Marshall Scholarships
For information, or to apply, contact Prof. Matthew Wright (wright5@stolaf.edu), Assistant Director of External Fellowships and Scholarships.
Description
Marshall Scholarships finance young Americans of high ability to study for a degree in the United Kingdom. Up to 40 Scholars are selected each year to study at graduate level at an UK institution in any field of study. As future leaders, with a lasting understanding of British society, Marshall Scholars will strengthen the enduring relationship between the British and American peoples, their governments and their institutions. Marshall Scholars are talented, independent and wide-ranging, and their time as Scholars enhances their intellectual and personal growth. Their direct engagement with Britain through its best academic programs contributes to their ultimate personal success. The objectives of the Marshall scholarships are:
- To enable intellectually distinguished young Americans, their country’s future leaders, to study in the UK.
- 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 centers of academic excellence.
- To motivate Scholars to act as ambassadors from the USA to the UK and vice versa throughout their lives thus strengthening British American understanding.
- To promote the personal and academic fulfillment of each Scholar.
Candidates wishing to apply are urged to read the Marshall FAQ’s.
Materials Due By Initial Campus Deadline
The following items will be due by the initial campus deadline, which is two weeks before the national deadline:
- Personal Statement – The Candidate should describe his/her academic and other interests and pursuits. This personal essay must not exceed 1,000 words in length.
- Proposed Academic Program – The Candidate should describe their proposed academic program, giving reasons for their choice of course and preferred university. Those hoping to read for a research degree should give an outline proposal of the research they wish to undertake. If any postgraduate study has already been undertaken, state briefly the field, and list any theses or dissertations written or published. This proposal must not exceed 500 words in length.
- Ambassadorial Potential – Candidates should describe their reasons for wishing to live and study in the UK, and how they feel this will benefit them in the future. The candidate should also think about how they will demonstrate their commitment to the UK through volunteer and extracurricular activities. Candidates should demonstrate how they will meet the Marshall Scholarships’ objective of gaining an understanding and appreciation of contemporary Britain. In addition, they should demonstrate how they intend to fulfill the Marshall Scholarships’ objective of becoming ambassadors/representatives for the USA in the UK and vice versa thus strengthening British American understanding. This is a 500 word statement.
- Academic Proposal – Candidates should describe below their proposed academic program, giving reasons for their choice of course and preferred university. Those hoping to read for a research degree should give an outline proposal of the research they wish to undertake and with whom they would like to work. Candidates should also include a brief outline of why they have chosen their second choice courses and institutions.This means that candidates should include something about their second choice institutions and courses.
- Post Scholarship Plan – “Candidates should describe their immediate plans upon completion of their Marshall Scholarship and why two years [one year] spent undertaking a degree in the UK would enhance these plans. As well as describing plans for employment or further study, candidates should indicate how they would develop ongoing connections with the UK, through their UK institution or some other contacts they propose to make while in the UK. Please also include a brief statement of your future career plans.” The word count for this has been reduced to 300 words.
- Leadership Essay: Candidates should describe a situation in which they recognized and responded to a need for leadership. When answering this question please consider the Commission’s criteria on leadership potential: http://www.marshallscholarship.org/applications/leadershippotential
- The names and email addresses (no letters are required at this time) of four people who will be submitting letters of recommendation and their relationship to the applicant
- Unofficial transcript from SIS
- Current resume
- Signed “Permission Form & Waiver” (Available on SIS)
Funding Benefits
- University fees
- Cost of living expenses
- Annual book grant
- Thesis grant
- Research and daily travel grants
- Fares to and from the United States
- Where applicable, a contribution towards the support of a dependent spouse.
Eligibility
- Applicants must be citizens of the United States of America (at the time they apply for a scholarship).
- Initial St. Olaf application is open to applicants of junior, senior or alumni status.
- Applicants must have obtained a grade point average of not less than 3.7 (or A-) on their undergraduate degree. (Exceptions will be considered only on the specific recommendation of the sponsoring college.)
- Applicants must not have studied for or hold a degree or degree-equivalent qualification from a British University
Applicants are urged to read carefully the Marshall Commission’s “Rules for Candidates”.
St. Olaf’s Process of Applying
A campus process is in place to advise you and evaluate your candidacy based on the materials due by the Initial Campus Deadline.
- Before you submit materials due by the Initial Campus Deadline, you will need to forward your Intent to Apply in April.
- A group of faculty members (the United Kingdom Faculty Committee) will evaluate your candidacy based on your written statements due by the Initial Campus Deadline.
- If you are selected by the faculty committee, you will be expected to work closely with the fellowships advisor (Jason Marsh) and faculty on your application in a way that represents you and the institution well.
- In the month of September, your final application will be evaluated by the United Kingdom Faculty committee. You will also be interviewed by the United Kingdom Faculty Committee. Before you are interviewed by the United Kingdom Faculty Committee, you are encouraged to do a mock interview with the fellowships advisor (Jason Marsh).
- If selected by the United Kingdom Faculty Committee, you will be interviewed by President Anderson regarding your interest in the scholarship opportunity.
Materials Due By Final Campus Deadline
All materials are due four weeks before the national deadline. Candidates will not have an opportunity to make any edits to their application after this point.
- Application including Personal Details, Education, Proposed Program of Study List, Employment Details, List of Recommenders, Personal Information, and Other Awards.
- Personal Statement – The Candidate should describe his/her academic and other interests and pursuits. This personal essay must not exceed 1,000 words in length.
- Proposed Academic Program – The Candidate should describe their proposed academic program, giving reasons for their choice of course and preferred university. Those hoping to read for a research degree should give an outline proposal of the research they wish to undertake. If any postgraduate study has already been undertaken, state briefly the field, and list any theses or dissertations written or published. This proposal must not exceed 500 words in length.
- Ambassadorial Potential – Candidates should describe their reasons for wishing to live and study in the UK, and how they feel this will benefit them in the future. The candidate should also think about how they will demonstrate their commitment to the UK through volunteer and extracurricular activities. Candidates should demonstrate how they will meet the Marshall Scholarships’ objective of gaining an understanding and appreciation of contemporary Britain. In addition, they should demonstrate how they intend to fulfill the Marshall Scholarships’ objective of becoming ambassadors/representatives for the USA in the UK and vice versa thus strengthening British American understanding. This is a 500 word statement.
- Post Scholarship Plan – FOR ONE YEAR SCHOLARSHIP APPLICANTS ONLY – Candidates must describe their immediate plans upon completion of their Marshall Scholarship and why one year spent undertaking a degree in the UK would enhance these plans. Along with describing plans for employment or further study, candidates should indicate how they would develop ongoing connections with the UK, through their UK institution or some other contacts they propose to make while in the UK. In addition they should demonstrate how they intend to fulfill the Marshall Scholarship objective of becoming an ambassador/representative for the USA in the UK and vice versa thus strengthening British American understanding. This is a 500 word statement.
- Leadership Essay: Candidates should describe a situation in which they recognized and responded to a need for leadership. This is a 500 word statement.
- Future Career Aims – FOR ONE YEAR SCHOLARSHIP APPLICANTS ONLY – Candidates should briefly comment on their future career aims. This is a 100 word statement.
- Official Certified Transcripts – from every college/university you have attended. (Request the Registrar’s Office(s) to send the official transcript to r. Jason Marsh (marshj@stolaf.edu), Co-Director of External Fellowships and Scholarships. Note: the applicant will not be required to pay, but will be required to sign at the Registrar’s Office.)
- Four Letters of Recommendation (A recommendation letter has a 1000 word limit) – The applicant should instruct his/her recommenders to submit their letters to the Marshall Application Portal by the Final St. Olaf Campus Deadline. At least two recommendations must be provided by academics. At least three of these recommenders should be in the United States. When completing your application you will designate your ‘recommenders’ with full address, phone and email. Click on’ Send Request’ to generate an email to your recommender from the Marshall Scholarship program. This email provides them with information on the Marshall Scholarship and access to the form to submit the letter.
- Special Notes: You cannot view the letter; yet you can see whether or not it is uploaded. It’s best if you talk to your letter writers ahead of time to review their availability and inform them of the deadline. If you discover that a recommender is no longer available before you submit your application, you will be able to enter a new recommender. However, once a recommendation has been submitted, it is final. Once you have submitted your application, you can no longer update your recommenders – you will only be able to check the status and send reminder emails.
- Please enter recommenders in the following order:
- Primary recommender first and then identify them as such. Your primary recommender should have supervised your college or university training.
- Recommenders two and three are normal.
- Recommender four should be the recommender who is going to talk about leadership. It is still optional for applicants to have a leadership recommender, so if they don’t have one, the fourth recommender can be anyone, but the application pulls the letters of recommendation in the order the names were entered into the system so it will make it easier for our readers if the applicants can do this.
Directions for Submitting
- Finalize your application through the Marshall Application Portal.
- The Fellowships Advisor, in conjunction with the UK Committee and President Anderson, will finalize your letter of endorsement and submit your final application.