The Gilman-McCain Scholarship

The Gilman-McCain Scholarship is a congressionally funded initiative of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State and named after the late senator John S. McCain from Arizona. The Gilman-McCain Scholarship provides awards of $5,000 for child dependents of active duty service members to study or intern abroad on credit-bearing programs.

To be eligible for a Gilman-McCain Scholarship, an applicant must be:

• A citizen of the United States;
• An undergraduate student in good standing at an accredited institution of higher education in the United States (including both two-year and four-year institutions);
• Dependent child of an active duty military member(s) during the time of application in one of the following branches: Air Force, Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and Coast Guard, including activated (currently on active duty) Reserve Forces, Air National Guard, and Army National Guard;
• Recipient of any type of Title IV federal financial aid during the time of application or provide proof that they will be receiving Title IV federal financial aid during their study abroad program or internship;
• In the process of applying to, or accepted for, a study abroad or internship program or a virtual international program of at least two weeks for community college students and three weeks for students from four-year institutions, eligible for credit from the student’s home institution. Multi-country/area programs are eligible and have no minimum requirement on length of time spent in one country and no maximum requirement on number of countries in a program. Proof of program acceptance is required prior to award disbursement; and
• Applying for credit-bearing study abroad programs in a country or area with an overall Travel Advisory Level 1 or 2, according to the U.S. Department of State’s Travel Advisory System. However, certain locations within these countries or areas may be designated within the Travel Advisory as either “Do not travel to” (Level 4) or “Reconsider travel to” (Level 3) locations, as such; students will not be allowed to travel to these specific locations. Moreover, students are not eligible to apply for programs in a country or area with an overall Level 3 or 4 Travel Advisory.
  The U.S. Department of State reserves the right to request program changes for specific countries or areas if deemed necessary during any stage of the application, selection process, or program period. Final awards are contingent upon the availability of funds and the security situation in country. Furthermore, programs in progress may be suspended in consultation with the U.S. Embassy in country during the course of the program.   

AWARD AMOUNTS

The Gilman-McCain Scholarship recipients are awarded $5,000 to be used toward the cost of study abroad or international internship programs.