There are wonderful opportunities out there for students. However, how do you get to know about them? Marshall Scholarship is one of such great chances to live your academic dream. To learn more about this scholarship, continue reading through.
What is Marshall Scholarship about?
The Marshall Scholarship is a postgraduate scholarship. It is for “intellectually distinguished young Americans [and] their country’s future leaders”. Also, it is to study at any university in the United Kingdom.
Additionally, it is widely considered one of the most prestigious scholarships for U.S. citizens. Interestingly, it is the only broadly available scholarship available to Americans to study at any university in the United Kingdom.
The Emergence of the Marshall Scholarship
The Marshall Scholarship was created by the Parliament of the United Kingdom in 1953. It was created as a living gift to the United States. And this was in recognition of the generosity of Secretary of State George C. Marshall and the Marshall Plan. This was in the wake of World War II.
The goal of the scholarship was to strengthen the Special Relationship between the two countries. And this was for “the good of mankind in this turbulent world.” The Marshall Scholarship is awarded by the Marshall Aid Commemoration Commission.
Also, it is largely funded by the British government. The program was also the first major co-educational British graduate scholarship. And one-third of the inaugural cohort in 1954 was women.
With nearly 1,000 universities endorsed and selected, applicants in recent years, it is among the most selective graduate scholarship for Americans. And it has an acceptance rate of around 4 per cent, and as low as 3.2 per cent in 2015.
Marshall Scholarship Alumni
There are over 1,900 Marshall Scholar alumni. Many of these alumni have achieved distinctions and hold prestigious careers. In the government, current alumni include:
- Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States.
- The director of the CIA.
- Members of Congress and presidential cabinets, and state governors.
Alumni are CEOs of companies such as LinkedIn and Dolby Labs. Also, they are managing editors of Time magazine and CNN. Additionally, they are deans of:
- Yale Law School, Stanford Law School.
- The Harvard Kennedy School and Harvard College.
- Presidents of Duke University.
- Wellesley College, the Cooper Union, and Caltech.
- Also, they include a Nobel Laureate.
- A winner of the Kluge Prize.
- Four Pulitzer Prize-winning authors.
- Twelve MacArthur Genius Grant
- NASA’s Youngest Astronaut.
- Two Oscar
- Also, one awardee of the Distinguished Flying Cross for service during the Iraq War.
Objectives of Marshall Scholarship
In a letter to the first class of Marshall Scholars, George Marshall echoed his own words. This is in initially presenting his ideas for European recovery by saying:
“A close accord between our two countries is essential to the good of mankind in this turbulent world of today, and that is not possible without an intimate understanding of each other. These scholarships point the way to the continuation and growth of the understanding which found its necessity in the terrible struggle of the war years.”
The published objectives of the Marshall Scholarships are outlined as follows:
- To enable intellectually distinguished young Americans, their country’s future leaders, to study in the UK.
- Also, to help scholars gain an understanding and appreciation of contemporary Britain.
- To contribute to the advancement of knowledge in science, technology, the humanities and social sciences and the creative arts at Britain’s centres of academic excellence.
- Also, to motivate scholars to act as ambassadors from the U.S. to the UK and vice versa throughout their lives thus strengthening British American understanding.
- Additionally, to promote the personal and academic fulfilment of each scholar.
Who is Eligible to Become a Marshall Scholar?
All applicants for Marshall Scholarship must be US citizens when they apply the scholarship. Also, students must have completed their undergraduate degrees in the US. And they must not have attended a UK school for A-Levels or GCSE examinations.
Academic excellence is an important part of the application. As such, students must have a grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.7.
The Marshall Scholarship does not accept rounded GPAs. Also, students cannot have studied an undergraduate degree or the equivalent in the UK.
What PG Courses are Eligible for Marshall Scholarships?
There are some restrictions on the subject area that can be studied. Our bespoke course search – which is hosted on the Marshall Scholarships website – enables students to search all eligible courses. This is to help them apply for a scholarship.
Marshall Scholarships are not available for US students planning to study for an MBA (Masters of Business Administration) at any university. And there are some restrictions on topics such as:
- Law at the University of Oxford.
- Global Health at the University of Oxford.
- Tropical Medicine and Public Policy programs at the University of Oxford.
- Also, Marshall Scholars cannot study programs that are longer than one or two years.
- Additionally, they cannot study programs nor can the program of study result in a professional qualification such as Medical or Veterinary Studies.
- Distance learning courses in any format are excluded. This is like any program of study that involves a significant period away from the university.
- Also, Marshall Scholars can study a course that is offered jointly between two institutions as long as both universities are in the UK.
CLICK HERE to see if you can find an eligible course.
What are the Criteria to Gain a Marshall Scholarship?
The three equal criteria that are assessed as part of the application to the Marshall Scholarship are:
- Academic Merit
- Leadership Potential
- Ambassadorial Potential
How do You Apply for a Marshall Scholarship?
Applications for Marshall Scholarship open each year. Usually, it opens in early June and is completed online. In the first instance, students choose their PG program. And they apply through their undergraduate university or institution.
The institution then accesses their application and decides if they will support or endorse the application. If your institution decides to endorse your application, then they will submit it to the Marshall Scholarship program.
The Marshall Scholarship program splits the US into eight regions. And there is no restriction on the number of applicants from each region. However, each institution can only submit 24 applications to the Marshall Scholarship in any one year.
Your university may have its own deadlines that you will need to meet. But the Marshall Scholarship program deadline for application is usually the end of September.
For more information and to apply please CLICK HERE. Please make good use of this opportunity. Also, do not hesitate to share it with your loved ones.
