Abroad Awards

For these awards, the Scholarship Opportunities Program seeks undergraduates with the ambition to become intellectual leaders in specific academic or artistic fields, or practical leaders in government, nonprofit, or international business contexts.

Applicants should have at least two, and hopefully all three, of the following desirable qualifications:

1. Academic Excellence

Potential applicants should have demonstrated the potential to achieve the highest levels of academic merit and accomplishment, including sustained participation in original research or creative projects. The formation of close relationships with faculty mentors is also essential to building a competitive profile toward these awards.

2. Record of Service and Leadership

Potential applicants should have demonstrated the capacity and vision for original public or community service and organizational leadership achievements. Practical leadership may take many different forms, such as:

Founding roles in new organizations or entrepreneurial ventures;
Rising, within an existing organization, from the entry level of member or volunteer to a position of significant responsibility and influence;
Sustained participation and dedication to achievement of increasingly challenging objectives related to a particular project or cause;
Significant, progressively-responsible work or internship experience.

You must be able to articulate how you made a unique and measurable impact, separate from other members of the project or organization and others who have held the same or similar roles. The formation of close relationships with supervisors and mentors is essential to building a competitive profile toward these awards.

3. Cross-Cultural Engagement Skills.

Potential applicants are able to describe their participation in coursework and/or extracurricular activities that develop intercultural fluency, including but not limited to:

Foreign or second language learning
Study abroad program participation
Peer mentoring or conversation partner experience
Membership and volunteer service (and preferably, leadership roles) in cross-cultural campus or off-campus organizations.

Please note: External scholarship agencies will consider all of your credit-bearing coursework from any college or institution as part of the review process (including CSU, community colleges, private colleges or other UC campuses/Extension programs, and including units earned while in high school or studying abroad). For eligibility purposes, grades from other colleges will be included in calculation of your cumulative (overall) undergraduate GPA.

Application Procedures

Pre-Application Opens: Early Oct. 2022 | Due by: October 24, 2022 at 12:00 Noon

Self-enroll and complete SOP-PREP.
At the completion of SOP-PREP, you will meet with a Student Advisor and receive links to appropriate Pre-Application forms based on your academic interests and goals.
If your Pre-Application is deemed eligible for personalized advising, you will be assigned an SOP primary advisor, under whose guidance you will work on your application materials for 3 months.

Killam Fellowship (Canada)

The Killam Fellowships Program provides funding for exceptional undergraduate students to study in Canada for either one term ($5,000) or a full academic year ($10,000). The goal of the program is to increase mutual understanding between Canada and the United States of America. The fellowship includes a number of enrichment opportunities covered by the Killam Mobility Program, including the Fall Orientation, a Cultural Awareness Grant, and the Spring Seminar.