Study Abroad Scholarships & Grants

• Application Process
  • Eligibility
  • Admissions Steps
  • Rolling Admissions Dates
  • Independent Study Project (ISP) Proposal
    • Undergraduate Research
  • Passports & Visas
  • Credit Transfer
  • Contact an Admissions Counselor
  • Information Sessions
  • Contact a Former Student
• Financing Your Study Abroad
  • Program Costs
  • Study Abroad Scholarships & Grants
    • Applying for SIT Study Abroad Scholarships
    • Available Scholarships & Grants
    • Pell Grant Match
    • Scholarship FAQ
    • Other Funding Sources
    • Student Budgeting & Financial Preparation
  • Flight Credit for New Programs
  • Parents
  • Transferring Financial Aid
  • Billing

Available Scholarships & Grants

SIT Study Abroad awards need-based scholarships and grants. We do not offer merit-based awards at this time. Average awards range between $500 and $5,000 for our semester programs, and between $500 and $3,000 for our summer programs. Our scholarships and grants are available to all students accepted into an SIT Study Abroad program irrespective of citizenship, national origin, or home school.

We do not require a separate scholarship application for each scholarship fund; eligible students will be evaluated for all funds for which they are eligible.

Please note: SIT Study Abroad scholarships and grants are only applicable to tuition and room/board fees billed by SIT Study Abroad. We do not award scholarships or grants to cover any other expenses, including, but not limited to, immunizations, visa fees, books, or study abroad fees charged by your home school. If your home school has an established billing agreement with us, it is your responsibility to communicate with your home school as to how your SIT scholarship or grant will be passed on to you by your home school. If you are the recipient of a scholarship or grant from us, it will automatically be applied to your bill, which is available to you via Colleague Self-Service.

Below is a partial list of SIT Study Abroad’s scholarships and grants. These scholarships and grants are available only to students applying to an SIT Study Abroad program.

• SIT Pell Grant Match Award – SIT matches Federal Pell Grant funding up to $2,500 for semester students who use their Pell Grant to help pay the cost of their SIT program. Students utilizing their Federal Pell Grant for SIT Study Abroad summer terms receive up to a $1000 match.
• SEO Scholars Award – Students who are Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO) Scholars will receive a $2,000 award for SIT Study Abroad semester or summer programs.
• The Experiment in International Living (EIL) Alumni Study Abroad Scholarship – To recognize and support alumni of EIL summer high school programs who also participate in SIT Study Abroad programs. $1,000 for semester programs and $500 for summer. A $400 scholarship is also available to students who indicate that they have an immediate family member who has participated in an EIL or its College Semester Abroad program.
• Hispanic-serving Scholarships – For students enrolled at Hispanic-serving institutions, including member institutions of HACU who demonstrate financial need, SIT will award a $3,000 scholarship for participation in a semester program and $2,000 for a summer program.
• HBCU Scholarships – For students enrolled at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and who demonstrate financial need, SIT will award a $2,000 scholarship for participation in a semester program or $1,500 for a summer program.
• SIT Bonner Scholar Award – To recognize students participating in this community service program. Upon receipt of confirmation from a student’s Bonner mentor, SIT will award $2,500 for semester programs and $1,000 for summer programs.
• SIT Boren Scholar Award – To recognize students participating in the National Security Education Program (NSEP) funded award, which focuses on study abroad in areas of the world that are critical to US interests and underrepresented in study abroad. Upon receipt of the student’s Boren confirmation letter, SIT will award a $1,000 scholarship.
• Big 10 Academic Alliance Scholarship Award – For students enrolled at Big 10 Academic Alliance universities. Eligible students demonstrating financial need will receive a $1,500 scholarship for semester programs and a $750 scholarship for summer programs.
• SIT Fund – For students with demonstrated financial need who enroll in any SIT Study Abroad program. The SIT Fund aims to help promote study abroad opportunities worldwide.
• SIT Study Abroad Alumni Scholarship – This is an automatic scholarship to recognize and support students who participate in two or more SIT Study Abroad programs, including alumni of short-term summer programs. The scholarship will be applied to a student’s second full term of study with SIT. The scholarship is $1,000 for a fall or spring semester program or $500 for a full-term, international summer program.

These scholarships are available through the generous support of individual donors, foundations, and others:

• The Compton Fund – For students enrolled in SIT programs with environmental, post-conflict transformation, or sustainable development themes.
• John Sommer Scholarship – An average of $5,000 (amount varies) is awarded each semester to a student participating on a program in South or Southeast Asia.
• Joan Tiffany IHP Scholarship – Awarded to students enrolled in one of the comparative International Honors Programs.
• The Richard and Dale Levy India Scholarship – $5,000 is awarded to one student participating in a semester program in India.
• Sally Bragg Baker Scholarship – An average of $4,500 (amount varies) is awarded to one female student, 22 years of age or younger, who demonstrates international awareness and a desire to create a more peaceful world through international exchange. This scholarship is available for summer programs only.
• Sarah B. and Clarence J. Gamble Scholarship – For students on a program which includes a focus on population studies, women’s health or population-related health and nutrition work. Students on any program choosing to design their Independent Study Project to focus on these areas may also be eligible.
• SIT Bergstrom Foundation Scholarships – These scholarships ($30,000 divided between several students annually, with an average award of $3,750 per student) are for students who wish to study in Latin America or East Africa and focus primarily on women’s reproductive health and/or other topics such as girls’ education, poverty, social justice, ecology, or regional integration. Preferred SIT East Africa programs are those based in Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, or Tanzania.
• SIT Robert Kantor Memorial Scholarship – This $10,000 scholarship opportunity is for one student per year. The student must demonstrate extreme financial need, attend an HBCU (or other minority-serving institution), be a first-generation college student, and have never previously traveled abroad.

Recipients of these scholarships may be asked to submit additional materials such as a thank you note, short reflection paper or a copy of their Independent Study Project.

Other Opportunities

Are you a veteran of the US military, a recipient of a Federal Pell Grant, or an SEO Scholar?  If so, you may be eligible to have your application fee waived and/or your deposit fee deferred until your final bill is due. If you think you qualify, please contact the SIT Study Abroad financial aid and scholarship coordinator.

As part of SIT’s effort to increase access to study abroad and to diversify the locations where students study abroad from our partner institutions, SIT may occasionally identify special scholarship funding that is made available for select programs or for students at select colleges and universities. SIT will communicate those funding opportunities with the appropriate applicants and school partners and make those funds available to any student at the selected institutions.