Scholarships

Each year, KIIS awards more than $80,000 in student scholarships.

To contribute to the KIIS Scholarship Fund, visit our Donate page.

Complete the KIIS application by the early application deadline and save $100 off your final program payment.

Award: $100

Deadline:

• • Summer: December 1
  • Winter: August 1

Eligibility: Any KIIS applicant who completes their application by the Early Deadline.

To Apply: Complete your KIIS program application by the deadlines above. Visit our How to Apply page for information about our application requirements.

Eligibility: To be eligible for the KIIS Program Scholarship, you must:

• Be a student at a university that is a full member of the KIIS Consortium
• Have at least a 3.0 college/university GPA
• Have a complete KIIS program application

To Apply: Complete your KIIS program application and complete the KIIS Scholarship application documents found in your KIIS account. 

• Scholarship Essay
• Financial Aid Statement

KIIS is committed to fostering and supporting a diverse student body. The KIIS Diversity & Inclusion Abroad Scholarship encourages and supports students from under-represented populations.

For the purpose of this scholarship, diversity may include (but is not limited to) cultural, first generation college students, age, gender, sexual orientation, disability, students with a history of overcoming adversity, military, ethnic, religious or racial identities that contribute to the diversity of the KIIS student body. This scholarship is not need or merit based, and awards are granted on the strength of a student’s personal essay statement.

Each academic year, KIIS will award three $1000 KIIS Diversity & Inclusion Abroad Scholarships. 

Award: $1,000

Deadline:

• The applicable program Early or Regular Deadline

Eligibility: To be eligible for the KIIS Diversity & Inclusion Abroad Scholarship, you must:

• Be a student at a university that is a Full KIIS Member Institution
• Have a complete KIIS program application by the applicable program deadline

To Apply: Complete your online KIIS program application and KIIS Diversity & Inclusion Abroad Scholarship personal statement essay, found in your KIIS account. 

This scholarship honors the life and memory of Joseph Hess, a University of Kentucky alumnus and accomplished world traveler who spent time in East Asia, Europe and the Caucasus.

Each year the scholarship will provide financial support for one student participating in a KIIS Summer study abroad program. The scholarship aims to provide an education abroad opportunity to a student who otherwise may not be in a position financially to study abroad.

Award: $1,000

Deadline:

• December 1: if applying to your KIIS Summer program by the Early Deadline
• February 5: if applying to your KIIS Summer program by the Regular Deadline

Eligibility: To be eligible for the Joseph C. Hess Memorial Scholarship, you must:

• Be participating on a KIIS Summer four-week or longer program
• Applicants applying for a KIIS short-term Summer program will NOT be eligible
• Emphasis is placed on applicants with significant financial need
• Be a student at a university that is a Full KIIS Member Institution
• Have at least a 3.0 college/university GPA
• Have a complete KIIS program application

To Apply: Complete your online KIIS program application and complete the KIIS Scholarship application documents found in your KIIS account.  The recipient will be chosen from this pool of applicants.

• Scholarship Essay
• Financial Aid Statement

Award Announcement: The recipient will be notified around April 1st.

Made possible by the generous and lifelong commitment of former KIIS Austria program directors Dr. Meg and Barry Brown, this scholarship aims to provide an education abroad opportunity to a student who otherwise may not be in a position financially to study abroad.

Award: $4,000

Deadline:

• December 1: if applying to your KIIS Summer program by the Early Deadline
• February 5: if applying to your KIIS Summer program by the Regular Deadline

Eligibility: To be eligible for the Dr. Meg & Barry Brown KIIS Summer Scholarship, you must:

• Be participating on a KIIS Summer four-week or longer program
• Applicants applying for a KIIS short-term Summer program will NOT be eligible
• Emphasis is placed on applicants with significant financial need
• Be a student at a university that is a Full KIIS Member Institution
• Have at least a 3.0 college/university GPA
• Have a complete KIIS program application

To Apply: Complete your online KIIS program application and complete the KIIS Scholarship application documents found in your KIIS account.  The recipient will be chosen from this pool of applicants.

• Scholarship Essay
• Financial Aid Statement

Award Announcement: The recipient will be notified around April 1st.

Study abroad with KIIS on two Summer programs (in the same Summer) to receive the multiple program scholarship.

Award: $250

To qualify: KIIS will apply a $250 award to a KIIS student participant who selects to go on two KIIS Summer programs. This scholarship will be applied towards the April 15 final payment ($125 applied for each KIIS program).

KIIS provides each full-member consortium institution with $1,500 and affiliate-members with $500 to award to KIIS students on their campus.

Award: Varies, typically $200-$750

Eligibility: Varies

To Apply: Contact your KIIS Campus Representative.

Note: KIIS is not in control of how or when our consortium schools release these scholarships. You must contact your KIIS Campus Representative for more information.

There are numerous study abroad scholarships and grants that can help fund your study abroad program. Talk to your KIIS Campus Representative and Financial Aid office to determine your eligibility for home university and outside scholarships.

Internet searches also may reveal study abroad scholarship opportunities based on your academic discipline, program destination, merit, personal characteristics and hometown:

• • Kentucky-Ecuador Partners $750 Scholarship for KIIS Ecuador program (download instructions and application)
  • David Hershberg Scholarship for Study Abroad (Louisville area residents or students)
  • Fund for Education Abroad
  • GoAbroad.com Scholarships
  • Golden Key International Honor Society
  • Phi Kappa Phi Study Abroad Grant

The Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship is a grant program that provides students who have limited financial means the chance to study or intern abroad.

Each year a number of KIIS students are awarded this prestigious scholarship. In Summer 2019, 19 KIIS students received a  Gilman award.

Award: Up to $5,000

Eligibility: To apply for the Gilman, you must be:

• Currently receiving the Federal Pell Grant
• For eligibility requirements, visit the Gilman Scholarship website.

Applicants who are studying a critical need language while abroad can apply for a supplemental award of up to $3,000. The Critical Need Language Award is competitive and offered to a limited number of Gilman scholars each year.

To Apply: Visit the Gilman website.

KIIS encourages you to apply for the Gilman Scholarship by their early deadline since their regular deadline awards will not be announced until after your KIIS final payment deadline.

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.

Award: $5,000

Eligibility:

• For eligibility requirements for this scholarship, visit the Gilman-McCain Scholarship website.

To Apply: Visit the Gilman website.

KIIS encourages you to apply for the Gilman Scholarship by their early deadline since their regular deadline awards will not be announced until after your KIIS final payment deadline.

To contribute to the KIIS Scholarship Fund, visit our Donate page.