Scholarships

Overview

• For students pursuing programs run through UW Study Abroad
• No additional application required
• It is easy to be considered for a UW Study Abroad Scholarship. If you fill out the Scholarships Eligibility questionnaire in your application and you are accepted to your program, you will automatically be considered for a UW Study Abroad Scholarship.
• Any UW student selected to participate in a UW Study Abroad program is eligible to be considered. Non-matriculated students are not eligible.
• Undergraduate Washington state residents with the greatest financial need are given priority for most scholarships. You must have a FAFSA or WASFA on file with the UW Office of Financial Aid to demonstrate financial need

Award amounts

• Standard awards based on length of program:
  • Up to $2,500 for programs lasting 1 quarter or less
  • Up to $4,000 for programs lasting longer than 1 quarter
  • Awards may be less than the amounts above if the program is highly subsidized OR if financial need is otherwise met

Important eligibility considerations

• You may only receive one UW Study Abroad Scholarship during your time at the UW.
• You must be accepted to a program in order to receive a scholarship. Scholarship award notifications go out after program acceptances and before the deadline to submit a payment contract. If you have applied to more than one program, you may wait until you receive a scholarship notification to commit to a program.
• You may only receive an award for a program to which you applied and were accepted.
• Because of restrictions on funding sources, UWSA awards are based on your participation in a specific program. You cannot transfer the award to another program or term.
• You must be enrolled through UW Study Abroad for credit.
• UW Student Tours are not eligible for UW Study Abroad Scholarships as students are not earning credit or enrolled through UW Study Abroad.
• If you are a financial aid recipient, you will receive one of the award amounts stated above based on the duration of your program unless your unmet financial need is less than the scholarship amount. In that case, the amount of the scholarship will be equal to your unmet need. You can login to the Finances page through MyUW to review your financial aid package.
• Example – Scholarship award amount: $2,500 – Unmet need: $1,000 – Final award amount possible: $1,000

Awarding cycle timeline

You will find out whether you have been awarded a scholarship by the dates outlined in the table below. For most study abroad programs, a payment contract will not be due until after this notification date to allow you to plan your finances accordingly.  If you are not nominated for a scholarship in one awarding cycle, you will continue to be considered in every subsequent cycle until the quarter of your departure.

Scholarship cycle	Date on which you are accepted to a program	Scholarship notification date*
Autumn A	June 13 – September 13	September 24
Autumn B	September 14 – November 13	November 24
Autumn C	November 14 – November 27	December 9
Winter A	November 28 – February 15	February 25
Winter B	February 16 – February 27	March 12
Winter C	February 28 – March 13	March 25
Spring A	March 14 – April 13	April 26
Spring B	April 14 – May 27	June 5
Summer A	May 28 – June 12	June 24

*If you completed your application after the program deadline, you will be considered for a scholarship in the following scholarship cycle.

COVID deferrals

• Students who received the UW Study Abroad Scholarship for programs canceled between spring 2020 and spring 2022 can defer their awards to a future term until they graduate, or through the end of 2025 (whichever comes first).
• Students who were awarded the Chang Scholarship over that same period can defer their awards to a future term so long as they are still undergraduates at the time they go abroad.

All regions

Gilman Scholarship

For U.S. citizen undergraduates eligible for Pell Grants. Students studying critical need languages can qualify for additional funds. Our Gilman Writing Guide and submission checklist will help you put together a competitive essay.

Scott’s Cheap Flights Scholarship

Open to all U.S. citizen or permanent resident undergraduates.

For graduate students

Chester A. Fritz Fellowships

Competitive funding for international study or research for one quarter.

Gerberding-Rome Studies Fellowship

Competitive funding for graduate study at the UW Rome Center.

Region-specific

“Critical need” regions

Boren Undergraduate Scholarships

Boren Scholarships for U.S. undergraduate students to study less commonly taught languages in world regions critical to U.S. interests, and underrepresented in study abroad, including Africa, Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, Eurasia, Latin America, and the Middle East.

Boren Graduate Fellowships

Awards up to $30,000 to U.S. graduate students for area or language studies and research in countries critical to U.S. interests. Applicants must be U.S. citizens.

Foreign Language Area Studies Fellowships (FLAS)

For U.S. citizen or permanent resident undergraduate, graduate, and professional students to pursuing area or language studies in critical need locations.

Africa and the Middle East

Center for Arabic Study Abroad

Round trip airfare, tuition, and a monthly living stipend for advanced Arabic language studies in Egypt. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents with a minimum of three years of formal instruction in Arabic prior to application.

Ottenberg-Winans Fund

For UW undergraduate and graduate student research in Africa. Fellowships range from $400 to $1000.

Turkish Coalition of America

Scholarships for American students of Turkish heritage and U.S. minority students who wish to study in Turkey.

Stroum Center Opportunity Grants

Grants of up to $1500 are available to UW undergraduate students in UW-approved study abroad experiences related to Jewish studies. The grants are also open to graduate students for research, conference attendance, or further study in topics related to Jewish studies.

Americas

Gary & Consuelo Corbett Canada-U.S. Fellowships Program

Fellowships of $5000 for one semester or $10,000 for two semesters of undergraduate study at the University of British Columbia or the University of Victoria.

Killam Fellowships

Two annual $10,000 awards to UW students attending a Canadian University per the UW Canadian Studies-Killam Exchange. Applicants must be U.S. citizens.

Organization of American States

Scholarships for undergraduate and graduate study or research in an OAS Member State.

Asia

Bridging Japan Scholarship

$2500 scholarships for semester-long programs, $4000 for academic year programs to U.S. citizen undergraduate students for study in Japan.

Freeman-ASIA Scholarship

The Freeman-Asia Scholarship is designed to support American undergraduates with demonstrated financial need who are planning to study overseas in East or Southeast Asia. Awards of up to $3000 are available for summer, $5000 for semester-long programs and $7000 for year-long programs.

Japanese Government Scholarships

Undergraduate study or graduate research in Japan. Students should contact the Consulate General of Japan in Seattle to learn more.

Japan Student Services Organization (JASSO)

For undergraduate and graduate students enrolled at Japanese universities as participants of a UW Exchange. Students are nominated and selected for the scholarship by the partner institution in Japan.

Atsumi International Scholarship Foundation

Scholarship for Ph.D. candidates for study or research in universities in Japan’s Kanto area.

Europe

Scan | Design Fellowship Program (Denmark)

Funding for undergraduate and graduate students accepted to a UW study abroad program or exchange in Denmark for a semester, academic year or summer.

Denmark’s International Study Program (Denmark)

Up to $5,000 for semester programs and $1,000 for summer programs to DIS program participants.

Northwest Danish Association (Denmark)

Scholarships for OR or WA resident students. Preference is given to students with Danish heritage.

Gudrun Gytel Foundation (Denmark)

For semester or year-long study at Danish universities in the fields of humanities, social sciences, architecture, engineering, technology, and related fields.

Finlandia Foundation National Scholarships (Finland)

For undergraduate and graduate students in all academic disciplines.

Baden-Wuerttemberg Scholarships (Germany)

Provided in the form of a monthly stipend to undergraduate and graduate students studying at a university in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, for one or two semesters as a participant of a UW exchange.

DAAD (Germany)

Many scholarships for undergraduate and graduate students at U.S. and Canadian institutions for study and research in Germany.

UW Scandinavian Studies (Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, and Finland)

Offers a variety of scholarships to UW undergraduate and graduate students for study and research.

UW Ellison Center (Russia, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia)

Offers a variety of scholarships and fellowships to UW undergraduate and graduate students for study and research.

Partner program scholarships

IES

IES offers a variety of scholarships in addition to an automatic $2,000 scholarship for semester-long programs for all UW students. Additionally, UW students are eligible and highly encouraged to apply for additional funding from IES Abroad: including over 3 million dollars in need-based, diversity, and donor-funded scholarships awarded each year.

CET

CET awards over $100,000 in scholarships every year. UW students receive an automatic scholarship of $1,000 for all semester-long programs.

Non-study abroad scholarships

These scholarships aren’t specifically for study abroad, but any of these awards could be used to help cover the cost of studying abroad.

MAP Scholarship

Scholarships for continuing UW students who need financial assistance to assist with their progress toward a degree at the UW.  

Mary Gates Research Scholarships

Up to $5,000 to engage in undergraduate research, which can include research abroad.

Class of 1954,1957 & 1962

Awards provide funding to support UW undergraduates. Open to all majors.  

George Newsome Humanitarian Scholarship

$1,000 award for an OMAD student at UW Seattle. Application opens in April. Contact your OMAD Adviser for more information.

Sonneblick Del Rio Global Citizen Scholarship

Must be a UW EOP student or participate in OMAD affiliated programs. Contact your EOP/OMAD adviser for more information.

FLAS Fellowship

For U.S. citizen or permanent resident undergraduate, graduate, and professional students to pursuing area or language studies in critical need locations.

Fred G. Zahn Scholarship Fund

12 scholarships of $1500 for students who graduated from a high school in WA and with financial need. Open to undergrad and grad students.

Washington Women in Need Scholarship

This scholarship seeks to remove financial barriers to low-income students seeking higher education.