College Scholarships for Indonesia
From Tsunami-Ravaged Sumatra to once Exotic Bali and War-Torn Timor
Indonesia offers students at once an awe-inspiring palette of educational fodder and then again a social and political environment totally unsuited for the feint of heart. You won’t find many of your average tourists hanging around the Indonesian islands anymore. But for educational opportunities the region is excellent for examination across a range of disciplines. Not only could you study social and political issues, public health, sustainable development and the environment, but there are so many volcanoes that the country is desirable to volcanologists as well.
Government Scholarships
The National Security Educational Program wants you to study in Indonesia. The David L. Boren Scholarships are designed for undergraduate and graduate level students who wish to study in challenging locations. Programs must enable students to fully immerse themselves in the culture and language. Preference is given to students who major in engineering, poli-sci, math, the sciences and language studies. These are very competitive and require applicants have superior academics. Awards may be as much as $20,000. After graduation recipients must be agreeable to working off their award in the Department of Defense or the Department of Homeland Security. Those who are interested in long-term careers in security at the national level will be preferred for these scholarships.
If you are a Pell Grant recipient and heading off to a challenging semester or year of study in Indonesia, you may qualify for one of the prestigious and highly sought Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarships. Combine this with your academic aptitude and you may be leaving the country with an additional $5,000 to offset the costs of tuition and travel, with some pocket change left over for expenses. Thanks to the federal government, disadvantaged college students may now win big with study abroad scholarships. Indonesia offers extremely challenging conditions on all fronts and positions applicants nicely in the sea of other applicants. Qualified candidates may be minorities, disabled or attending non-liberal arts institutions, such as community colleges and two-year colleges.
Private Funds
The Freeman Asia Awards are designed to give U.S. students monetary assistance with programs in Asia. Once upon a time, this area of the world was out of reach to most students. The Freeman Awards aim to remedy that. Students pursuing studies in Indonesia may apply for scholarships on the basis of academic merit in combination with proven financial need. Preference is given to students with no previous abroad experience. Awards may be given for summer, semester or year programs and are up to $7,000 depending on the term.
Study Abroad Organizations
The School for International Training (SIT) makes it part of its business to offer first-class programs that engage students across a wide international theater. The organization also provides various scholarships, many of which specifically target programs or countries of interest. The SIT Asia Fund is designed to supplement the tuitions of students going to Indonesia, especially for the Bali: Arts and Culture program. Eligible applicants must demonstrate academic excellence and prove financial need for the funding. Asian Studies students are shown preference and those with good letters of recommendation from faculty fare even better. Award amounts vary.
