Fellowships and External Funding

Paul D. Coverdell Fellowship

a Peace Corps volunteer paints the world map on a school in Africa

The Paul D. Coverdell Fellowship program offers financial assistance to returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCV) who would like to study at the graduate level. All fellows complete internships in underserved American communities, allowing them to bring home and expand upon the skills they learned as Volunteers. These skills in adapting to new cultures, developing and managing projects, dealing with language barriers, and leveraging limited resources attract the attention of prospective schools. At Texas State, the Coverdell Fellowship is available for RPCVs applying to the International Studies Master's Degree Program. Although the Center for International Studies admits students year-round, Coverdell applicants are reviewed and admitted during Fall semesters only.

Fulbright U.S. Student Program

The Fulbright U.S. Student Program offers funded research, study, and teaching opportunities in over 140 countries to US citizens. Students may apply for Fulbright Study/Research awards in all academic and creative & performing arts fields, which provide grants for individually designed research/creative projects, or English Teaching Assistant (ETA) awards, through which grantees are placed in schools overseas to supplement local English language instruction.

Grant benefits for all Fulbright U.S. Student grants include round-trip transportation to the host country; funding to cover room, board, and incidental costs, based on the cost of living in the host country; and accident and sickness health benefits.

Applications take several months to prepare and are typically due in October. Undergraduates should contact Dr. Lisa Haegele, Undergraduate Fulbright Program Adviser. Graduate students should contact Dr. Brian Smith & Dr. Andrea Hilkovitz, Graduate Fulbright Program Advisers

Boren Awards

Boren Scholarships and Fellowships provide unique funding opportunities for U.S. Undergraduate and Graduate students to add an important international and language component to their educations. Boren Scholarships and Fellowships focus on geographic areas, languages, and fields of study that are critical to U.S. interests and underrepresented in study abroad.

Boren Scholarships provide up to $25,000 for an academic year’s study abroad. Boren Fellowships provide up to $30,000 for language study and international research.

Applications and detailed information on the Boren Scholarships and Fellowships are now available on the Boren Scholarships website.

Graduate students, please contact Dr. Andrea Hilkovitz & Dr. Brian Smith, Boren campus representatives in The Graduate College, if you're interested in applying for a Boren Fellowship.

Gilman International Scholarship

The Gilman Scholarship is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and is administered by the Institute of International Education. Gilman Scholarships provide awards of up to $5,000 for U.S. undergraduate students who are receiving federal Pell Grant funding at a two-year or four-year college or university to participate in study abroad programs worldwide. Over 2,000 scholarships are usually awarded every year.

For more information about the Gilman Scholarship, application deadlines and timeline, and the application process, please visit the Gilman website, contact the Gilman Program at (800)852-2141 or via e-mail at gilman@iie.org.

Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) Program

The Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) Program is a fully-funded summer overseas language and cultural immersion program for American Undergraduate and Graduate students. With the goal of broadening the base of Americans studying and mastering critical languages and building relationships between the people of the United States and other countries, CLS provides opportunities to a diverse range of students from across the United States at every level of language learning. The CLS Program is a program of the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

The CLS Program is fully funded from start to finish and covers many of the costs of participating in its overseas institutes, including intensive overseas group-based language courses, room and board (often with a host family), airfare, and a small stipend to cover incidental expenses and meals not provided by the program. Past program sites have included Azerbaijan, China, Georgia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Morocco, Oman, Russia, South Korea, Taiwan, Tajikistan, and Tanzania.

Undergraduates should contact Dr. Heather Galloway. Graduate students should contact Dr. Andrea Hilkovitz