Ukraine Scholarships
Emerging Market Economy in Light of Communist Past
Just a couple of decades ago, Ukraine was in the last stages of heavy-handed rule under the regime of the USSR. Now, this part of Eastern Europe has begun to spread its wings. Ukraine is an appropriate international classroom in which students may observe, first hand, the unique struggles and challenges facing a formerly corrupt system that now has a new world agenda.
Federal Scholarships
If you ever thought you were too poor to go abroad, think again. There are over 700 scholarship opps for undergraduate students who are motivated to go abroad to Ukraine and other destinations. You have to be a Pell Grant recipient to even fill out an application for the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarships and then your academics better be pretty great; there’s stiff competition for these babies and Gilman Scholars are often highly regarded and honored. The point is to create a future generation of leaders who have a widely divergent background, but who are internationally savvy. Preference is given to students with multiple challenges. Awards may be as much as $5,000 depending on financial need and program.
For those students who may not be economically disadvantaged but who are willing to comply with a scholarship for service exchange with the federal government, the David L. Boren Scholarships offer big-time monetary rewards. These are created to generate a pool of recruits niche-trained in critical languages and cultures and prepared better than ever to work in national security and related fields. Undergraduates and graduates may apply for slightly different versions of the program, but students may receive up to $26,000 to study in Ukraine. Programs must allow students to become intimately involved with local culture and customs, as well as learn the vernacular of the Ukrainian language. Preference for these scholarships is given to students who are committed to a long-term career in government.
Private Funding
Student scholars whose research requires travel to Ukraine may qualify for travel fellowships available from IREX. IREX is world-recognized for supporting democratic forms of international communications and helps fund the work of others who play a part in sustainable development. Eligible candidates must be graduate or post-graduate students with a well-honed research project to work on in Ukraine. The stipends are reserved for short-term projects. Maximum award is $5,000.
Rotary International is a world-renowned organization that spends a great deal of time and energy working on humanitarian projects and funding others with similar goals. The Ambassadorial Scholarships are popular and highly sought by students both for their generous funding as well as for their prestige. Selected students must be both academically talented and possess leadership skills. Ideal candidates exhibit all around strong moral and ethical ideas and conduct themselves appropriately at all times. Students participating in a program in Ukraine may apply for consideration. Preference is given to those whose program plan emphasizes peace or sustainable development curricula. Scholarships are up to $26,000 for a year of study in Ukraine.
College Scholarships
Michigan State University School of Criminal Justice sponsors the program: In Search of a New Democracy in the Ukraine. Students from any institution may qualify for acceptance into the program. Ukraine offers social science majors a perfect experiential classroom in which to examine the migration of political systems and the emergence of a whole new social fabric. Scholarships available to MSU students include:
- OSA Academic Excellence Scholarships are exactly as they sound. These awards are based solely on academic merit and provide funds to the most outstanding students.
- Forest Akers Scholarships go to financially needy students who may not be deep enough in economic distress to qualify for other programs.
- MSU Federal Credit Union provides very generous awards to the widest array of students taking off to international destinations. Up to $2,000 is possible based on academics and financial need.
The University of Pittsburgh regularly sponsors a Ukraine trip. U of Pitt is unique in its handling of international abroad study: the programs are broken up into “nationality rooms,” or offices that specialize in each study abroad program and/or location. The Ukraine nationality room administers the Eugene Manasterski Memorial Award that is given to an outstanding student traveling to Ukraine. The award is named in memory of a former student who was killed and the total scholarship is $2,500.
Scholarships for Ukrainian Students
The Edmund S. Muskie Graduate Fellowship Program is designed to offer graduate Ukrainian students an opportunity to study at an institution in the U.S. Students may apply for up to two-years of funding and are required to be pursuing a social science discipline in an international context.
