Uganda Study Abroad Scholarships
Post-Idi Amin Uganda offers Real Life Instruction
Uganda is a destination marked for its ability to instruct students in human rights issues, AIDS, and a range of socio-political conflict and war. Since the destruction wreaked by Idi Amin, Uganda has stuck to rebuilding its infrastructure and is perhaps one of the more stable countries in this East Africa region. Neighboring Rwanda has not been so lucky.
Geographically Uganda is interesting as well for its "great lakes," including renowned Lake Victoria. Most study abroad programs in Uganda are focused on sustainable development, peace and conflict studies or on research-focused projects in the health sciences.
Government Scholarships
One of the best ways for an undergraduate to go abroad is via on of the federal government’s scholarship programs:
- Each year hundreds of Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarships are handed out. Candidates must be undergraduates, Pell Grant recipients and interested in a challenging non-traditional destination, such as Uganda. It’s not a highly trafficked destination, so chances are good you will be considered. However, the Gilmans overall are fiercely competitive. Awards are up to $7,000.
- David L. Boren Scholarships come in two slightly different versions, one for undergraduates and the other for graduates. The awards are a design of the National Security Education Program whose purpose is to provide American students with amore intimate knowledge of language and culture from regions of national interest, including Uganda. In exchange for up to $25,000 recipients must return a stint of work with a national security agency following graduation, or better yet, seek a long-term career in the field. You’ll find extremely stiff competition for a Boren.
Fogarty International Center/Ellison Clinical Research Fellowships are designed to assist those medical students or others studying in a health profession with access to study opportunities in National Institutes of Health (NIH) hospitals in developing countries, including Uganda. Candidates compete for fellowships that put them working and researching alongside key physicians and researchers in international clinical research projects. Specifically projects in Uganda are targeting HIV and Tuberculosis.
The Fulbright Scholarship program is one of the most prestigious in the world. Each year students and high-level scholars are awarded full or partial funding for study or research abroad. Applicants for Uganda are awarded full scholarships for an academic year. The Fulbright program offers suggestions for "affiliate" institutions and fields of study, including health and medicine, humanities and social sciences, among others. Eligible candidates must be graduate or Ph.D. candidates to be considered for this particular location.
Study Abroad Organizations
"Peace and Conflict Studies in the Lake Victoria Basin" is one of the newest and most innovative programs available through the School for International Training (SIT). The organization is a leader in study abroad programs, adding increasingly complex, challenging and insightful programs each year as students become more accustomed to the inclusion of international studies. Between Uganda and Rwanda, the sites for this program, participants are engaged in a lively analysis of contemporary socio-political environments as well as explorations of regional conflict, including a close look at the genocide in recent Rwandan history. Scholarships available include:
- Compton Fund awards are given to SIT participants who are engaged in a "peace studies" program, such as the one to Uganda. Applicants are considered on the basis of a combination of academics and financial need.
- SIT Fund provides the most widely disbursed awards to those most in financial need. Typically students might otherwise be unable to fund an overseas program.
- Diversity Fund recognizes populations of students that have been unrepresented in study abroad programs.
- HBCU Funds are given to financially needy students whose home institution is a Historically Black College.
- Sally Bragg Baker Scholarships recognize female participants who most exemplify a spirit of "international exchange" and believe passionately in world peace.
