Study Abroad Scholarships

The Mershon Center for International Security Studies has established the Ralph D. Mershon Study Abroad Scholarship to support undergraduates who wish to enhance their educational experience by studying in a foreign country. 

Students are encouraged to take foreign language courses, especially those deemed critical for national security, such as Arabic, Chinese, Russian, Hindi, Persian, and others.  Priority will be given to students who are preparing for a career related to international security studies. 

Applications will be evaluated by an interdisciplinary review committee that will make recommendations to the director of the Mershon Center.  As many as 10 scholarships of up to $2,000 each will be awarded.

Application Instructions
Applications for the Ralph D. Mershon Study Abroad Scholarship must contain five parts:
• Completed application form.
• Statement of purpose that outlines the student's planned course of study abroad, and discusses its relevance to the student's academic, professional and personal goals.
• Letter of recommendation from an Ohio State faculty member.
• Copy of student's advising report.

The 2013 Ralph D. Mershon Study Abroad Scholarship Application Form is now available for download. This is a Microsoft Word document with fillable form fields.

Please submit applications in both hard copy and electronic formats. Hard copies may be sent to:

Mershon Center for International Security Studies
Ralph D. Mershon Study Abroad Scholarship Competition
1501 Neil Ave.
Columbus, OH 43201
Attn: Grants and Scholarship Coordinator

Electronic copies in Microsoft Word should be sent as e-mail attachments to mershon.abroad@osu.edu. 

Evaluation of Applications
The criteria for evaluation of applications are:
• The student's planned course of study abroad and its applicability to one or more of the Mershon Center's three main research themes.
• The quality of the student's performance at Ohio State.
• How the study abroad program fits into a student's major and career plans, and helps prepare the student for a career in international security affairs.

Students are welcome to apply for scholarships through both the Office of International Affairs and to the Ralph D. Mershon Study Abroad Scholarship.  However, students who receive funding from the Office of International Affairs will not be considered for additional funding from the Mershon Center. Students are eligible to receive the Ralph D Mershon scholarship in consecutive years.

Deadline
The deadline for receiving student scholarship applications is Monday, January 14, 2013. Students with winning scholarship applications will be informed by April 1, 2013. Funds will not be awarded to the chosen applicants until proof of health insurance has been provided. All students are required to enroll in the University's supplemental health insurance. Funds will be available for a full academic year.

All awards are subject to the rules and regulations of The Ohio State University. In countries under a current Department of State Travel Warning, undergraduate students cannot use scholarship awards for study abroad programs and/or individual international projects outside of venues approved by Ohio State. Graduate and professional students may petition the Study Abroad Health and Safety Committee for approval a minimum of three months prior to proposed travel. For more information, please contact Grace Johnson (johnson.136@osu.edu) at the Office of International Affairs.