15 University of Utah students were honored to receive the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship during the spring 2025 cycle. In total, the U.S. Department of State awarded $50,000 in scholarship funding to University of Utah students. The Gilman Scholarship is an initiative of the State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and is aided in its implementation by the Institute of International Education.
“Congratulations to the deserving students who were selected for this year’s awards. They share our belief that learning abroad can be an important part of an exceptional educational experience, and we commend them for going above and beyond to make that experience part of their time here at the U. Global experiences enrich academic, professional and personal growth, and the Gilman scholarship program makes that possible. We wish these students a productive and memorable time abroad,” said University of Utah Provost Mitzi Montoya.
WHO IS SELECTED?
The U.S. Department of State has awarded the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship to 3,500 American undergraduate students from all 50 states and the District of Columbia in spring 2025 to study abroad in over 170 countries.
Over 70 percent of selected Gilman Scholars are from rural areas and small towns across the United States, and 55 percent are first-generation college students. Gilman Scholars are U.S. undergraduate students with high financial need as federal Pell Grant recipients. The Gilman Program received a record high of 17,000 applications across the 2024-2025 academic year.
The University of Utah’s Gilman Scholarship recipients are represented across the John and Marcia Price College of Engineering, College of Humanities, College of Health, College of Science, College of Social and Behavioral Science, College of Architecture and Planning, and the David Eccles School of Business.
One student among the spring cohort is a recipient of the John McCain International Scholarship for Military Families (Gilman-McCain Scholarship). Gilman-McCain Scholarships are awarded to children and spousal dependents of U.S. military personnel who are active or activated during the application period.
WHERE WILL STUDENTS GO?
This group of Gilman Scholars from the University of Utah will represent the United States in a range of destinations, including Costa Rica, France, Germany, China, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Ghana, Singapore and Spain. They will return to Utah with the global networks and foreign language skills needed to support the economic and national security interests of Utah and the U.S.
The governments of France, Germany (through the German Academic Exchange Service, or DAAD), New Zealand and Wales, as well as the Luso-American Development Foundation (FLAD) in Portugal and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States (TECRO), provided additional scholarships to Gilman scholars to study in these locations.
HOW TO APPLY FOR A GILMAN SCHOLARSHIP
The next application cycle will be launched in August 2025. To learn more about the Gilman Scholarship, visit gilmanscholarship.org.
Students interested in applying should make an appointment with the Office of Nationally Competitive Scholarships (ONCS), which helps University of Utah students and recent alumni navigate application processes for these prestigious opportunities.
The Office for Global Engagement also offers support for Gilman applicants through The Office for Global Engagement Gilman Second Chance Scholarship. Any eligible Gilman applicant who is not selected as a national Gilman recipient will be considered for additional learning abroad funding. To learn more and apply, please visit https://learningabroad.utah.edu/scholarships.
For questions about the Gilman Scholarship program at the U, contact Susan Anderson, Gilman Certifying Advisor and Office of Nationally Competitive Scholarships Program Manager, or Max Courval, Learning Abroad Faculty-led Coordinator, OGE Scholarship Coordinator, and Gilman Alumni Ambassador.