Scholarships

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

Complete KIIS application by the early application deadline & 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:

• 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: 

• Winter programs: August 1 or September 15
• Summer programs: December 1 or February 5
  (in either case, depends on whether you apply early or not)

Eligibility:

• 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. 

Award Announcement: The recipient will be notified around November 1st (if a Winter program) or April 1st (if a Summer program).

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 or February 5 (depending on whether you apply early or not)

Eligibility:

• 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
• Enrolled in 6-credit hours on the KIIS Summer program

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 support of My World Travel in Louisville, KY, this KIIS scholarship targets students who are excited about travel and global learning but may not have the financial means to do so.  Founder, Katie Kubitskey, a graduate of the University of Louisville, was a student participant on the Summer 2009 KIIS Turkey program.  She so enjoyed her KIIS Turkey study abroad experience that she later moved to Turkey for two years, and has not stopped traveling since.

Each year this $2,000 scholarship will provide financial support for one student participating on 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: $2,000

Deadline:

• Winter programs: August 1 or September 15
• Summer programs: December 1 or February 5
  (in either case, depends on whether you apply early or not)

Eligibility: For the $2,000 My World Travel KIIS Scholarship, you must:

• Be participating on a 3-credit hour KIIS Summer or Winter program (approx. 2 weeks)
• 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 (e.g. Scholarship Essay and Financial Aid Statement).

Award Announcement: The recipient will be notified around November 1st (if a Winter program) or April 1st (if a Summer program).

Made possible by the generous support of My World Travel in Louisville, KY, this KIIS scholarship targets students who are excited about travel and global learning but may not have the financial means to do so.  Founder, Katie Kubitskey, a graduate of the University of Louisville, was a student participant on the Summer 2009 KIIS Turkey program.  She so enjoyed her KIIS Turkey study abroad experience that she later moved to Turkey for two years, and has not stopped traveling since.

Each year this $4,000 scholarship will provide financial support for one student participating on 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: $4,000

Deadline: December 1 or February 5 (depending on whether you apply early or not)

Eligibility: For the $4,000 My World Travel KIIS Scholarship, you must:

• Be participating on a 6-credit hour KIIS Summer program (i.e. four weeks or longer)
• 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
• Enrolled in 6-credit hours on the KIIS Summer program

To Apply: Complete your online KIIS program application and complete the KIIS Scholarship application documents found in your KIIS account (e.g. Scholarship Essay and 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 or February 5 (depending on whether you apply early or not)

Eligibility:

• 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
• Enrolled in 6-credit hours on the KIIS Summer program

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.

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
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.

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).

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 U.S. Department of State scholarship. Over the past decade, 50+ KIIS students have received a Gilman International Scholarship.

Award: Typically, $3,000 – $5,000
Eligibility: To apply for the Gilman, you must be:

• Currently receiving the Federal Pell Grant
• U.S. citizen
• 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: Typically $3,000 – $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.