External Scholarships
Students have a great many scholarship and fellowship opportunities available to them. On the undergraduate level, scholarships are offered by a wide variety of institutions and organizations, ranging from employers and civic institutions to fraternal organizations and individual bequests. At the graduate level, scholarships and fellowships are available from academic departments, foundations, and government agencies. The following national scholarships and fellowships are all highly prestigious and hence highly competitive. They have varying eligibility requirements and application procedures, so students should visit the websites listed. Undergraduate Academic Engagement staff will assist students with inquiries regarding these scholarship opportunities. Some scholarships have specific internal deadlines, since in many cases the University must recommend the student to the scholarship organization, and the more competitive scholarships may limit the number of students any one institution may forward for consideration. More information is listed below about these scholarships. Contact honors@unco.edu with any questions.
DAAD Scholarships
Funding and opportunities for research and study in Germany
David Boren Undergraduate Scholarship
Supports language and cultural study abroad experiences outside Western Europe
Freeman-Asia Awards
Award for undergraduates for study in Asia
Fulbright U.S. Student Program
Funding for one year abroad after receiving a bachelor's degreee, for either research/study projects or for teaching English. Students may apply early in the Fall semester of their senior year, but should seek out information and begin to plan for Fulbright in their junior year.
UNC offers robust support for students seeking a Fulbright Award. Dr. Karen Barton, a many time Fulbright recipient, in coordination with the Office of Global Engagement will provide support and assistance to students applying for the Fulbright program. Students apply for one of two programs: Teaching English program or the Open Study/Research Awards. For the Fall 2023 application cycle (2024-2025 awards), the following is the UNC internal deadline schedule:
- Notify Dr. Karen Barton of your intent by July 15.
- Preliminary Internal UNC deadline - 1st round of edits - September 8
- Internal UNC deadline 2nd round of edits - September 20
- Final Internal UNC Fulbright submission deadline - September 30
- National Fulbright student deadline - October 10 (FPA certifis and submits in Fulbright portal by 3 pm MT/5 pm ET).
To notify Karen Barton of your interest in Fulbright, please complete the form below or email karen.barton@unco.edu with your questions.
UNC Students interested in Fulbright, please complete this form: https://forms.gle/UUQ9PwTR9X8rpBy48
Funding for up to four years of graduate study at Cambridge University
Gilman Scholarship for Study Abroad
Award for students with financial need to study abroad
Goldwater Scholarship
Award for sophomore or junior science, engineering, and math majors planning research careers
James Madison Scholarship
Graduate study award for future high school history, government or social studies teachers
Marshall Scholarship
Funding for two years post-baccalaureate study in the United Kingdom
Mitchell Scholarship
Funding for one year of graduate study in Ireland
National Institutes of Health Graduate Partnership Program
Provides up to five years of funding for Ph.D. students in biomedical disciplines
National Defense Science & Engineering Graduate Fellowship
Funding for graduate study in the sciences, engineering and math
National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship
Supports graduate study in the sciences, engineering, math and some social sciences
Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship
Funds juniors, seniors and first year graduate students who plan careers the Foreign Service of the U.S. State Department
Rhodes Scholarship
Funding for two (sometimes 3) years of graduate study at Oxford University.
UNC may only nomiate one student for the Rhodes Scholarship. Students should begin their application process in their Junior year, and when there are multiple UNC students interested in Rhodes during the same year, an internal competitive process will be run including preliminary application and interview to determine the candidate who will be nominated by UNC. Contact honors@unco.edu if you are interested in pursueing the Rhodes scholarship.
Rotary Scholarship
Various funding opportunities for study and service work abroad
Soros Fellowships for New Americans
Graduate funding for permanent residents, naturalized citizens, or children of naturalized citizens
Truman Scholarship
Graduate scholarship for students planning careers in public service
Udall Scholarship
Undergraduate scholarship for students planning environmental policy careers or Native American undergraduates planning careers in tribal policy/healthcare
