summer. 
  • Freeman-ASIA
    Freeman Awards for Study in Asia (Freeman-ASIA) provides scholarships for U.S. undergraduate students with demonstrated financial need to study abroad in East or Southeast Asia.
  • Gilman International Scholarship Program
    Gilman scholarships provide support for traditionally under-represented students studying abroad with demonstrated financial need. Students must receive a Pell grant to apply for the scholarship. Preference is given for students studying in non-traditional locations outside of Western Europe and Australia. Award amounts of up to $5000. Deadlines are typically in mid-September and early April. Awardees will be required to fulfill a service requirement to help promote study abroad on their home campuses during the semester after returning from studying abroad. Gilman scholarship applicants who are studying abroad on a CIEE program are also eligible to apply for the CIEE Gilman Go Global Grant.
  • The National Italian American Foundation

    Offers a variety of scholarships to outstanding Italian American students from a variety of academic disciplines and backgrounds.

National Scholarships - Specific to Region or Country

  • BUTEX - British Universities Transatlantic Exchange Association 
    BUTEX offers a limited number of scholarships for students from the USA or Canada studying in the UK for the semester or academic year. To be eligible to apply you must have been offered a place as a study abroad student at a UK university which is a member of BUTEX. Awards are usually equivalent to £500. 
  • DAAD - German Academic Exchange Service
    The DAAD provides a number of undergraduate scholarships for study, research or internships in Germany. DAAD also has post-graduate opportunities for graduating seniors. Most scholarships encourage some previous study in German language, but some do not require any previous German language study.
    • DAAD partnership with the Gilman Scholarship. In early 2022, the DAAD announced a new partnership with the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program to provide 40 additional scholarships per year for the next three years for exceptional U.S. undergraduate students to study and/or intern for academic credit in Germany through the Gilman Program. Students interested in should apply through the general Gilman application process to be considered for these awards.
  • Go Overseas Scholarship 
    Go Overseas awards over $175,000 in scholarships every year.  In an effort to assist students in traveling abroad and experiencing a new culture, Go Overseas is also a scholarship resource – listing numerous scholarship opportunities available through other organizations on its website.
  • Undergraduate Korea Study Abroad Travel Grant
    The grant to help defray travel expenses, up to $2,500, to South Korea. 
  • Think New - New Zealand Education
    The website lists scholarships offered by a number of education providers to students studying in New Zealand.

Approved Program Provider Scholarships

Many of the Skidmore approved program providers offer merit or need-based scholarships for the participants of the particular programs they sponsor. Please be sure to contact the program provider about scholarship eligibility and application process.

  • Accademia dell'Arte
    Accademia dell'Arte offers an Early Bird Discount of $1,000 off tuition if you apply by the Early Bird deadline listed on the website. 
  • API 
    API awards approximately $400,000 in study abroad scholarships annually ranging from $250 -$1,000 per student. Students may apply for multiple API scholarships (though may only be awarded one).
  • Arcadia Abroad
    Scholarships ranging from $500-$2000 for students with financial need. Limited scholarships available for certain programs (up to $5000).
  • Advanced Studies in England (ASE) 
    ASE in Bath, England awards a few need-based scholarships, up to the value of £1000 per student per semester. Pell-eligible students are particularly encouraged to apply. Each semester, ASE appoints up to five students for Assistantship positions that help in the running of the Programme. Each student receives a weekly stipend, totalling £300 over 15 weeks. A visa is required to apply for all of these positions.
  • Carleton Global Engagement
    Carleton offers need-based scholarships to support broader access to study abroad opportunities. Scholarships range from $1000-$2000. 
  • CET Academic Programs
    CET offers its students over $100,000 in scholarship awards each year. Each student automatically receives a scholarship application when applying for admission to a program. 
  • CIEE 
    Scholarships for non-traditional locations, underrepresented/minority students, merit, financial need, and programs in China. All pell grant-eligible students are guaranteed GAIN travel grants. Students studying abroad on a CIEE program that are Gilman scholarship applicants are also eligible to apply for the CIEE Gilman Go Global Grant
  • College Year in Athens
    Scholarships available for academically qualified students who would otherwise not be able to attend. Scholarships for students applying for a semester or academic year are customarily awarded in amounts ranging from $500 to approximately half the amount of tuition. 
  • Danish Institute for Study Abroad (DIS)
    DIS offers need-based scholarship funds up to $5,000 per semester and work study opportunities up to $500 per semester. Students can also apply for the Anders Uhrskov Leadership Scholarship, a merit-based scholarship with awards up to $10,000 for a semester student.
  • ICCS (Duke University)
    The Benedetta and Giancarlo Galassi-Beria Scholarship Fund provides for students in need of financial support to study at ICCS. Scholarships have ranged from $500 to $10,000. To apply, students must submit the Financial Need Assessment with their program application, by the application deadline.
  • IES Abroad
    Need-based aid, scholarships, and grants available. Submit one scholarship application and IES will let you know which scholarship and aid opportunities you qualify for. Scholarships are available by major, discipline, or interest or by program location. 
  • IFSA
    IFSA offers general scholarships of $1,500 for semester programs and $2,500 for year programs. Students can apply to country or program-specific scholarships ranging from $1000-$10,000.
  • Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS)
    If accepted into an OTS program, you will receive a scholarship application along with instructions on how to apply in your email. Scholarships are limited, awarded on a rolling-basis and OTS gives preference to students with financial need.
  • School for Field Studies (SFS)
    Need-based scholarships and grants. SFS also provides loan options at zero-interest or low-interest rates.
  • SIT
    Financial need is a primary consideration for scholarship decisions. SIT has a general scholarship fund and additional scholarships for diversity, certain program theme areas, and programs in particular regions.
  • Syracuse University Abroad
    Syracuse offers a merit-based scholarships of $600 for students with a GPA of 3.0–3.69 and $1,000 for students with a GPA of 3.7 or above. Need-based, location, and consecutive term grants may also available.
  • University of Minnesota
    The Learning Abroad Center’s Study Abroad Scholarship provides awards for Non-University of Minnesota undergraduate students going on eligible Learning Abroad Center credit-bearing programs. Awards range between $1,000-$2,000.
  • Williams-Mystic
    Upon acceptance, students may apply for need-based financial aid from Williams-Mystic. Williams-Mystic also awards several special grants each semester. In addition, on-campus jobs are available to all students. 

Additional Resources - General

  • College Board Scholarship SearchScholarship Resource Network Express-contains a database of over 8,000 programs.
  • Fastweb.com
    Fastweb.com is a free, scholarship search engine that compiles national, community, and college-specific scholarships available anywhere.
  • FinAid!
    A student guide to Financial Aid written with the goal of helping students and parents understand financial aid policies, processes, and procedures. The site includes information about types of financial aid, application procedures, federal policies, advice about searching for scholarships, as well as links to scholarship search engines.
  • GoAbroad.com Scholarship Database
  • InternationalScholarships.com
  • Studyabroad.com

Additional Resources - Specific to Diversity