Funding Your Experience
At Elon, we are committed to ensuring 100% access to study away opportunities. Each year, we provide more than $750,000 in scholarships and grants for eligible students—made possible through the university and the generosity of our donors.
Studying abroad or participating in Study USA is an exciting experience, but financial planning is just as important as choosing your program. Below, you’ll find a list of scholarships and grants designed to support students studying away. Be sure to explore individual program pages for estimated program and living costs, and reach out to the Office of Financial Aid with any questions about your individual aid package. Resources for Students on a Budget also provides tips for planning ahead.
Investing time in researching funding options now can make your study away experience more affordable and stress-free. Start exploring your opportunities today!
Financial Aid
Whether you already receive financial aid or you are applying for the first time, you must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form and adhere to the same deadlines that apply for on-campus aid. Federal limitations apply.
In order to be considered for further loans because of increased study abroad expenses, contact the Office of Financial Aid for an appointment after you have applied for a program through the GEC. Bring a copy of the cost information for your program.
Financial Aid by Program Type
Financial aid varies based on each student’s individual aid package. As a starting point, here’s how aid typically applies across different study away programs:
- Semester Programs: Students can apply their financial aid (grants, scholarships, and loans) to Elon and approved external semester study away programs.
- Summer Programs: Financial aid options for summer vary. Some scholarships or loans may be available, but eligibility depends on the program and how much aid students have remaining from the academic year.
- Winter Term: Beyond the aid provided for regular tuition and fees on campus, additional aid is generally not available for winter term program fees. Students may be eligible for travel grants, global scholarships, or loans. See below for scholarships and grants.
- Fall Embedded Programs: Fall tuition is covered within a student’s regular semester aid package. Additional program costs can be added to a student’s budget to allow for loan assistance if needed.
- Non-Elon Petition Programs: Financial aid cannot be used for study away programs fully hosted by another school unless a consortium agreement is in place, in which case only federal aid may be available. Institutional aid does not transfer.
Scholarships & Grants
Below are scholarships offered through the GEC and other campus units. Students can apply for the Elon Global Scholarship when submitting their study abroad or Study USA application. All other scholarship applications are managed by a different campus office or external organization. More details are available below.
Elon Global Scholarships
- Merit-based
- Need-based
- Short-term programs are eligible
Students can apply for Elon Global Scholarship consideration when they apply for a study abroad or Study USA program.
Elon Global Scholarships aim to support Elon’s goal of 100 percent access to global engagement by reducing the cost barrier for students with financial need.
Elon Global Scholarships are ONE-TIME, FIRST-TIME awards. In other words, if a student plans to study abroad or Study USA more than once while at Elon, they should apply for an Elon Global Scholarship for their FIRST program. If they do not apply for an Elon Global Scholarship for their first program, they are not eligible for consideration for any subsequent programs.
Also note that Non-Elon programs (i.e. programs applied for through a Non-Elon Petition) are not eligible for Elon Global Scholarships, and that if you study away through a Non-Elon petition, you are not eligible for Elon Global Scholarship consideration for future terms.
In order to considered, you must first meet three criteria:
- FAFSA filed or CSS profile completed for the current academic year. If you have not yet filed a FAFSA or completed a CSS profile, do so as soon as possible to ensure you are eligible for scholarship consideration. If you’re not sure how to file a FAFSA or complete a CSS profile, please contact the Office of Financial Aid at (336) 278-7640.
- Demonstrated financial need according to your current FAFSA/profile. If you are not sure whether you have demonstrated financial need, call the Office of Financial Aid at 336-278-7640.
- No previous Elon global engagement. If you are not sure whether an experience at Elon (such as Fellows cohort travel) counts as “previous global engagement,” please call the Global Education Center (GEC) at 336-278-6700. If in doubt, apply for an Elon Global Scholarship below and we will determine your eligibility at the point of consideration.
Other Scholarships at Elon
Organization |
Scholarship Details |
El Centro de Español Scholarship
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El Centro offers round-trip plane tickets (up to $650) to Spanish-speaking countries for Elon students who complete a minimum number of hours (140) of conversational Spanish classes. |
Elon Fellows and Elon Scholars Travel Grants
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If you have a Fellows or Scholars travel grant, use the links below to see how your grant can be applied toward your study abroad or Study USA program. |
Jane Macon Baird Scholarship
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Two $4,000 scholarships will be awarded each year to either Honors or Elon College Fellows who intend to go to medical school and who design their undergraduate curriculum to support that goal. These scholarships are renewable annually, provided students meet the criteria for the scholarship. |
Heidi Glaesel Frontani Memorial Study Abroad Essay Contest
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Given in memory of Heidi Frontani, Professor of Geography, onetime chair of the Department of History and Geography, pioneering leader of the Ghana Periclean cohort, and scholar and advocate for the peoples of Africa. Provides $1,000 to help defray the cost of studying abroad. |
Department of History and Geography Scholarships
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The Department of History and Geography offers several awards, in addition to their annual Heidi Glaesel Frontani Memorial Study Abroad Essay Contest.
Criteria vary for each named award, but often, awards are specified for history and geography majors and/or North Carolina residents. |
The Leadership Prize
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The Prize will award $10,000, payable over three semesters, to help awarded undergraduate students offset tuition, study an issue that matters, and develop a pilot effort to test possible solutions. Applications are due in October of the fall semester of the applicant’s junior year. |
Kernodle Center for Civic Life Scholarships
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The Kernodle Center for Civic Life offers several named scholarships, each with different particulars, but focused on service learning and community engagement. |
External Funding: Program Specific Scholarships (available to students on a given program)
Organization |
Scholarship Details |
American University in Cairo (AUC)
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AUC offers financial assistance to study abroad students, who are visiting AUC from their home institutions, as well as international non-degree students who enroll in AUC courses but are not currently pursuing a degree. |
Arcadia University
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Arcadia offers need-based scholarships ranging from $500 to $2,000 for semester programs. |
CET Academic Program
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CET offers scholarships to students studying abroad on CET programs ranging from $500 to $2,000 per semester. |
Council for International Education Exchange (CIEE)
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CIEE offers several scholarships to students enrolling in CIEE semester programs. |
Danish International Studies (DIS)
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DIS offers several different semester scholarships of various amounts. Scholarships are awarded for financial need and academic merit. |
Foundation for International Education (FIE)
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FIE awards Sharif Rahman Scholarships. Each recipient receives $1,000. |
School for International Training (SIT)
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SIT offers a broad range of scholarships and grants, including through Pell Grant Match. Semester scholarship awards generally range from $500 to $5,000. |
School for Field Studies (SFS)
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School for Field Studies (SFS) awards more than $180,000 in need-based scholarships each year with roughly one third of SFS students receiving some type of aid. The maximum award for a semester is $5,000. SFS also offers travel grants, which have been established to help offset the cost of travel to SFS programs. The Kenya program is given preference as the cost of airfare is significantly higher than other SFS programs. |
Semester at Sea
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Semester at Sea offers $5 million in scholarships to students in its program each year. Scholarships can be based on merit, diversity, work study, research or several other factors, with variable amounts of funding. |
Additional External Scholarships
Organization |
Scholarship Details |
Benjamin A. Gilman International
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Gilman Scholarships are awarded to students receiving a Federal Pell Grant at the time of application. Awarded in amounts up to $5,000, the Gilman scholarship was established to help students of limited financial means study abroad for a semester or year. Only U.S. citizens are eligible to apply. You may be more competitive for this scholarship if you are studying in a non-traditional location, or are a member of a group traditionally underrepresented in study abroad. Also, if you are studying a “critical need language,” you may qualify for an additional scholarship. |
Boren Awards
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The Boren Scholarship, funded by the National Security Education Program (NSEP), is a unique opportunity for students interested in studying in world regions critical to U.S. interests. This can be a large scholarship—up to $10,000 for the semester or $20,000 for the year—and involves a federal service requirement after graduation from college. The program requirements are very specific and depend on location and level of language study. The list of geographic areas, languages, and fields of study that qualify are updated each year, so check the website for the most up-to-date information. Awards are based on merit and need, though need is not considered during the application process. Preference is given to applications for a full academic year of study abroad. NSEP also funds a graduate Boren Fellowship. Students must meet with the Elon campus representative no later than November 1 to apply for the following academic year. |
Bridging Scholarships for Japan
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The Association of Teachers of Japanese Bridging Project offers scholarships to American undergraduate students participating in study abroad programs in Japan. Funding from private foundations and major U.S. corporations has made it possible for ATJ to award 60-100 scholarships to assist students with the travel and living expenses they will incur while studying abroad in Japan for a semester or an academic year. Recipients of Bridging Scholarships will receive stipends of $2,500 or $4,000, depending on the length of their study program in Japan. The scholarships are funded by donations from corporations, individuals, and foundations to the US-Japan Bridging Foundation.
*Study in Japan must last for at least three months in order to be eligible for this award. |
CEDintheCity Forever Scholarship
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The CedintheCity Scholars program was created to put feet to CedintheCity’s vision to change the face of travel by encouraging African American students to study abroad and supporting their quests to do so. We hope that this program will alleviate some of the financial burden and be a catalyst for African Americans to expand their horizons and deepen their connectivity to other cultures through global travel. |
Diversity Abroad
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Diversity Abroad offers a robust collection of resources, guides and student voices for finding and supporting study abroad programs. |
Education in Ireland
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Education in Ireland curates a list of scholarships available for international students from a wide variety of sources such as the Government of Ireland, the Irish higher education institutions, and other organizations. |
Douglass-O’Connell Global Internship
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For the Douglass-O’Connell Global Internship (formerly known as the Frederick Douglass Global Fellowship), exceptional student leaders will be selected for a transformative eight-week summer internship program in Dublin, Ireland, during which they will expand their understanding of Irish history and culture while gaining practical work experience.
Co-sponsored by CIEE, Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs, and the African American Irish Diaspora Network (AAIDN), the program honors two iconic leaders in the global movement for freedom, equality, social justice, and economic mobility by preparing students from diverse backgrounds for future and career success. |
Fund for Education Abroad
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The mission of the Fund for Education Abroad (FEA) is to provide scholarships and ongoing support to students who are underrepresented among the U.S. study abroad population. FEA makes life-changing, international experiences accessible to all by supporting students of color, community college, and first-generation college students before, during, and after they participate in education abroad programs.
When a student applies to an FEA scholarship, they are considered for upwards of two dozen named awards. *Study abroad program must be at least 4 weeks (28 days) in country/countries. |
German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)
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Highly qualified undergraduate students are invited to apply for scholarships funding study, senior thesis research and/or internships in Germany. The goal of this program is to support study abroad in Germany and at German universities. Preference will be given to students whose projects or programs are based at and organized by a German university. Scholarships are available either as part of an organized study abroad program or as part of an individual, student-designed study abroad semester or year. Scholarships may be granted for a minimum of four (one semester) and a maximum of 10 months (one academic year). Recipients will be awarded a monthly stipend of approximately € 650, plus additional funds to help defray travel and research expenses as well as health insurance. There are many different types of scholarships offered through DAAD.
*Must be a Sophomore or above |
Go Overseas
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Go Overseas offers several scholarships for study in Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, and Scotland, as well as several general scholarships for studying, interning, and volunteering abroad. |
ItaliaRail
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ItaliaRail is committed to helping students study abroad in Italy—and immerse themselves in the country’s rich and dynamic culture. The ItaliaRail Scholarship is open to those who have enrolled in their college or university’s Study Abroad program in Italy. They will be giving out two scholarships of $1,000 each, plus a 3-day Italy Rail Pass for each winner during both the Winter/Spring semester and Fall Semester. |
Lord Acton Memorial
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The Association of American Study Abroad Programmes UK (AASAP) is offering an annual scholarship of £1,000 to a deserving study abroad student to pursue academic study in the United Kingdom. The merit-based scholarship will be awarded to the applicant who demonstrates an understanding and appreciation of the value of an international educational experience and who agrees to share with AASAP/UK members the ways in which the scholarship has helped to fulfil their academic and personal ambitions. The award will be £1,000 for a semester or full year abroad. The minimum duration of study is one semester. |
Phi Kappa Phi
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Phi Kappa Phi Study Abroad Grants are designed to help support undergraduates as they seek knowledge and experience in their academic fields by studying abroad. One hundred twenty-five $1,000 grants are awarded each year.
Applicants do not have to be Society members but must attend an institution with an active Phi Kappa Phi chapter (Elon has an active Phi Kappa Phi chapter). Applicants must have a cumulative GPA of 3.75 or above. |
Rotary International
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Rotary International is a service organization that tackles critical issues facing the globe. Rotary promotes international exchange through global grants and chapter funding.
Use the Club Finder to locate your home chapter, and call to see if you chapter offers study abroad scholarships or discretionary funding for which you may qualify. |
Victor J. Goldberg IIE Prize for Peace in the Middle East
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IIE awards the IIE Victor J. Goldberg Prize for Peace in the Middle East annually to recognize outstanding work being conducted jointly by two individuals, one Arab and one Israeli, working together to advance the cause of peace in the Middle East. The two individuals whose work is judged to be most successful in bringing people together and meeting the goals of the Prize share a US$10,000 prize. |
