UC Berkeley Among Leading Recipients of Study Abroad Scholarship

Berkeley, California, August 24, 2009 – 20 UC Berkeley students have been awarded the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship to participate in Fall 2009 and Academic Year 2009-10 study abroad programs, ranking the university as the second-leading recipient of Gilman awards among all U.S. universities and the top recipient among UC campuses.

The Gilman Scholarship Program supports students who have been traditionally under-represented in study abroad, including but not limited to, students with high financial need, community college students, students in under-represented fields such as the sciences and engineering, students with diverse ethnic backgrounds, and students with disabilities. The program also aims to encourage students to choose non-traditional study abroad destinations, especially those outside of Western Europe and Australia.

Nearly 65% of UC Berkeley undergraduates receive some form of financial aid. In 2007-08, 33 percent of all Berkeley undergrads were eligible for Pell Grants (family incomes typically less than $45,000 a year). Berkeley educates more of these economically disadvantaged students than all of the Ivy League universities combined.

The list of Fall 2009 Gilman Scholars including students’ home state, university and country of study is available at www.iie.org/gilman.