UCIE Fair and Fashion Show | Photo by Kelsie Tomlinson | The Wright State Guardian
Wright State University receives recognition for the number of recipients of the Gilman Scholarship, a federally-funded study abroad program, for 2022.
The award
According to a United States Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs press release, WSU was among one of the institutions to send the most Gilman scholars abroad in 2022. The list includes other institutions, including Mercer University in Georgia and the University of California, Berkeley in California.
The Bureau explained the magnitude of the national study abroad program.
“During the academic year 2020-2021, nearly 300 Gilman participating institutions sent nearly 800 Gilman recipients to 48 U.S. states, D.C, and Puerto Rico to study or intern abroad, including virtually in 77 locations around the world,” the release states.
About the scholarship
According to Megan Trickler, the Education Abroad Coordinator for the University Center for International Education, the Benjamin A. Gilman Scholarship is a federally-funded scholarship congressional award through the U.S. government and is designed to help students who might not normally be able to study abroad due to financial obstacles.
The scholarship is available nation-wide to students who are U.S. citizens and receive a Pell grant, a government grant that does not require students to repay the awarded amount.
At Wright State, more than 50% of the applicants who apply for the scholarship receive the aid because UCIE staff works very hard with students to apply, Trickler explained.
“It can be up to a $5,000 award, but if you are studying a critical language, then they can add an additional $3,000 award. So, you can win up to $8,000 if you are studying a critical language,” Trickler stated.
According to Trickler, a critical language is described as a language that the government has decided that there are not enough speakers in the workforce speaking those languages, such as Arabic, Korean and Russian. A more comprehensive list of critical languages is available on the Benjamin A. Gilman Scholarship website.
Trickler explained that students can apply for the scholarship twice a year, once in the spring and again in the fall.
“[Wright State University] were awarded for the most recipients in the nation for mid-sized institutions this year,” Trickler said. “It’s definitely more work on our part, but it’s 10 times more rewarding to be able to help students that are from [minority] groups be able to achieve study abroad.”
Students can study abroad for a semester, summer or half-summer with programs that are always a part of a group of U.S. students with classes taught in English. Wright State tuition is waived, so students only pay the fee of the program. The classes are always Wright State classes, Trickler explained, so it is never a matter of transferring credits, that way students can still graduate on time.
For more information on the Gilman Scholarship or study abroad, visit the University Center for International Education page.
